Thai doctor found dead in a mysterious incident at her home in Phitsanulok

A 60 year old Thai doctor was discovered dead in her home located in Ban Pa, Mueang Phitsanulok district yesterday at about 1pm. Police Lieutenant Colonel Somsak Konthiam, deputy chief of Mueang Phitsanulok Police Station, received the report and proceeded to investigate the scene along with a team of police investigators, hospital medical staff, and rescue volunteers.

The house where the incident occurred is a two-storey, half-concrete, half-wooden building with a fenced perimeter. The stainless steel front door was locked and could not be opened. Several vicious dogs were kept inside the house, constantly barking. Officers had to use tools to remove the door’s lock before a close relative of the house owner took the dogs into a cage, concerned they might bite the officers, as the dogs seemed overly protective of their owner.

Upon examining the area around the front stairs of the house, the deceased Thai doctor, a psychiatrist named Dr Karnnika, was found lying face down, wearing a blue shirt and navy trousers. There were drying bloodstains all over the floor and blood near her nose. An initial examination of the body showed a head wound on the back of her head. A mobile phone and house keys were found near the Thai doctor’s body and kept as evidence before the rescue team took the body away for a detailed autopsy at Phutthachinarat Hospital.

It was revealed by Mrs Waranon, a close relative, that Dr Karnnika had been working as a psychiatrist in England for about 40 years and had only recently purchased the house in Phitsanulok. The daughter of the Thai doctor also worked in England.

Dr Karnnika normally stayed in the house with a male worker who took care of the property and the dogs. However, he had been on leave since April 22 to visit relatives and was due to return to work on April 28 but had not yet travelled back.

The group of friends, who shared a common interest in religious merit-making, would usually communicate every day in a group chat. Dr Karnnika would normally respond instantly. The friends of the Thai doctor last spoke to her on Friday about merit-making plans, but when they tried to contact her on Saturday, she did not answer any messages or calls. Concerned, they decided to visit her residence, where they found her dead body in front of the staircase and alerted the police.

The police initially speculated that Dr Karnnika had climbed the staircase to check a sprinkler system installed on top of the 7-10 metre high neighbouring house to see if it was functioning properly, as it was used to cool down the area for her dogs in addition to numerous fans.

The slippery staircase might have caused her to lose her balance, fall, and hit her head against the corner of the concrete staircase leading to the second floor. She might have tried to hold her head wound with her right hand, which resulted in bloodstains. The doctor estimated that she had been dead for no less than 8-24 hours.

The police requested rescue officers to send the body for a detailed autopsy to determine the actual cause of death, and to proceed with further legal actions.

As for the CCTV system, it couldn’t be checked immediately due to the lack of memory storage and could only be viewed through Dr Karnnika’s mobile phone, which was locked.

They had to coordinate with a technician to unlock the phone to review the CCTV footage. Relatives and acquaintances remained suspicious about the circumstances surrounding Dr Karnnika’s mysterious death.