Foreign man found dead with 4 stab wounds at hotel in Phuket

A maid discovered the dead body of a foreign man with stab wounds to the neck in a hotel room in Phuket. There were no signs of theft or struggle. A substance similar to crystal meth was found in the bathroom.

The hotel maid reported her shocking discovery to officers at Cheng Talay Police Station at around 9.30am yesterday, October 30. She revealed that she had walked past the hotel room and was hit by a foul odour coming from inside.

The maid said Jarez never locked his room and only allowed the maid to clean when he wanted. She knocked on the door but received no response, so she decided to enter the room and found the body.

Police searched the room and found two passports, one US and one Costa Rican, which identified the deceased as 35 year old Daniel James Artus Jarez. It was anticipated that Jarez died several days before his discovery as his body was in a state of decomposition.

Jarez had four stab wounds to the left side of his neck, and a 25-centimetre combat knife with a needlepoint was found near his body.

There were no signs of theft at the scene and Jarez’s belongings left in the room included a laptop, a tablet, two mobile phones, passports, four backpacks, four pieces of luggage, diving equipment, Muay Thai sportswear and 6,000 baht in cash.

Officers also found a substance similar to crystal meth in a plastic zip-lock bag, cannabis and drug paraphernalia. However, police refrained from confirming whether the substance was indeed an illicit drug.

The hotel manager told police that Jarez had been staying at the hotel since August 30. He paid 15,000 baht for his first month and another 42,000 baht for the following three months.

According to the manager, Jarez initially appeared to be a sociable individual. He would depart from the hotel every day to engage in scuba diving and Muay Thai training. However, a sudden transformation became evident as he began withdrawing into his room and progressively engaging in alcohol consumption.

The manager reported that the last sighting of Jarez was on October 26 at a fruit smoothie establishment close to the hotel.

Officers took his body to Vachira Phuket Hospital for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

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