Thai man turns himself in after woman found dead in Khon Kaen

A man connected to the last moments of a woman found dead by a pond has come forward to the police, shedding light on the incident. The 51 year old woman, referred to as Somchok, was discovered dead near a pond in Khuean Ubolratana, Ubolratana, Khon Kaen.

Medical professionals attributed her death to pre-existing health conditions. The last person reportedly with her was 35 year old Manop, a satellite dish installer.

Manop turned himself into the Ubolratana Police Station recently, meeting with Police Colonel Pavit Saengarun. In a two-hour interrogation, Manop recounted his version of events.

The suspect stated that he had met Somchok through a Facebook dating group and had been chatting for about a week before deciding to meet up.

Somchok had invited him to pick her up from a convenience store in Ban Wa, Mueang, Khon Kaen on the evening of August 20.

After a few drinks, Manop drove to pick her up and took her to a rental room in Ban Sam Jan, Ban Kho, Mueang, Khon Kaen. They consumed three more bottles of alcohol in the car. Upon arriving at the room, they continued drinking two more bottles and decided to go to Ubolratana Dam.

They then headed to Non Nong Yai in Ubolratana when it was already dark. They parked the car, and after ten minutes, Somchok attempted to get close again but Manop explained that he had no desire to engage with her alleged sexual advances due to the amount of alcohol consumed.

Unresponsive

Somchok then asked to rest, sitting at the back of the pickup truck with her head leaning against the tailgate. After approximately 30 minutes, Manop tried to wake her to go home, but she refused and continued to sleep.

An hour later, he attempted to wake her again but found her unresponsive. He performed CPR without success. Realising she had passed away, Manop dragged her body to the pond’s edge and drove away.

Manop revealed that after leaving Ubolratana Dam, he went to an automatic car wash about 10 kilometres away and found Somchok’s mobile phone in the car, which he threw into the grass next to the car wash.

After cleaning the car, he returned to the rental room and found Somchok’s underwear on the bathroom floor. He disposed of it in a stream at Huai Suet Ten in Nam Phong, Khon Kaen. Manop admitted to driving around aimlessly and sleeping wherever he could until he regained his composure and decided to report to the police.

Initial charges against Manop include concealing a body and theft, with further questioning and legal proceedings to follow, reported KhaoSod.