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Aussie Faces Murder Charges in Pattaya

An Australian accused of murdering a 17-year-old Thai girl in Pattaya has been described by neighbours as “abnormal” as further details emerged about the events leading up to the alleged killing.

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Simon Peter Carman, 45, is being held in Pattaya Prison after the body of Tunchanok Donhomla, known as “Nong Cake”, was found naked inside a suitcase abandoned near railway tracks. Thai police have charged him with murder, concealing a body, moving a body and offences relating to a minor. Carman denies killing the teenager and claims he acted in self-defence after allegedly being attacked with a knife.

According to investigators, Carman and Tunchanok met on Pattaya Beach Road, an area known locally as Coconut Bar, during the early hours, before returning to his condominium. Police allege the pair had agreed on a payment of 1,000 baht, but an argument broke out after Carman allegedly offered only 500 baht. CCTV reportedly shows the pair entering the condominium together before later capturing Carman wheeling a black suitcase from the building, securing it to a motorbike and riding away. The suitcase was later found in long grass beside railway tracks around ten minutes from his condominium.

Neighbours at the Rimhad Jomtien Condominium, where Carman had lived for about eight months, described him as a quiet resident who worked as a handyman and at a local bar. One resident told Australian media he “speaks slowly and looks at things for a long time” and appeared “a bit abnormal”, but said he was not known to be aggressive. Others said he usually kept to himself, spent time swimming, walking along the beach and carrying out maintenance work, and rarely brought visitors back to his room.

Police arrested Carman at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport shortly before he was due to board a flight to Perth. During recorded police interviews, he expressed sympathy to Tunchanok’s family, saying: “I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control.” When asked directly if he had killed the teenager, he replied: “No.” He also claimed scratches and bruises on his body were caused by spiders at his condominium.

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Tunchanok’s parents travelled from Kalasin province to collect their daughter’s remains. Her father, Thongchai Donhomla, said he was deeply saddened, while her stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum, said she wanted the accused to receive the death penalty. The family said the teenager had only arrived in Pattaya days before her death and that it was her first visit to the city and had kept in touch daily until she disappeared.

The Daily Mall reported that The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it is providing consular assistance to the Australian national. Carman remains in custody while Thai authorities continue their investigation and prepare the case for court. If convicted of murder in Thailand, he could face the death penalty.

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Picture courtesy of Daily Mail

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Ralf001 Star Member

Ralf001

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, jippytum said:

To kill someone in a rage is one thing. To dismember a body after killing someone indicates a special breed of killer. Thankfully now out of circulation.

The teenage girl whatever her story did not deserve to die at the hands of a phycopath.

I thought she was folded up into the suitcase.

Link to arcticle where it claims she was chopped upฦ

Scouse123 Ruby Member

Scouse123

Advanced Member
14 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

haven't seen any of those videos. However, the ONLY way he was going to fit her in a suitcase that size was to chop her up.

I don't believe the self defense story. If it was legit self defense he would have called the cops, not put her in a suitcase and then do a runner.

Now here's the point that nobody has addressed yet. How did the cops know where to find the suitcase AND then know he was at swampy trying to leave the country? Somebody must have seen him ditch the suitcase and called the cops, but that still doesn't explain how they knew to go to swampy to arrest him.

From what I got, once they caught him at the airport and confronted him with CCTV, he told them where the suitcase was containing the body.

Scouse123 Ruby Member

Scouse123

Advanced Member
1 minute ago, Ralf001 said:

I thought she was folded up into the suitcase.

Link to arcticle where it claims she was chopped upฦ

There isn't a link, just the fertile imagination of a poster.

Rockyroad Platinum Member

Rockyroad

Advanced Member
2 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

I thought she was folded up into the suitcase.

Link to arcticle where it claims she was chopped upฦ

Posters are making up the chopped up theory. Strange people.

Hanuman2547 Gold Member

Hanuman2547

Advanced Member

The Thai judicial system needs to prosecute this Aussie to the fullest extent of the law. Hopefully he will serve a very long sentence in a Thai prison before being repatriated to Australia to serve out the remainder of his sentence. May the Thai lady RIP.

wavodavo Gold Member

wavodavo

Advanced Member
27 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Absolute nonsense on every word you have written.

You know nothing except how to operate a keyboard, and I know far more about Thai prisons than nearly every member on this board, matey.

And, that includes first-hand experience, so don't tell me anything.

Furthermore, I speak the language, do you?

And your additional nonsense' from a source who has been in the Bangkok Hilton' give me a break, you watch too much YouTube!

And locally, Bang Kwang isn't known as the Bangkok Hilton, it's known as The Big Tiger.

You are speaking to a source that's been in Klong Prem and had plenty of contact with prisoners from Bang Kwang!

So, in summary, your post is garbage and your knowledge is non-existent.

27 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Absolute nonsense on every word you have written.

You know nothing except how to operate a keyboard, and I know far more about Thai prisons than nearly every member on this board, matey.

And, that includes first-hand experience, so don't tell me anything.

Furthermore, I speak the language, do you?

And your additional nonsense' from a source who has been in the Bangkok Hilton' give me a break, you watch too much YouTube!

And locally, Bang Kwang isn't known as the Bangkok Hilton, it's known as The Big Tiger.

You are speaking to a source that's been in Klong Prem and had plenty of contact with prisoners from Bang Kwang!

So, in summary, your post is garbage and your knowledge is non-existent.

26 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

Speaking from experience T

Taboo you are talking absolute confutatio cacata.!!...latin ... look it up.

JerryM Gold Member

JerryM

Advanced Member
25 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

Good luck with that!, even in Australia he was living on site at his workplace, he hasn't two pennies to rub together.

This may be the most (in)famous Thailand murder case worldwide since Kho Tao (2014).

There are plenty enough civil litigation attorneys in Pattaya that, as to finding any possible compensation for the family, they will not be shy to advise as such.

scubascuba3 Star Member

scubascuba3

Advanced Member
33 minutes ago, Rockyroad said:

He gets disability pension. Parasite.

Paid for his guns

Georgealbert Star Member

Georgealbert

News Team
28 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

haven't seen any of those videos. However, the ONLY way he was going to fit her in a suitcase that size was to chop her up.

I don't believe the self defense story. If it was legit self defense he would have called the cops, not put her in a suitcase and then do a runner.

Now here's the point that nobody has addressed yet. How did the cops know where to find the suitcase AND then know he was at swampy trying to leave the country? Somebody must have seen him ditch the suitcase and called the cops, but that still doesn't explain how they knew to go to swampy to arrest him.

As I posted previously, she was not chopped up.

The arrest was made at the airport, several hours before the suitcase was located.

The police had an arrest warrant, only for her abduction, after she was reported missing. CCTV as part of that investigation, had shown him leaving the condo with the suitcase and along some of the route he took.

It was not until reports starting coming out in local Pattaya media, of emergency responders finding a possible body in a suitcase, that the police announced the earlier arrest.

Authorities have not released details of if they were already searching for the suitcase, based on CCTV footage or additional information was given by the suspect after his arrest.

The suitcase for recovered from the undergrowth and was opened, photographed and recorded, on the road by emergency responders and in the presence of police and forensic officers. The initial identification was made based on the tattoos on the body at the scene.

No official details on the autopsy has been released and may not be made public, until the case goes to court.

The initial AN article before the suspect was identified is below. As with any developing story, especially overnight, the information is initially confused and hence why updates are later posted to clarify details.

stevecm Explorer Member

stevecm

Member
3 hours ago, ronster said:

He's now being looked at for other bodies that have turned up in the area in suitcases.

Police in Australia probably need to be checking where he was driving as a lorry driver also . Plus what areas he lived in and if moved around a lot .

Agreed.. He's got Ivan Milat vibes..

Gecko123 Platinum Member

Gecko123

Advanced Member

For those who are condemning the parents for poor parenting, they may very well have had strong suspicion about what she was up to (tats, attire, make up), but as someone who has lived in a village for many years, these "working girls" rarely openly announce when they return home that they are engaged in prostitution, particularly to their parents. There's a lot of vague euphemisms to conceal exactly where they are working (Chonburi rather than Pattaya) and what kind of work they are engaged in (restaurant, hotel, karaoke singer rather than beer bar, etc.)

For those who think stuffing the body in a suitcase makes this a crime worthy of the death penalty, please tell me how you would get a dead body out of your condo, if things got out of hand and someone died. There was a French case about 5 years ago where a guy named Jonathann Duval killed his wife at home, took the body out to a wooded area, set it on fire, and then went through this months long charade pretending that she must have been abducted while out jogging. He participated in all these vigils and community searches for her (often publicly breaking down in tears during these events), and frequently ate dinner with his in-laws right up until the evidence pointing to him became so overwhelming that he finally confessed. All of France was up in arms because he had misled everyone, and acted like he was a total monster, but I kept saying to myself 'What choice did he have?' It was either confess or keep up the charade. Same situation here. Once the murder occurred, and unless you are prepared to confess, you're gonna do whatever it takes to avoid detection. What's going to determine the penalty is what lead up to the murder and the motive, not so much what steps he took to conceal the crime after it occurred.

fredwiggy Star Member

fredwiggy

Advanced Member
20 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

For those who are condemning the parents for poor parenting, they may very well have had strong suspicion about what she was up to (tats, attire, make up), but as someone who has lived in a village for many years, these "working girls" rarely openly announce when they return home that they are engaged in prostitution, particularly to their parents. There's a lot of vague euphemisms to conceal exactly where they are working (Chonburi rather than Pattaya) and what kind of work they are engaged in (restaurant, hotel, karaoke singer rather than beer bar, etc.)

For those who think stuffing the body in a suitcase makes this a crime worthy of the death penalty, please tell me how you would get a dead body out of your condo, if things got out of hand and someone died. There was a French case about 5 years ago where a guy named Jonathann Duval killed his wife at home, took the body out to a wooded area, set it on fire, and then went through this months long charade pretending that she must have been abducted while out jogging. He participated in all these vigils and community searches for her (often publicly breaking down in tears during these events), and frequently ate dinner with his in-laws right up until the evidence pointing to him became so overwhelming that he finally confessed. All of France was up in arms because he had misled everyone, and acted like he was a total monster, but I kept saying to myself 'What choice did he have?' It was either confess or keep up the charade. Same situation here. Once the murder occurred, and unless you are prepared to confess, you're gonna do whatever it takes to avoid detection. What's going to determine the penalty is what lead up to the murder and the motive, not so much what steps he took to conceal the crime after it occurred.

If you murder someone,that's a charge. Disposing of the body is another charge. Clandestine burial or concealment of death, among a few others.

He didn't want to get caught, so he took her elsewhere trying to conceal it, then get on a plane and go home.

Murder can alone be the death penalty, although it won't be carried out here anyway. He's obviously mentally ill so that also takes the death penalty away in most cases.

If things got out of hand, meaning manslaughter from self defense, you call the police and wait. It really doesn't matter how a person is killed but that they're dead. What matters is the heinousness of the crime as far as punishment is concerned. There's a lot of difference between stabbing someone and running away, to hiding the corpse and trying to flee. The same with stabbing once or dismemberment. People that continually stab are doing it out of hatred, usually a domestic situation. He lost it for some reason and choked her, then tried to get away with the crime.

No more on the story because only they were in that room, which doesn't matter as he's obviously guilty, along with what went on in the room unless it's self defense. Normal to be scared if you killed someone and many would run.

You're right about it not being a death penalty thing, unless it was pre-meditated, bringing her to the room to kill her.

True about not telling her parents what she was doing, not to lose face, at least for now.

ravip Star Member

ravip

Advanced Member
3 hours ago, Purdey said:

Thank goodness the government reduced entry visas to 30 days. That should keep murderers out. Not.

These skunks will enter with or without visa.

ravip Star Member

ravip

Advanced Member
1 hour ago, Gknrd said:

curious how much a life is worth in Thailand now. If I remember correctly a Thai man killed a woman and paid about a million baht a years ago and was released.

Happens only n Thailand? If you look around globally, you will see sick bas**** killing humans in 1000's

JohnO958 Rookie Member

JohnO958

Member

FRY THIS POS!!! Cowardly scum bag!!!

PeeJayEm Senior Member

PeeJayEm

Member
21 hours ago, IsmeUno said:

That doesn't tally with what you quoted. It stated that she arrived days before. But whether she was a working girl is neither here nor there. With all those tattoos, she was hardly going to be a total innocent even before her arrival. Likely went to make money to help herself and her family. Not to be killed.

Your last paragraph was somewhat unneccesary.

How, exactly let in your prejudiced mind, would tatoos say anything about her other than that she had tatoos?

PeeJayEm Senior Member

PeeJayEm

Member
21 hours ago, IsmeUno said:

That doesn't tally with what you quoted. It stated that she arrived days before. But whether she was a working girl is neither here nor there. With all those tattoos, she was hardly going to be a total innocent even before her arrival. Likely went to make money to help herself and her family. Not to be killed.

Your last paragraph was somewhat unneccesary.

How - other than in you horrid prejudiced mind - does the fact that she had tatoos mean anything other than that she had tatoos? Tats are often worn my the mildest warmest

of people.

stevecm Explorer Member

stevecm

Member
4 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

For those who are condemning the parents for poor parenting, they may very well have had strong suspicion about what she was up to (tats, attire, make up), but as someone who has lived in a village for many years, these "working girls" rarely openly announce when they return home that they are engaged in prostitution, particularly to their parents. There's a lot of vague euphemisms to conceal exactly where they are working (Chonburi rather than Pattaya) and what kind of work they are engaged in (restaurant, hotel, karaoke singer rather than beer bar, etc.)

For those who think stuffing the body in a suitcase makes this a crime worthy of the death penalty,

please tell me how you would get a dead body out of your condo, if things got out of hand and someone died. There's was a French case about 5 years ago where a guy named Jonathann Duval killed his wife at home, took the body out to a wooded area, set it on fire, and then went through this months long charade pretending that she must have been abducted while out jogging. He participated in all these vigils and community searches for her, and frequently ate dinner with his in-laws right up until the evidence pointing to him became so overwhelming that he finally confessed. All of France was up in arms because he had misled everyone, and acted like he was a total monster, but I kept saying to myself 'What choice did he have?' It was either confess or keep up the charade. Same situation here. Once the murder occurred, and unless you are prepared to confess, you're gonna do whatever it takes to avoid detection. What's going to determine the penalty is what lead up to the murder and the motive, not so much what steps he took to conceal the crime after it occurred.

What?! First paragraph ok.. but you've lost me on the rest.

25 minutes ago, JohnO958 said:

FRY THIS POS!!! Cowardly scum bag!!!

LOL John nailed it.

Smokey and the Bandit Gold Member

Smokey and the Bandit

Advanced Member
2 hours ago, Srikcir said:

No at best put to death if convicted.

Executions in Thailand are rare — the last was in 2018. Many death sentences are commuted to life via royal pardon.

off road pat Gold Member

off road pat

Advanced Member
5 hours ago, jippytum said:

To kill someone in a rage is one thing. To dismember a body after killing someone indicates a special breed of killer. Thankfully now out of circulation.

The teenage girl whatever her story did not deserve to die at the hands of a phycopath.

Nowhere is it said that he dismembered the body !!

Taboo2 Gold Member

Taboo2

Advanced Member

She was seventeen. Maybe she followed him for money, but she did not deserve it. Maybe she asked for more, but she did not deserve it. Maybe people whispered about her choices, but she did not deserve it. Maybe she was tired. Maybe she was hungry. Maybe she was trying to survive in a world that looked away. She did not deserve it. Do not make her life smaller because you do not understand it. Do not turn her pain into judgment. She was not a mistake. She was not a shame. She was not less human because life had been cruel to her. She was a child standing in a grown-up world that should have protected her. Seventeen. She deserved safety. She deserved kindness. She deserved tomorrow. She did not deserve it. https://facebook.com/share/p/1F7AyjA7HN

EVENKEEL Senior Member

EVENKEEL

Member
2 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

For those who are condemning the parents for poor parenting, they may very well have had strong suspicion about what she was up to (tats, attire, make up), but as someone who has lived in a village for many years, these "working girls" rarely openly announce when they return home that they are engaged in prostitution, particularly to their parents. There's a lot of vague euphemisms to conceal exactly where they are working (Chonburi rather than Pattaya) and what kind of work they are engaged in (restaurant, hotel, karaoke singer rather than beer bar, etc.)

For those who think stuffing the body in a suitcase makes this a crime worthy of the death penalty, please tell me how you would get a dead body out of your condo, if things got out of hand and someone died. There was a French case about 5 years ago where a guy named Jonathann Duval killed his wife at home, took the body out to a wooded area, set it on fire, and then went through this months long charade pretending that she must have been abducted while out jogging. He participated in all these vigils and community searches for her (often publicly breaking down in tears during these events), and frequently ate dinner with his in-laws right up until the evidence pointing to him became so overwhelming that he finally confessed. All of France was up in arms because he had misled everyone, and acted like he was a total monster, but I kept saying to myself 'What choice did he have?' It was either confess or keep up the charade. Same situation here. Once the murder occurred, and unless you are prepared to confess, you're gonna do whatever it takes to avoid detection. What's going to determine the penalty is what lead up to the murder and the motive, not so much what steps he took to conceal the crime after it occurred.

It's not these specific parents, my ole lady is concerned about her father, takes care of essentials, medical care etc etc. And yes some extra medical care costs as you know. He's not a bad man but he didn't take much care of her and yet she gives. This case she's only 17 and her father says she gives him. A man who looks fairly young and healthy. They the parents didn't take care of her.

That's my issue.

cynic1 Silver Member

cynic1

Advanced Member
22 hours ago, save the frogs said:

So she was killed over an argument over 500 Baht.

For her, it's a lot maybe.

For him, how much is that in Aussie dollars?

One of the most tragic stories in a long time, killing someone over a pittance.

It's about $25 au. Which in today's terms is nothing. But to him it's worth killing her. What a total low life rock spider. Get the mortein bug spray ( Au insect killer) out and spray him like a bug he is.

vangrop Silver Member

vangrop

Advanced Member

Two matters.

She came from a poor, hopeless background. People speak of a mother-in-law; I haven't heard the real mother mentioned. That says enough about the environment. Already covered in tattoos at 17 is also telling about the upbringing. She had obviously moved to Pattaya to work as a prostitute. I suspect that, as a minor, she was forced to work at the Coconut Bar, given that most official bars would not want to employ her. Finally, it would not be surprising that she was on drugs. Sadly, she is one of many examples of the failure of Thai society due to a lack of social support and security. To conclude, I will be very blunt: regardless of the family's ceremonial condolences, they are now only interested in the money and collecting as much compensation as possible. But given that the monster is broke, I fear the worst.

Secondly, the monster. That guy is a cliché of people of low caliber attracted to the sex industry in Pattaya. That individual can be described as poorly educated, lacking self-respect, ill-mannered, mentally disturbed, aggressive, and devoid of any empathy. At the slightest provocation of such beings, one must seize the opportunity to remove them from society. IN THIS CASE, THAT IS THE DEATH PENALTY.

save the frogs Star Member

save the frogs

Advanced Member
32 minutes ago, vangrop said:

That individual can be described as poorly educated, lacking self-respect, ill-mannered, mentally disturbed, aggressive, and devoid of any empathy.

a certain percentage yes.

maybe these girls need to take more precautions.

scubascuba3 Star Member

scubascuba3

Advanced Member
49 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

It's not these specific parents, my ole lady is concerned about her father, takes care of essentials, medical care etc etc. And yes some extra medical care costs as you know. He's not a bad man but he didn't take much care of her and yet she gives. This case she's only 17 and her father says she gives him. A man who looks fairly young and healthy. They the parents didn't take care of her.

That's my issue.

Lazy thai fathers, too many many of them and sons they are the worst

Rams86 Gold Member

Rams86

Advanced Member
23 hours ago, save the frogs said:

So she was killed over an argument over 500 Baht.

For her, it's a lot maybe.

For him, how much is that in Aussie dollars?

One of the most tragic stories in a long time, killing someone over a pittance.

AU$ 21.73. Many years ago in my bar hopping days I used to give them 500 baht (long time) and told them not to come back. Only one gave me problems and she came back after I'd given her an extra 500. So I had to either kick her out or get the police to move her on. When I mentioned the police she took off and I've never seen her again.

Reddavy Gold Member

Reddavy

Advanced Member
7 hours ago, jacko45k said:

No mention of the body being dismembered that I have seen.

Correct she was not. Just put in a suitcase and dumped at the side of the road. Poor girl. 🙏🏼

Dogmatix Ruby Member

Dogmatix

Advanced Member

No doubt immigration charges for overstaying will also follow in due course and charges for working without WP and doing jobs reserved for Yhais - working as a labourer and in a retail business.

Immigration knows when people overstay visas. With AI they should be able to do a better job at tracking them down. He obviously rented a room and had an owned or rented bike, probably both in his name.

From the tattoos on her upper body the victim didn’t look like she had only just arrived in Pattaya for the first time but she didn’t deserve to die a horrible death, whatever she was up to.

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