Thai woman accuses ex-husband’s wife of killing him for fortune

A Thai woman in the southern province of Krabi accused her ex-husband’s wife of killing him for his 10 million baht fortune. The wife admitted to killing her husband but did not mention her husband’s assets.

Officers from Khao Phanom Police Station were alerted to the death of 52 year old Thai man Preecha at 9pm on July 22. He was stabbed at his home in the Khao Phanom district of Krabi and later died in hospital.

The murderer was Preecha’s 52 year old wife, Ratree. She sent her husband to hospital and surrendered to the police.

Preecha’s ex-wife, Apichaya, told Channel 8 that she was in a relationship with Preecha before he secretly signed a marriage certificate with Ratree. She decided to distance herself from Preecha and moved from Krabi to Phuket.

Apichaya explained that she had just returned to Krabi to build a new house and sought suggestions about the construction from her ex-husband before he was killed.

Apichaya insisted that she wasn’t having an affair with Preecha and had no intention of resuming their relationship. She believes that Ratree murdered Preecha not because she was jealous of their former relationship but because he had assets over 10 million baht.

Apichaya revealed that she held a funeral for Preecha at her home and Ratree’s relatives did not attend. Apichaya stated that she held the funeral for Preecha because he had no one else and because she could not ignore they were once a couple.

According to Apichaya, she kissed and hugged Preecha’s body, not because of any romantic feelings for him but because she believed he would have wanted that.

Apichaya said Preecha always cared for her even after their relationship ended. He even planned to give her plots of land and a million baht, hoping she would help take care of his bedridden mother in the Surat Thani province.

Channel 8 reported that Ratree did not reveal the details of the incident or her motive to journalists when questioned at the police station. After being asked if she wanted to leave a message for Apichaya, Ratree said no.