Koh Phangan, Thailand, Aug 9 (EFE).- Police on the Thai island of Koh Phangan continued on Wednesday to collect evidence in relation to the murder of Colombian Edwin Arrieta, a police source confirmed to EFE.
A handout photo made available by the Royal Thai Police shows forensic officers inspecting human body parts they found at a garbage dump site in Koh Phangan, Surat Thani province, southern Thailand, 04 August 2023 (issued 06 August 2023). EFE-EPA FILE/ROYAL THAI POLICE HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
The police in charge of the case, who do not currently plan to question Spanish suspect Daniel Sancho again, have 84 days to complete a first report on the investigation, which they will deliver to the prosecutor, and then it is expected that the trial will begin.
The Koh Phangan police station told EFE Wednesday that they cannot give an estimate of how long the process will take since it is about “accumulating all possible evidence.”
“At the moment, we are still checking images from security cameras and we are waiting for the results of some DNA tests. As the laboratory is in Bangkok, it is taking time to receive the results,” it said.
The police also revealed that the victim’s mobile phone is still missing.
Spanish chef and alleged murder suspect Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo (C), is escorted by Thai police officers to the court from Koh Phangan police station in Koh Phangan, southern Thailand, 07 August 2023. EFE-EPA/SOMKEAT RUKSAMAN
Sancho, who is in pre-trial detention on the neighboring island of Koh Samui, has confessed to the murder and dismemberment of Arrieta, a 44-year-old surgeon whose first remains of were found last week in a landfill on the tourist island. Authorities are yet to recover all of his remains.
Twenty-nine-year-old Sancho arrived on Koh Phangan on Aug. 1 with the idea of practicing muay Thai, and the following day met with Arrieta, who traveled to Thailand following in his footsteps, according to what the young Spaniard told EFE.
On the night of Thursday, Aug. 3, Sancho reported the disappearance of the Colombian at the Koh Phangan police station, and he began to be questioned as a suspect on Friday. EFE
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