Thai Man Arrested In Murder Of Tacoma 12 Yr Old Girl

[Arunsak]

Every parent's worst nightmare.

Missing Tacoma girl's body found

Associated Press

Last updated: Thursday, July 12th, 2007 09:58:54 PM

TACOMA, WASH. -- Tacoma police say they have found the body of a 12-year-old girl snatched from behind her home on the Fourth of July.

Police Chief Don Ramsdell says information provided by a man in custody on an immigration complaint led police to an undisclosed Pierce County site where the remains of Zina Linnik were recovered.

He says crime scene investigators are processing the scene.

There is no immediate word on whether the man in custody will be charged in the girl's death.

Zina disappeared after her father heard her scream the evening of July 4th, and ran outside to see a gray van pulling away.

Ramsdell did not name the person whose information led them to the girl's body.

However, authorities earlier this week said their investigation led them to a 42-year-old man from Thailand whom they called a person of interest. He is currently being held for an immigration violation and failing to register as a sex offender.

The man was convicted in 1990 of incest and completed a 60-day jail sentence and five years of sex offender treatment.

http://www.kxly.com/news/?sect_rank=4&...;story_id=12788

[brahmburgers]

you can bet the U.S. detectives assigned to the case will do a thorough investigation - and won't be swayed by various peoples' social standing. And the justice system will deal with the case quickly and fairly.

In contrast, here in L.O.Smiles we often get less-than-thorough detective work that's influenced upon the social status of the accused and the social status of the victim(s) and their families. Plus a Thai investigation is often results-driven by a pre-determined outcome dictated by higher-ups. Justice system too is heavily influenced by the various parties social standing. Such things can improve, so let's hope they do.

So sad whenever an innocent gets harmed. Last week in Nigeria, a little girl got abducted for ransom from a mixed couple (black african mom and white nightclub-owning dad). Thankfully she got returned safely. Probably a big ransom paid, though.

[lazeeboy]

you can bet the U.S. detectives assigned to the case will do a thorough investigation - and won't be swayed by various peoples' social standing. And the justice system will deal with the case quickly and fairly.

In contrast, here in L.O.Smiles we often get less-than-thorough detective work that's influenced upon the social status of the accused and the social status of the victim(s) and their families. Plus a Thai investigation is often results-driven by a pre-determined outcome dictated by higher-ups. Justice system too is heavily influenced by the various parties social standing. Such things can improve, so let's hope they do.

So sad whenever an innocent gets harmed. Last week in Nigeria, a little girl got abducted for ransom from a mixed couple (black african mom and white nightclub-owning dad). Thankfully she got returned safely. Probably a big ransom paid, though.

bet this does'nt appear in any thai newspaper any time soon...........

[Huw]

you can bet the U.S. detectives assigned to the case will do a thorough investigation - and won't be swayed by various peoples' social standing. And the justice system will deal with the case quickly and fairly.

In contrast, here in L.O.Smiles we often get less-than-thorough detective work that's influenced upon the social status of the accused and the social status of the victim(s) and their families. Plus a Thai investigation is often results-driven by a pre-determined outcome dictated by higher-ups. Justice system too is heavily influenced by the various parties social standing. Such things can improve, so let's hope they do.

So sad whenever an innocent gets harmed. Last week in Nigeria, a little girl got abducted for ransom from a mixed couple (black african mom and white nightclub-owning dad). Thankfully she got returned safely. Probably a big ransom paid, though.

bet this does'nt appear in any thai newspaper any time soon...........

Lol. bet you're right.

H

[gbt71fa]

There are over 80,000 illegal immirants that are in the same category as this scumbag. They commit a crime and are in the jail system or were released and NOT kicked out of the country. Not only are they illegal immigrants but they are illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and not forced to leave the country! Just by entering the country illegally they have shown that they do not respect American law and have a prevalence to commit a crime. These are people who commit a crime before they even enter the country, the willingness to enter illegally. My wife waited many months, did a lot of paperwork and we paid a lot of money so she could get her visa. But we did it and it wasn't that bad of an effort. They need to take this thai piece of bird poo and either A) put him in the general prison population where he will last about a day before he ends up bent over a metal bed (they don't like child killers in U.S. prisons) or send him back to Thailand and let Thai authorities deal with him (and show that they can dish out justice).

[Jimjim]

The title to this thread is misleading. I don't see anywhere where it says a Thai man has been arrested. Possibly will be in the future, but he is merely a person of interest. This could mean he's the perp or knows something.

[LaoPo]

The title to this thread is misleading. I don't see anywhere where it says a Thai man has been arrested. Possibly will be in the future, but he is merely a person of interest. This could mean he's the perp or knows something.

Well, there is indeed a slight difference between "a Thai Man" and, like described in the article "a 42-year-old man from Thailand"...

The difference is hard to explain..

Anybody ?

LaoPo

[skipvice]

Tacoma, WA - July 13, 2007

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Body of missing Tacoma girl foundParkland man being held by feds gave information on location, police say

PAUL SAND; The News Tribune Published: July 13th, 2007 01:00 AM

Enlarge image ALISON YIN / The News TribuneTacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell talks to reporters late Thursday.

Enlarge image KARIE HAMILTON/FOR THE NEWS TRIBUNETawny Snyder, left, and Carol Ramm-Gramenz, center, join other concerned residents Thursday at a meeting about Zina Linnik.

Tacoma police and FBI agents found the body of missing 12-year-old Zina Linnik on Thursday night, Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said.

Investigators located her body in Pierce County after they were given information from a 42-year-old Parkland man whom police have identified as a person of interest in Zina’s July 4 disappearance, Ramsdell said.

That man was being held by federal immigration officials on a charge not connected to Zina’s apparent abduction.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the Linnik family and we will continue to put forth our best efforts to bring the perpetrator of this senseless and horrific crime to justice,” Ramsdell said at a brief and hastily arranged 9:30 p.m. news conference outside Tacoma police headquarters.

In a statement, Ramsdell did not specify where Zina was found, saying only that it was “within Pierce County.”

He did not answer questions from reporters after reading the statement.

Tacoma police detective Chris Taylor fielded some questions, saying that Zina’s family had been notified. He said the girl’s body was discovered at the same time as a meeting was taking place between police and the public at 6 p.m. in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood.

That’s near where Zina was last since at 9:45 p.m. on July 4 in the alley near her family’s home in the 2500 block of South J Street.

The man who gave police the tip that led to Zina’s body is a convicted sex offender. He’s been charged with failing to register as a sex offender. The man has denied having anything to do with Zina’s disappearance.

The News Tribune is not naming him because he has not been charged with any crime connected with Zina’s disappearance.

The man’s 1990 criminal sex offense conviction for first-degree incest is the basis for his detention and should have led to the man’s deportation, according to a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Court documents state he underwent court-ordered psychological evaluation and was diagnosed with pedophilia as part of the case.

Investigators searched the man’s home Sunday and Monday, seizing items and a gray van. According to search warrant records, they found “girl’s undergarments” during the investigation.

Police found the man after a detective ran a computer search that led to the man’s van. The color, the model and the license plate numbers listed in state vehicle records fit the partial description of a vehicle that Zina’s father told police he saw driving out of the alley July 4. He heard a scream just before he saw the van speed away, police say.

Plates on the seized van had been changed when police first spotted the vehicle. The man said his original plates had been stolen months earlier, and that he couldn’t afford new ones.

The man, who came from Thailand to America in 1977 and later enlisted in the Army, initially cooperated with investigators, but has stopped talking with them.

Investigators had searched Tiger Mountain on Tuesday and Wednesday in east King County, but said they found no trace of Zina.

Earlier Thursday, neighbors and friends met at the Peace Community Center on the Hilltop to exchange information and talk with Tacoma police about the disappearance.

Surprisingly, neighbors Carolyn Nelson and Kim Sheridan said, many people on the Hilltop knew nothing about Zina’s disappearance.

“It’s unbelievable how many people do not know about Zina,” Nelson told about 60 people at the meeting.

A handful of people spoke passionately at the meeting about the person of interest, his immigration status and his right to an attorney.

“How many sex offenders from other countries are molesting our kids?” asked Dwight Steenberg, 50, who lives in the neighborhood.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/toppho...ory/109060.html

[LaoPo]

The man, who came from Thailand to America in 1977 and later enlisted in the Army, initially cooperated with investigators, but has stopped talking with them.

That breaks it down a bit.

If he's 42 and came to the US in 1977 (30 years ago) he was a 12 year old boy from Thailand, at the time.

If he joined the army, he is, in my eyes, a Thai/American.

NOT "a man from Thailand"....

Or am I wrong ?

LaoPo

[Carmine6]

The title to this thread is misleading. I don't see anywhere where it says a Thai man has been arrested. Possibly will be in the future, but he is merely a person of interest. This could mean he's the perp or knows something.

This is correct. The press conference was just 5 mintues ago and the police said it is expected that he will be charged in the kidnapping and murder.

Lots of reported information on the broadcast media (not from the press conference) which is not included in the written report, so I'll not mention it here.

Edit: On the "Person of Interest" terminology. Police do not really use suspect anymore because too many lawyers have pulled the "Rush to judgement" tactic used in the OJ Simpson case. Works for whatever reason. So especially in high profile cases, people go from "Person of Interest" to arrested. Or also become not a person of interest.

Edited July 13, 2007 by Carmine6

[Arunsak]

The title to this thread is misleading. I don't see anywhere where it says a Thai man has been arrested. Possibly will be in the future, but he is merely a person of interest. This could mean he's the perp or knows something.

He was arrested today formally I believe. They found the 12 year old dead girl's underwear in his home and he led them to the body. Guilty, but of course proper trial and lawyers will take place in due time. It just doesn't seem like he has much of a case at this point.

There were two other child abductions and murders of young girls in the same area in recent years. Just 18 months ago as I recall, a poor little girl about 10 years old was snatched off the same streets and later found dead. Police are saying this guy is being looked at for other crimes, no doubt the other murders but who knows what else he did.

This story is making huge national headlines, all of the sensational cable tv news talking heads and radio hosts are blowing it up. It's a huge tragedy, but they are making this out as some kind of turning point toward more sensible and restrictive immigration reform. The same way that Timothy McVeigh is a Patron Saint for liberals in America, this Thai serves the same role for the right wing conservatives hel_l-bent on closing the border for everyone. His name is Terapon Adhahn. What a shame and, in some way, a great shame for Thailand. The word Thailand is on all television and radio news today, all day long, and this news is nothing good.

[LaReina]

So explain me this...

"However, authorities earlier this week said their investigation led them to a 42-year-old man from Thailand whom they called a person of interest. He is currently being held for an immigration violation and failing to register as a sex offender."

How can he be an american citizen (as someone claimed from him serving in the military) and be held for an immigration violation?

Or did he serve with a fake social security card, obtained via a fake birth certificate, and never went through the real channels for legalization?

Anyway, he may not even be Thai! He might be hmong? They settled in Thailand and the US religiously re-locates members of that society to the US due to guilt.

They on the other hand might have a bigger case for not being as calm and normal as Thai people are. (don't know how else to say that)

YOu have the guy in the hunting stand, killing the proerty owners becuase they told him he was hunting on private property

You have the guys who just tried to buy weapons to stage a coup d'etat of the LaosPDR.

To name a couple. All these people would be said to have "come" from Thailand, but that does not make them Thai.

And say this guy really is Thai, then that is one bad strike for a thai person against the COUNTLESS strikes against white men who in general.

a. eat people (jeffery daumer)

b. mass killings (waco nut and Jim Jones, and the we are going to heaven wearing Nike shoes group)

c. serial killers (ohh I don't want to start naming)

d. Hate crime (KKK, Neo-Nazi's etc)

e. I don't want to be with my wife so I will kill her and the baby, and get insurance (west side philly story)

So actually lets not make this a race issue. A child was kidnapped and killed by a man that is a tragedy in its own rights.

[DeputyDawg]

“How many sex offenders from other countries are molesting our kids?” asked Dwight Steenberg, 50, who lives in the neighborhood.

I would guess a lot less than there are americans molesting other countries kids...

The man was convicted in 1990 of incest and completed a 60-day jail sentence and five years of sex offender treatment.

Bet that taught him a lesson, get tough on all child sex offenders

[klrsmith]

There are over 80,000 illegal immirants that are in the same category as this scumbag. They commit a crime and are in the jail system or were released and NOT kicked out of the country. Not only are they illegal immigrants but they are illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and not forced to leave the country! Just by entering the country illegally they have shown that they do not respect American law and have a prevalence to commit a crime. These are people who commit a crime before they even enter the country, the willingness to enter illegally. My wife waited many months, did a lot of paperwork and we paid a lot of money so she could get her visa. But we did it and it wasn't that bad of an effort. They need to take this thai piece of bird poo and either A) put him in the general prison population where he will last about a day before he ends up bent over a metal bed (they don't like child killers in U.S. prisons) or send him back to Thailand and let Thai authorities deal with him (and show that they can dish out justice).

Amen Brother

Regards,

k

[Sateev]

This, if it weren't so tragic, would be a funny thread.

Doesn't anyone get the parallel to John Mark Karr?

The US media have Thailand all over the airwaves and print, just as the Thai media had Karr's face plastered all over every outlet. It's got a tit-for-tat stink about it, and will probably be used in the US, in much the same way as the Karr case was used here to tighten the regulations for obtaining a teaching permit.

The wisdom of tightening of regulations, fairly or not, is debatable, and not the issue. But the general climate perceived by those who would like to stay here, but aren't yet fully legally established, is foreboding, and increasingly so.

The Thais have no monopoly on irrational lawmaking. My own country is no better.

Sateev

[Gumballl]

Doesn't anyone get the parallel to John Mark Karr?

No I don't see any parallel relationship here. JMK is a nut-case that wanted the spotlight for a crime he didn't commit. The illegal immigrant in the US is being charged with murder of a young girl.

It hard to believe that all you derive from this tragic event is whether you can get a f*cking work permit in Thailand.

Edited July 14, 2007 by Gumballl

[LaoPo]

The illegal immigrant in the US is being charged with murder of a young girl.

He appears NOT to be illegal; he's "a permanent legal U.S. resident from Thailand" acording to this article(but never became a U.S. citizen).

Also: he hasn't being charged with murder -so far- YET...

Police seek to tie other cases to girl's death

By Jennifer Sullivan and Maureen O'Hagan

Seattle Times staff reporters

Zena Linnik, the 12 year old girl; RIP

The man suspected of abducting and killing a 12-year-old Tacoma girl is also being investigated for at least five similar crimes against children across the country.

Terapon Dang Adhahn, a 42 -year-old construction worker, was identified Friday by police as the suspect in the July 4 kidnapping and slaying of Zina Linnik.

Police said information provided by Adhahn through his attorney led them to Zina's body Thursday near Silver Lake, west of Eatonville in eastern Pierce County.

An exact cause of death was not disclosed, but Tacoma police Detective Gretchen Ellis said Zina's death was a homicide.

Murder charges haven't been filed against Adhahn, but Tacoma Police Chief Don Ramsdell said they are "anticipated."

Outside the family's Tacoma home on Friday, Zina's 18-year-old brother, Stan Linnik, said the girl's parents and seven siblings are "hurt, not angry. We still had hope, and now the hope is gone."

Because of the circumstances surrounding the girl's disappearance, Ramsdell said during a news conference Friday that police are looking into whether Adhahn may be responsible for similar unsolved crimes.

The cases include:

• Michella Welch, 12, a Tacoma girl who disappeared from Puget Park on March 26, 1986. Her body was found hours later.

• Jennifer Bastian, 13, whose body was found in Point Defiance Park on Aug. 28, 1986.

• Lenoria Jones, 4, of Tacoma, who disappeared July 20, 1995. • Teekah Lewis, 2, who disappeared from a Tacoma bowling alley on Jan. 23, 1999.

• Adre'Anna Jackson, 10, of Tillicum, Pierce County, who disappeared in December 2005 while walking to school. Her remains were found in a vacant lot in Lakewood, on April 4, 2006.

FBI Special Agent David Gomez said profilers are also looking into other unsolved homicides and child abductions across the country.

Gomez said Adhahn "was in the military and he traveled around other places."

Zina was abducted from an alley behind her home the night of July 4, police said. Witnesses provided police with a partial license-plate number of a gray van seen leaving the area. Armed with the number and the tip that the possible abductor was driving a gray van, a Tacoma police detective tracked down Adhahn after a computer search, said Ramsdell.

During a search of Adhahn's home on Monday, detectives seized several items, including "girl's undergarments," according to court documents.

Tacoma investigators then notified the U.S. Department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, who took Adhahn into federal custody on suspicion of an immigration violation.

Immigration officials plan to seek the removal of Adhahn, a permanent legal U.S. resident from Thailand, whose two previous criminal convictions could qualify him for deportation. He was also charged Monday with failing to register as a convicted sex offender after an earlier conviction on an incest charge.

Voicing sympathy

"I'm kind of out of my mind, too, now. I just feel sorry for the girl's family, that beautiful girl," said a woman who identified herself as Adhahn's mother, when reached by telephone Friday.

Adhahn has long been a deeply troubled man who endured numerous hardships as a youth, and then transformed them into rage as an adult, according to court-ordered evaluations after the 1990 incest conviction. According to the reports, he was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and described his father as an angry alcoholic who was much feared. His parents divorced when he was 3 or 4.

Adhahn said he was continually sexually assaulted by an older brother between the ages of 7 and 9.

The brother's assaults stopped only when the family moved to America, after his mother married a member of the U.S. Army's Special Forces in 1975, according to court records.

In 1983, they moved to a military base in Germany, where Adhahn graduated from high school. Shortly thereafter, he enlisted in the Army, signing up a second time when his first stint was up.

At some point, he gained permanent legal residency status, but never became a U.S. citizen.

In 1986, Adhahn married and the couple had at least two children, court records state. He filed for divorce in 1998.

Tacoma police said their records show that Adhahn moved to the area around 1989, but may have spent time there earlier.

Over the years, he developed a serious drinking problem, according to court records.

"He is an angry and poorly controlled man with a plethora of psychological, emotional and behavioral problems," an evaluator concluded.

In March 1990, he was charged with raping a 16-year-old relative, according to court records. Adhahn ultimately pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of incest. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, along with community supervision and extensive sex-offender treatment.

An evaluator concluded he showed signs of pedophilia and sadism, and recommended long-term therapy.

After his conviction, Adhahn became a production worker at American Nicheri Food in Fife and delivered pizza for a Lakewood Pizza Hut for a time.

In 1992, he was convicted in Tacoma Municipal Court of intimidation with a deadly weapon. Records of that case were not immediately available.

A judge found that Adhahn had completed sexual-deviancy treatment in 1997, after a counselor wrote that he showed "significant improvement in sexual arousal and can control his deviant thoughts."

Under the radar

Considering the two criminal convictions, Adhahn might have been deported. But he wasn't.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement attributes that to the vagaries of immigration law, combined with a lack of a clear mechanism for bringing certain convictions to the attention of federal authorities.

Contrary to some reports, Adhahn is not an "illegal immigrant," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for the bureau. He was a legal permanent resident of the U.S. with a green card. The incest conviction isn't grounds for deportation because it's not an aggravated felony, which would have allowed authorities to immediately pursue removal, Kice said.

Instead, incest is considered a "crime of moral turpitude." Immigrants who have been in the country legally for more than five years can't be deported based solely on one conviction for such a crime, she said.

A second conviction for such a crime would have allowed authorities to pursue Adhahn's removal from the country.

Kice also said federal authorities were unaware of his 1992 intimidation conviction until recently, when Adhahn became a suspect in the Zina Linnik case.

The bureau assigns agents to check jails and prisons for unlawful immigrants and to follow many serious criminal cases, Kice said. But since this was in municipal court, it fell below the agency's radar.

Federal authorities detained Adhahn for immigration violations Monday, based on the two convictions. But it's unclear whether the municipal court charge would be considered serious enough to count as a second strike. That decision would come from an immigration judge.

source: The Seattle Times.

LaoPo

Edited July 14, 2007 by LaoPo

[Jingthing]

Immigration of Thais to America is not exactly a hot topic in the US these days. So many of them seem to open Thai restaurants, and you can't have too many Thai restaurants. I even found one in rural Arkansas! And boy was it bad.

[Sateev]

Doesn't anyone get the parallel to John Mark Karr?

No I don't see any parallel relationship here. JMK is a nut-case that wanted the spotlight for a crime he didn't commit. The illegal immigrant in the US is being charged with murder of a young girl.

It hard to believe that all you derive from this tragic event is whether you can get a f*cking work permit in Thailand.

Thanks for editing your post, though I can't imagine it being any MORE obtuse...

The point was that the excessive reaction to Karr by the Thai media (and government), is being echoed by the media coverage of this event in the US, and will likely add fuel to the current immigration debate in the US.

And I have a work permit, and would never even consider teaching, thank you, so I have no axe to grind there. I do note more than a few self-satisfied, apparently well-fixed members, who, like reformed whores, have no tolerance for those not fortunate to be in the same position.

Sound familiar, genius?

Sateev

[endure]

Just a gentle reminder, folks:

"2) Posting another members personal details, photos or web site details is forbidden and will result in being banned. Excessive, aggressive posts against other members, moderators and admin; or flaming will not be tolerated. 'Flaming' is best defined as posting or responding to a message in a way clearly intended to incite useless arguments, rants, and/or for launching personal attacks, insulting, being hateful, useless criticism, name calling, swearing and other bad behavior or comments meant to incite anger."

[present]

Anyway,who ever did this, they may cut his balls off.I know this sounds primitive but what else you can wish for such a creep. Condolences to parents, who will go to the hardest time of their life.Indeed your worst nightmare

[brahmburgers]

In March 1990, he was charged with raping a 16-year-old relative, according to court records. Adhahn ultimately pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of incest. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail, along with community supervision and extensive sex-offender treatment.

that says a lot right there. He has a vivid history of deviance. To catch and convict a man for child rape is difficult. To let him off easy is inexcusable. So called 'sex-offender treatment' won't work. If a man lusts after girls, that's it - no amount of therapy is going to change his outlook. Perhaps some other life changes might work in rare cases, but I seriously doubt any clinical therapy is going to effect any improvements. That beautiful girl's tragic demise was partially a result of the U.S.'s too liberal dealings with dangerous people.

Somewhere a defense attorney - who formerly got that butt-plug off easy - might have his once self-congradulatory smirk twisted to a frown - when realizing his craftiness in defending his client - enabled the sleazoid to continue to stalk the streets.

[slapout]

brahmburgers: Agree 100% with your first paragraph but the second I doubt the s..t head has the moral intellagence to realize what he has helped turn loose on society.

[a2396]

There are over 80,000 illegal immirants that are in the same category as this scumbag. They commit a crime and are in the jail system or were released and NOT kicked out of the country. Not only are they illegal immigrants but they are illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and not forced to leave the country! Just by entering the country illegally they have shown that they do not respect American law and have a prevalence to commit a crime. These are people who commit a crime before they even enter the country, the willingness to enter illegally. My wife waited many months, did a lot of paperwork and we paid a lot of money so she could get her visa. But we did it and it wasn't that bad of an effort. They need to take this thai piece of bird poo and either A) put him in the general prison population where he will last about a day before he ends up bent over a metal bed (they don't like child killers in U.S. prisons) or send him back to Thailand and let Thai authorities deal with him (and show that they can dish out justice).

I think 80,000 is a very low figure. There are several million illegals in USA, of course they all are not serious criminals. You only need to look at the American governments idiotic policies toward immigration for the past 30 years to get some understanding of this situation. It seems they prefer to have multitudes of uneducated and illiterate chaff, then encouraging migration of skilled and educated people who will contribute to the betterment of the country.

[WaiWai]

QUOTE(skipvice @ 2007-07-13 20:41:49)

The man, who came from Thailand to America in 1977 and later enlisted in the Army, initially cooperated with investigators, but has stopped talking with them.

That breaks it down a bit.

If he's 42 and came to the US in 1977 (30 years ago) he was a 12 year old boy from Thailand, at the time.

If he joined the army, he is, in my eyes, a Thai/American.

NOT "a man from Thailand"....

Or am I wrong ?

LaoPo

I don't think you are wrong, Lao Po.

I find the distinction interesting, too - almost like an attempt to deflect "blame" to the person's country of origin rather than the country of long-term residence, or at least a subtle highlighting of the fact that he was born elsewhere.

[TAWP]

“How many sex offenders from other countries are molesting our kids?” asked Dwight Steenberg, 50, who lives in the neighborhood.

I would guess a lot less than there are americans molesting other countries kids...

Maybe he dislikes competition...

[kat]

This, if it weren't so tragic, would be a funny thread.

Doesn't anyone get the parallel to John Mark Karr?

The US media have Thailand all over the airwaves and print, just as the Thai media had Karr's face plastered all over every outlet. It's got a tit-for-tat stink about it, and will probably be used in the US, in much the same way as the Karr case was used here to tighten the regulations for obtaining a teaching permit.

The wisdom of tightening of regulations, fairly or not, is debatable, and not the issue. But the general climate perceived by those who would like to stay here, but aren't yet fully legally established, is foreboding, and increasingly so.

The Thais have no monopoly on irrational lawmaking. My own country is no better.

Sateev

Doesn't anyone get the parallel to John Mark Karr?

No I don't see any parallel relationship here. JMK is a nut-case that wanted the spotlight for a crime he didn't commit. The illegal immigrant in the US is being charged with murder of a young girl.

It hard to believe that all you derive from this tragic event is whether you can get a f*cking work permit in Thailand.

Thanks for editing your post, though I can't imagine it being any MORE obtuse...

The point was that the excessive reaction to Karr by the Thai media (and government), is being echoed by the media coverage of this event in the US, and will likely add fuel to the current immigration debate in the US.

And I have a work permit, and would never even consider teaching, thank you, so I have no axe to grind there. I do note more than a few self-satisfied, apparently well-fixed members, who, like reformed whores, have no tolerance for those not fortunate to be in the same position.

Sound familiar, genius?

Sateev

Excuse me, but I think your basis of comparison is not quite correct. The JMK case was a HUGE story both in Thailand and the States, and dominated the media in both countries for weeks. I believe the point made previously is that the case of this Thai man is no where to be found in the Thai media, which is correct.

As for anti-immigration idiots and backlash, that is most likely the only way in which these two cases are similar. However, anti-immigration sentiment is being attached to everything at the moment, including housing policy, health care, the economy - you name it. However, even a cursory look at current events and policy backlash in key western countries would tell you that immigration issues and the predicatble backlash are a huge issue in many places, not just the U.S.

Knee jerk reactions on either side of the debate are not really going to shed light on the issue.

There are over 80,000 illegal immirants that are in the same category as this scumbag. They commit a crime and are in the jail system or were released and NOT kicked out of the country. Not only are they illegal immigrants but they are illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes and not forced to leave the country! Just by entering the country illegally they have shown that they do not respect American law and have a prevalence to commit a crime. These are people who commit a crime before they even enter the country, the willingness to enter illegally. My wife waited many months, did a lot of paperwork and we paid a lot of money so she could get her visa. But we did it and it wasn't that bad of an effort. They need to take this thai piece of bird poo and either A) put him in the general prison population where he will last about a day before he ends up bent over a metal bed (they don't like child killers in U.S. prisons) or send him back to Thailand and let Thai authorities deal with him (and show that they can dish out justice).

I think 80,000 is a very low figure. There are several million illegals in USA, of course they all are not serious criminals. You only need to look at the American governments idiotic policies toward immigration for the past 30 years to get some understanding of this situation. It seems they prefer to have multitudes of uneducated and illiterate chaff, then encouraging migration of skilled and educated people who will contribute to the betterment of the country.

Please; that's a bit much. I don't agree with a lot our immigration policies, but it is a lot more complicated than prefering "multitudes of uneducated and illiterate chaff." We ARE the nation of immigrants, and there's a reason for it. The confusion around legal immigration has only grown worse over the last 6 years, as a direct response to September 11th.

[Groongthep]

The point many seem to be missing is that the topic concerns the press coverage, or should I say lack of press coverage of this horrible event in the Thai press. How you might feel about US and/or Thai immigration laws and policy, while an important and worthwhile subject is not what we're discussing here. The question is why hasn't the Thai press run even a tiny side article on this story. Certainly the Thai public deserves access to any newsworthy item regardless of how it may be perceived. When the Korean immigrant student murdered scores of students and professors at Virginia Tech University earlier this year it was the top story in most all Korean newspapers. I'm not saying that the Thai press should sensationalize this or any other story but it does deserve printing.

[Sanpatong]

Anyway,who ever did this, they may cut his balls off.I know this sounds primitive but what else you can wish for such a creep.

To Americans, this doesn't sound primitive at all. In fact he would actually be LUCKY if they just cut his balls off. More likely, they'll cut his head off. Captial punishment is still practised in the US state of Washington, and this individual seems a prime candidate: Prior conviction, non-anglo immigrant, kidnapping, raping and murdering a 12 year old blonde blue eyed girl.. This guy is toast.

And rightly so, if found guilty.

[Payboy]

How can he be an american citizen (as someone claimed from him serving in the military) and be held for an immigration violation?

you dont need to be an american citizen to serve in the us army - many immigrant youngsters are now being recruited with the lure of a green card eventually leading to citizenship. i have a friend in the us marines (serving on okinawa) who doesnt even hold a green card yet...