[38] Both men were 22-year-old illegal migrant workers from Rakhine, Myanmar, who worked in the hospitality industry. Expats dont want to lose their time in paradise, Earley says, as its cheap, its nice living, and its very easy to ignore what happens.. [51] This decision was criticised by the Solicitors International Human Rights Group, one of the observers at the trial. The suspects were initially denied access to legal counsel, and alleged that police used torture and threats to secure a confession. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? Taupin was ultimately not allowed to testify by the defence, and these issues were not raised by the defence until their closing statement. The investigators claimed the semen sample retrieved from Hannahs body and the forensic evidence found on the murder weapons and cigarette butts matched their DNA samples. [23] Local residents blocked the pier to prevent the unidentified killers from leaving the island. [76], The International Commission of Jurists said "the defense must be afforded adequate time and facilities to explore whether the alleged destruction of evidence in this case was appropriate and unavoidable, and to test the prosecution case overall." Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were murdered on the Thai island of Koh Tao in September 2014. Hannah Witheridge & David Miller Murders: Where Are Zaw Lin & Wai Phyo Since then, he had managed to send back almost $2,000 to help his destitute family. The defense lawyers also claimed Wai had found Davids phone on the beach and was traveling by boat to Surat Thani for his new job on the day he was arrested. Witheridge and Miller are the two British tourists who were found dead after being chopped up on a Thailand beach. The government of Thailand was concerned the murders might affect tourism to the island, with arrivals dropping in the months following the murders. In September 2014, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller only met by chance while backpacking on the island, but when their bodies were found together on Sairee Beach, they would become linked forever by a tragic mystery. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. Police and court systems were hacked or taken offline in the following days, and a stash of personal information obtained from the court's servers was posted publicly. He announced that he had "ordered all security-related agencies to track down those who are behind the Myanmar demonstrations". Thailands National Human Rights Commission investigated these allegations, but progress has been glacial, not least because police representatives failed to turn up to four arranged meetings. But in Thailand, the police perform the entire process. 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. Ms Witheridge, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, from Jersey, were murdered on the popular holiday island on September 15. He was travelling Southeast Asia with a friend after completing a six-week work placement in Australia with a mining company,[6][8][9] and arrived in Thailand in August. [31] Media reports speculated that was because the defence was wary of calling on foreign experts fearing it could appear as undermining the Thai justice system, and could bias the judges against their case. [58] Ostensibly, Wai Phyo changed jobs at the end of September and was travelling by boat to Surat Thani for his new job on the day he was arrested. Will [tourists] survive in Thailand if they dress in bikinis? he asked Sept. 17. Koh Tao murders - Wikipedia British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were killed in September 2014, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were convicted of the murders in a Thai court and originally sentenced to death, The bodies of Mr Miller and Miss Witheridge were found on a beach on the Thai island of Koh Tao, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Feuding here is common and vicious. Of the 25 million foreign visitors who touch down in Thailand each year, half a million grace Koh Tao, the smallest of three popular tourist islands in the Thai Gulf. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, This Septic Isle: Backpackers, Bloodshed and the Secretive World of Koh Tao. Both were. [1][4][24] Witheridge's body indicated she had been raped. That would be absolutely in his character.. The police quickly elicited a confession and, after a macabre reconstruction of the murders before a swarm of media including a staged session of penitent prayers by the accused probably hoped that the case looked closed. I had no idea, says Jordi Cramer, 21, a waitress from Edmonton, Canada, when TIME speaks to her strolling past the granite-hemmed crime scene. [90][91], The 2014 murders, along with other deaths and disappearances of tourists, led to British tabloids labelling Koh Tao as "Death Island". [20] Both bodies were found semi-naked;[21] a pile of clothes was found nearby. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. She was a real natural with them.. [29][30] The police initially speculated about who the culprit might be, alleging various individuals of perpetrating the crime without clear evidence. Case 220: Hannah Witheridge & David Miller : r/Casefile - Reddit Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. The Supreme Court of Thailandupheld the sentence in August 2019. Backpacker's family 'grateful' for Thai king's clemency On tiny Koh Tao alone, there are some 2,000 expats alongside the 2,500 registered Thais, according to Mayor Chaiyan Turasakul. Torture allegations aside, the proceedings have been peppered with oddities. [44] In December 2014, the suspects were each indicted on five charges: premeditated murder, killing to conceal a criminal offence, rape, illegal entry into Thailand, and staying in the country without permission. David worked as an intern in the St Helier offices of the Australian mining company Consolidated Minerals. Because we have learned for generations to take care of visitors. A brand new police station has been built with 40 full-time officers replacing the five previously based here. Sean McAnna, 25, has fled the island of Koh Tao after claiming he knows who was responsible for the murders of Hannah Witheridge and his friend, David Miller. Indian officials wife distraught as his killer is freed. Lin and Phyo (also known asWin Zaw Htun)were sentenced to death for the murder of Mr Miller and the murder and rape of Ms Witheridge. [25] There were no known eyewitnesses to the murders. This is the wild west.. One of Wai Phyos former employers, who saw him soon after Sept. 15 and noticed no perceivable change in his demeanor, has refused to be a character witness or be named by TIME. To be able to work on Koh Tao, illegal Burmese migrants paid a 500-baht ($15) bribe each month, plus another 500 baht if they want to use a motorbike without a Thai driving license. Death Island: The Case of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller en Apple Mr and Mrs Miller, from St Helier, said: "Every moment we miss our son. Hannah Victoria Witheridge se narodila v Hemsby, Great Yarmouth Borough, v Norfolku, Anglie, 15. jna 1990. [51] The defence provided a separate explanation for the events on the night. [70] Wai Phyo was also convicted of theft for allegedly stealing a phone and sunglasses from Miller's body. The Daily Telegraph reports that the two were seen leaving a bar at around 1 a.m. Sky News reports that Witheridge had been traveling with three friends. Human-rights groups expressed serious concerns. According to reports, the investigators had allegedly left them unclothed in freezing rooms and threatened to electrocute them. [66], On 24 December 2015, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo were found guilty of murdering Witheridge and Miller by the three judges, and were sentenced to death. And on Koh Tao there are around 5,000 Burmese conspicuous by the golden streaks of thanaka paste, a traditional sunscreen and beauty product, garnishing their cheeks who build hotels, sweep rooms and serve drinks to the coppery throngs of tourists. [47] Thailand's National Human Rights Commission attempted to investigate the allegations, but police representatives did not appear at four scheduled meetings. "The final admittance of their guilt has allowed this act of clemency to become possible," they continued. "[56] Attempts to appeal the sentence to the High Court in 2017 were unsuccessful. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller's bodies were found on a beach in Koh Tao in September 2014. WHEN Susan Witheridge heard her daughter Hannah wanted to go to Thailand she was terrified. Read about our approach to external linking. However, Zaw and Wai retracted their confession after they were allowed legal counsel, with a consulate lawyer for Myanmar alleging their clients had been beaten, tortured, and threatened to make the admissions necessary to close the widely publicized case. Even though recent quasi-democratic reforms have seen an influx of tourist dollars and the rolling back of sanctions, that means little for the nations rural poor. [42][48] Amnesty International stated that Thailand "must initiate an independent, effective and transparent investigation into mounting allegations of torture and other ill-treatment by police". Hannah Witheridge murder: Mum begged backpacker not to go to Thailand In a wildly controversial move, the police forced the suspects to re-enact the murder in front of the media a move condemned by legal experts as prejudicing a fair hearing. Post-mortems found that Hannah had died from head wounds, while engineering student Mr Miller suffered severe blows to his head and drowned. [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]. White sand beaches, untouched jungles, cloudless skies. Thailand backpacker murders: David Miller and Hannah Witheridge - two Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have been named as the two tourists who chopped up by a hoe in Thailand. Koh Tao murders, which created an international frenzy when two young British tourists, Hannah Witheridge, and David Miller, were found murdered in September 2014. Thai beach murders: Hannah Witheridge's sister Laura dies in hospital Some work on fishing boats for years without seeing land, getting passed between trawlers, catching fish, squid and shrimp for American dinner tables. Photograph: PA The police were accused of buckling under pressure to solve a crime that attracted worldwide attention. david and hannah thailand crime scene photos - flagpin.com [14][22] The police moved the bodies to prevent them being swept up in the rising tide. They toil in slavelike conditions for pitiful wages in occupations typically described as 3-D dirty, dangerous, degrading. David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, didn't know each other before they met on holiday in Thailand in September. Turtle Island's Dark Secret: The Case of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller After the court ordered the DNA to be tested again on July 10, the head of Thailands Central Institute of Forensic Science found that the DNA sample on the hoe did not match the defendants.
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