Australian accused of killing Thai teenager and putting her body in a suitcase speaks for the first time from jail: ‘I don’t understand what’s going on’
An Australian truck driver, Simon Peter Carman, 45, has broken his silence from a Thai prison to deny murdering 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla, whose naked body was found stuffed inside a suitcase near railway tracks outside Pattaya on 27 June. Carman claims he acted in self-defence after the teenager allegedly attacked him with a knife during an argument over money, insisting he only meant to restrain her and did not realise she was a minor. The case is significant because Carman faces the possibility of the death penalty in Thailand if convicted of murder, and his public denial comes as prosecutors finalise the charges against him.
Carman was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport as he attempted to board a flight home to Perth, and he has been charged with murder, concealing and moving a body, and taking a minor for sexual purposes. An autopsy found Tunchanok suffered a brain injury and suffocated, with no other injuries recorded, and police say DNA evidence links Carman to the victim. Tunchanok had travelled roughly 600km from northern Thailand to Pattaya for a holiday and met Carman on a beach days before she vanished; prosecutors have until 18 September to formally indict him, and he still has no lawyer.
- Australian Simon Carman denies murdering Thai teen Tunchanok Donhomla, 17
- Claims self-defence; her body was found in a suitcase near Pattaya
- Faces possible death penalty; prosecutors must indict him by 18 September
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Simon Peter Carman, a 45-year-old Australian truck driver, is being held in Thailand accused of murdering Tunchanok Donhomla, a 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was found in a suitcase near a railway line outside the resort town of Pattaya in late June. He was detained at Bangkok's main airport as he tried to fly home to Perth, and has since been charged with murder, moving and concealing a body, and taking a minor for sexual purposes. He denies murder, saying he acted in self-defence.
Tunchanok had travelled several hundred kilometres from northern Thailand for a holiday and met Carman on a beach shortly before she disappeared. An autopsy found she died from a brain injury and suffocation. Police say DNA evidence connects Carman to her death, though he has not yet appointed a lawyer and no formal indictment has been filed.
The case has drawn wide attention because Thailand allows the death penalty for murder, meaning Carman could face execution if convicted. Prosecutors are still preparing the formal charges, and the facts of what happened between Carman and Tunchanok remain disputed and unproven in court.