Koh Samui, Thailand, Aug 10 (EFE).- The influential family of a Spanish chef linked to the death of a Colombian surgeon in Thailand said Thursday in a statement that they are sorry for the man’s passing.
Daniel Sancho, 29, is currently the only suspect in the dismemberment and alleged murder of 44-year-old Edwin Arrieta last week on the tourist island of Phangan.
“We appreciate the interest of the press, but we cannot make statements at this time so as not to interfere in the investigation and to respect the very painful moment that both families are experiencing in this terrible situation that we have had to live,” said the brief statement, read to EFE by Fernando Oca, director of the law firm representing Sancho.
“We are very sorry for (Arrieta’s) death and we accompany his family in their feelings,” added the text from the family of the suspect, son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho and grandson of fellow actor Felix Angel Sancho Gracia.
The scion has been held since Monday in a prison on Koh Samui, which neighbors Koh Phangan.
Oca read the statement in Koh Samui, before a scheduled meeting with the Spaniard.
Sancho on Tuesday first saw a private lawyer from Oca’s office hired by his family, having until then been represented by court-appointed defenders.
In a previous statement sent Sunday to EFE, Sancho’s father asked for the “maximum respect” for his son and his family “in these delicate moments and maximum confusion.”
The family asked “the media to refrain from issuing any hasty judgment” in light of the latest events.
Sancho was brought before a court Monday, and has been in pretrial detention on Koh Samui since.
The two men met on Aug. 2 on Koh Phangan the day Arrieta arrived on the island and when the crime initially took place, according to what Sancho told police. EFE
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