Zaw and Wai were subjected to hours-long interrogation sessions, with the police using Burmese food vendors as interpreters since the pair did not speak Thai. Most are running guesthouses, eateries and scuba-diving operations or working as diving instructors. But in the early hours of 15 September last year the pair, who were together on the beach after leaving a nearby bar, died next to each other in the most horrific circumstances. Thailand: Koh Tao Murder Trial Exposed. Ugly Truth of 'Land of Smiles [1] After initially failing to find a match to one of the migrant workers, the police focused their attention on Western tourists related to the victims. Thailand backpacker murders: David Miller and Hannah Witheridge - two Burmese migrants Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were convicted of the . Both men, in their early 30s, are presumed to be serving their sentence in some Thailand prison. In fact, says Sean Turnell, a professor and expert on Burmese economics at Australias Macquarie University, The economic circumstances of Myanmars majority rural population are now marginally worse than before the reforms were launched.. Since then, he had managed to send back almost $2,000 to help his destitute family. Both victims had been hit several times on the head; Witheridge had been raped, and Miller had been drowned. +(91)-9821210096 | paula deen meatloaf with brown gravy. Mr Miller's family said they were "grateful" to the Thai king. One of the three suspected individuals was identified as Mau Mau, a local living nearby. The family of murdered backpacker Hannah Witheridge has been hit by a fresh tragedy with the sudden death of her sister. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Read about our approach to external linking. hannah witheridge and david miller According to reports, both men were 22-year-old illegal migrant workers from Rakhine, Myanmar, who worked in the hospitality industry. "We hope that these two murderers will now spend a very, very long time in jail where they cannot harm other families and will have time to reflect on the consequences of their acts.". I'm asking if they wear bikinis in Thailand, will they be safe? Some sources also refer to Wai Phyo as Win Zaw Htun. Two Burmese workers were sentenced to death in 2015,. Read about our approach to external linking. 2040 / 2557", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koh_Tao_murders&oldid=1150069590, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 16 April 2023, at 05:03. Analytical Services; Analytical Method Development and Validation The police categorically deny any mistreatment and no officer has been charged to date. She was buried the following month near her family home following a service billed as a celebration of her life, with mourners encouraged to wear bright colours. Many raised concerns that contamination cast doubt upon the forensic evidence: officials, journalists and tourists were seen walking around the crime scene, and Thai police did not use trained or independent specialists to collect forensic evidence. However, the death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment following a royal decree commemorating King Vajiralongkorns birthday. Cat-and-mouse chase with China in hotly contested sea, Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Koh Tao murders, which created an international frenzy when two young British tourists, Hannah Witheridge, and David Miller, were found murdered in September 2014. My father died when I was very young, says Zaw Lin, so l left school aged 8 and started helping my mother in the fields when I was 10. Facing worsening poverty, around two years ago he paid a broker 5,000 baht ($150) to transport him to Koh Tao, heartened by tales hed heard of fellow villagers who had eked out a successful living there. [1] Receiving half a million visitors each year,[1] Koh Tao is especially popular with backpackers and known for its marine life and scuba diving. Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, a seaside town on the English east coast, had been raped and killed by blows to the head. The sweet reek of marijuana is commonplace even in prominent beachfront bars, while cocaine and crystal meth, known locally as yaba or crazy drug, are not hard to find, say locals. [21][73], The death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment on 14 August 2020 following a royal decree to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and "illustrate the king's clemency". [11][19] Several other suspects were also named, amid pressure to produce results, a new one every other day. Thai king commutes Myanmar men's death sentence over Britons' murder, Thailand backpacker murders: Burmese workers sentenced to death, British backpacker murder case that put Thailand on trial, WhyUK role in backpackers murder case still worries rights groups, Why UK role in case still worries rights groups, in a statement released by the Foreign Office. The trial drew wide criticism from the international press and human rights groups. 23 Sep 2014. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller's bodies were found on a beach in Koh Tao in September 2014 Two Burmese migrants convicted over the killings had their death sentences reduced to life. Vrady Hannah Witheridge a Davida Millera: Kde jsou te Zaw Lin a Wai The officers also charged Wai with stealing Davids mobile phone. Miller had been a student at Victoria College, a fee-paying school on Jersey. [36] Footage near the crime scene also showed one of the three men running into a shortcut. [51][21] The trial was attended by external observers, including representatives from Amnesty International and the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. David worked as an intern in the St Helier offices of the Australian mining company Consolidated Minerals. They had no prior criminal records. David Miller is from the island of Jersey in the English channel between the United Kingdom and France. Two Burmese migrants were convicted over the killings of Hannah Witheridge and 24-year-old David Miller, from Jersey, in 2015. On 15 September, the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, between 4 and 5am, a few hours after their deaths. Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo know this too well. The convictions were mired in controversy, with supporters of the two men arguing they had been framed because their initial confessions were made under duress. [62] They were both also charged with entering the country illegally, to which Wai Phyo had already confessed. The family of Hannah Witheridge, a backpacker who was murdered in Thailand, have had their "hearts broken" by a second death. [55], The defence claimed that the investigation was flawed due to mishandling of forensic evidence, lack of legal representation during interrogations, use of threats and intimidation to secure a confession, and intimidation of witnesses. [1] Police revealed that the samples from Witheridge's body were used up,[62][27] but were able to provide DNA samples from the murder weapon. Miller, a year older and from Jersey, one of the U.K.s Channel Islands, had likewise suffered deep lacerations to his skull before drowning in the shallow surf. Naturally, a pall of silence engulfs this clannish, cliquey atoll, owing in no small part to the legal standing of its foreign contingent. DNA was collected from these three areas and sent to a police forensics lab for analysis. [37] Two weeks after the bodies were found, on 1 October 2014, police interrogated Mau Mau, who said he took the motorcycle and separated from the other two men before the murders occurred, and found them both home asleep by the time he had returned. All Rights Reserved. What Have Happened to Hannah Witheridge and David Miller? Where Have According to reports, the bodies were partially clothed, and the officers also located three cigarette butts and a used condom nearby. Despite so many alleged loopholes in the investigation procedure, the court found Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo guilty of murder and sentenced them to death on December 24, 2015. They had only been in the country for days before they were murdered. The names of the tourists were first announced in a Sky News tweet. Thailand backpacker murders: Burmese workers sentenced to death Read More: Dilleen Hempel Murder: Who Killed Her? [1], A defence team from Bangkok, composed of nearly 20 lawyers, were only permitted half an hour to meet the men; a request by the defence to delay the hearing and allow more time to prepare was denied by a judge at the Koh Samui Provincial Court. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were killed in 2014 By Stephanie Cockroft 15 August 2020 A pair of migrant workers convicted of murdering two young British tourists on a Thai holiday. A mute Burmese beach cleaner stumbled upon the bodies shortly after dawn. A verdict is expected in October and they could face the death penalty if convicted. They also pointed out several mistakes the incompetent investigators committed during the probe and alleged the officers restored to torture to make the defendants admit to the crime. But come on. [61], On July 10, the court ordered the DNA to be retested. [4][11][14] Their bodies were discovered on Sairee Beach a few hours later, between 4 and 5am, by a mute Burmese beach cleaner. Family members of Hannah Witheridge comfort one another at the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok, on Sept. 18, 2014, Burmese migrant workers Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin arrive at the Koh Samui Provincial Court, in Koh Samui, Thailand, on July 8, 2015, Police measure footprints of a man as data is collected from people who work near the spot where bodies of two killed British tourists were found, on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand, on Sept. 19, 2014, David Miller, 24, from Jersey, left, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, Thailand is Suffering From The Worst Drought in Decades. [7] Witheridge had completed undergraduate studies in education at the University of East Anglia and had started post-graduate studies in speech and language therapy at the University of Essex. The episode tries to deconstruct the complex case for the listeners as it narrates the incidents chronologically and questions several alleged incompetencies in the murder probe. The suspects were initially denied access to legal counsel, and alleged that police used torture and threats to secure a confession. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. In a statement, Ian and Sue Miller, who have campaigned against the death penalty, said: "We are grateful to His Majesty the King of Thailand for showing his clemency to the murderers of our son David. The two were said to have been backpackers going through the tiny island of Koh Tao. Credit: British Foreign Office That's when the killers pounced. Hannah Witheridge & David Miller: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know Their senseless deaths sparked international outrage and raised questions about justice on Koh Tao. These samples purportedly match those retrieved from Witheridges corpse. But generally they lose their lives through traffic accidents, overdoses and suicides. According to the prosecutors, the defendants used the garden hoe to knock Hannah unconscious and held her down as they raped her before murdering her. [1][96], Although tourist arrivals to Koh Tao dropped in the months immediately following the murders, there was little lasting effect on tourism to the island.[92]. Death Island on Apple Podcasts Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo found guilty of the murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller The victims: two lives cut short Why UK role in case worries rights groups The case that put Thailand. The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a beach on Koh Tao in September 2014. [3] The murders were the first cases of homicide on the island in over eight years. All rights reserved. They said Wai Phyo found the mobile phone dropped on the beach, and so he kept it. "[56] Attempts to appeal the sentence to the High Court in 2017 were unsuccessful. [59] The defence struggled to find members of the public willing to testify at the trial, as many feared retribution,[1][60] hence their alibi was not considered convincing by the court. This is troubling when set against the allegations of torture made by the accused. The hoe was then used to knock Witheridge unconscious, after which the defendants used force to hold her down and took turns raping her, before killing her with the hoe. However, a lawyer for Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo told the BBC that the pair had not admitted their guilt when their death sentences were commuted. Koh Tao murders - Wikipedia The murders of Witheridge and Miller sent shock waves through Thailand. Burmese bar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty of murder in 2015. But it unraveled just as quickly. Junta chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha enraged many by hinting that the blame, at some level, lay with the attractive victims. Some of these workers said they can earn more money in Thailand compared to Myanmar. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. Wai Phyo says officers removed his clothes and left him naked in a freezing room for 20 minutes.
Covid Bailout Tracker Mississippi,
Wayne County News Wv Obituaries,
Disney Celebration Baskets,
Goulash With Tomato Soup And Velveeta,
Articles D
david miller and hannah witheridge