Accused Australian man Simon Peter Carman has broken his silence to the media from inside a Thailand jail after he was charged with the alleged murder of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla.
The 45-year-old claimed in an interview with the ABC inside Pattaya Remand Prison that he had a physical altercation with Tunchanok inside his apartment prior to her death, and that he acted in self-defence during the struggle.
According to the ABC report, Mr Carman denied that he killed the teen, who was known to friends and family as “Nong Cake” or “Cake”, but admitted to moving the victim’s body to a railway track in June.
The accused claimed he was unaware Cake was a minor at the time of the incident but insisted the death at the popular tourist destination of Pattaya “was unavoidable”.
“I pled not guilty, and I remain not guilty of all four charges,” Mr Carman told the ABC.
“I feel deeply sad. I obviously wish it never happened, but it was unavoidable.
“All I was trying to do was restrain her from stabbing me.
“I’m hoping and praying that I get released. I have not done anything wrong. I shouldn’t be here … I do not understand what’s going on.”
Mr Carmen was taken into custody at Bangkok’s international airport as he prepared to board a flight back to Perth, Australia.
Police have charged him with intentional murder, concealing a corpse, moving or destroying a corpse, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes.
The superintendent at the Pattaya City Police Station, Colonel Anek Srathongyoo, on Wednesday confirmed in an interview with the ABC that DNA collected from Mr Carman had “matched it to DNA found on Cake’s body”.
“The autopsy report said that Cake had a brain injury and she suffocated. She had no other injuries,” the police Colonel told the ABC.
Cake was last seen alive on June 25. That evening she was captured on CCTV walking hand in hand with Mr Carman inside his complex.
Mr Carman was later captured on CCTV at about 9.25pm dragging a large suitcase out of the building.
He is accused of strapping the suitcase to the rear of a motorcycle, dumping it near railway tracks, before returning to his complex around 35 minutes later.
After concluding the police investigation, officials intend to pass the case to prosecutors today.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul in Canberra last week and discussed strengthening joint anti-crime efforts as a priority.
Both leaders signed a joint statement on the issue, committing to continued efforts to target crimes such as human trafficking, financial fraud, money laundering, cybercrime, scams and the illicit trade of narcotics and tobacco.
Mr Charnvirakul, who is the first Thai leader to visit Australia in 14 years, also led his public remarks with stronger anti-crime efforts between the two nations.
“We agreed to strengthen our joint response to traditional and emerging security challenges, particularly transnational crime, and to advance our cooperation through existing and future security frameworks,” Mr Charnvirakul said.
In their signed joint statement, the pair agreed to “strengthen law enforcement capabilities and victim-centred approaches” to counter “trafficking in persons in all its forms”.
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