Two boys arrested in murder of Australian tourist

PHUKET: Two boys suspected of murdering Cheree Joy Cobcroft, 24, an Australian tourist, on December 17 in Krabi were arrested on Christmas day at Rajabhat Phuket Institute. Pairoj Yoamyat, 19, and a boy of 15 were apprehended at 2 pm by police from Phuket Town and a special investigation team from Krabi. According to police, the two confessed to murdering Ms Cobcroft while attempting to rob her as she was sightseeing at the Kaew Krowararam temple in Krabi Town. When she fought back, Pairoj strangled her to death with her own belt. The two then stole her belongings and immediately left for Phuket where they stayed at the Rasada Hotel on Thepkrasattri Rd for one night and then at the Wassana Guesthouse on Ranong Rd. Pairoj told the police that he was the one who killed Ms Cobcroft, but that the 15-year-old helped him set the crime scene to make it look like she had been raped and later killed. Pairoj told police, however, that neither of them raped the victim, an assertion supported by forensics tests done in Bangkok . When arrested, the pair were going to see Pairoj’s uncle who works as a security guard at the Rajabhat Institute. Police who had received a tip the two suspects were in Phuket were waiting at the institute’s security booth when they arrived.. The suspects were taken back to Krabi on December 25.