Thai woman fatally attacked with knife, secret affair suspected as motive

Police are searching for a killer who fatally attacked a Thai woman with a knife in the northern province of Sukhothai. The motive for the murder is suspected to be a secret affair and jealousy.

Officers from the Ban Dan Lan Hoi Police Station dashed to the crime scene at 9.30am yesterday, January 28, and discovered the dead body of a 40 year old Thai woman named Ananya “Tarn” Chaiya, at a plantation in the Taling Chan sub-district, Ban Dan Lan Hoi district, in the Sukhothai province.

Tarn was seen sitting on her knees and resting against the ground, with two deep cut wounds visible on her head. All her possessions, including a gold necklace valued at approximately 34,600 baht and a gold ring, remained undisturbed. Her red Honda Wave motorcycle was discovered overturned close to her body.

Locals who discovered her death told officers that Tarn usually rode her motorcycle past the scene to feed her cows. Tarn had been missing for a few days before her body was discovered.

ThaiRath reported that police suspected a secret affair and jealousy as possible motives for the murder. Tarn, though married, was separated from her husband who was working in Taiwan. Being an attractive woman, officers speculated that she may have been engaged in a secret relationship and subsequently targeted out of jealousy, resulting in her tragic death.

Murders rooted in jealousy have made several headlines in Thailand over the past year. In a related story, police in the central province of Lob Buri arrested a Thai man three weeks ago for killing his wife’s alleged lover.

Bride shot

In November last year, a Thai groom took his life after fatally shooting his bride and her family during their wedding ceremony in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

In another related report, a jealous Thai man killed a friend of his wife in the central province of Ratchaburi in December last year. The killer was consumed with jealousy when he saw his wife drinking beer with her boyfriend at home. He ran up to the victim with an axe in his hand and brutally attacked his wife’s friend to death.

If you or anyone you know is in emotional distress, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand 24-hour hotline: 02 713 6791 (English), 02 713 6793 (Thai), or the Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai). Please also contact your friends or relatives at this time if you have feelings of loneliness, stress, or depression. Seek help.