Monk who attacked teen granddaughter found hanged

A violent monk who attacked his 17 year old granddaughter with a hammer was found hanged in a forest. Investigating officers report that he was found yesterday but is believed to have been hanging dead there after committing suicide for about a week.

Last Saturday, officers from the Phibun Mangsahan Police Station were called to the scene where the monk had left his young victim for dead at a temple in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani. Police believe that a letter found at the scene suggests the monk had a crush on the girl and was jealous of a friendship she’d recently struck up with a male friend.

The 56 year old monk named Phra Uthit was suspected of attempted murder and an arrest warrant was issued. It is believed that he may have killed himself out of stress from the case and to escape the police’s pursuit.

Police received a call that local villagers had found a body in the forest not far from the football field of Ban Nakae School in the Rawe subdistrict of Phibun Mangsahan district. Police travelled to the nearby rice fields and forest with a rescue unit and investigative team.

Once they arrived they were met with an awful smell. They found his body, with a rope around his neck, tied to a tree in the middle of the forest. Investigators estimated that he’d been dead for seven days.

The 17 year old girl, Ae, was found with severe injuries at a monk’s accommodation by her grandmother in the Baan Na Gae Temple in the Phiboon Mang Sa Harn district of Udon Ratchathani on the evening on January 8. She was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

A security camera in the temple recorded Uthit escaping on Ae’s motorcycle after the attack. The now-deceased monk left a letter at the scene.

“I paid everything for you, the tuition fee, the dental fee, accessories, anything you want. I can’t even have a chance to touch you. You ignored everything I did for you.”

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.