My Friend Shot & Killed In Hua Hin

[dphoude]

My friend Martin Connolly was shot and killed in Hua Him on June 15th. That is all the information I could get out of the British Embassy. If anybody has any more information it would be much appreciated.

[dphoude]

the date should have been May 15th, as the day he was killed

[bdenner]

See your PMs but do not respond to it publicly for the reasons I stated.

[darrendsd]

lot's of rumours circulating round hh at the moments as to what happened

i won't post them on here for obvious reasons

[kevc]

My friend Martin Connolly was shot and killed in Hua Him on June 15th. That is all the information I could get out of the British Embassy. If anybody has any more information it would be much appreciated.

He comes from my home town of South shields the local paper ran a front page story on Saturday if you are quick you'll catch it before they change to Mondays edition www.southtynesidetoday.co.uk

[bkkmadness]

They've changed the front page already.

Use this direct link.

[BigSnake]

So sorry for the lost of your friend; however the investigation process can be long at time, just keep in touch with the local authorize for any update on the case.

[Master of the court]

lot's of rumours circulating round hh at the moments as to what happened

i won't post them on here for obvious reasons

Com'on why all this secretcy ?? let us know some.......the link from the Newspaper didnt help any, except that we he was killed..........

[jdinasia]

Another land-deal scam gone awry?

[Master of the court]

Another land-deal scam gone awry?

Yeah, but was he killed by the Yank or locals ??

[anthonyaus]

This is about the worst thing that can happen, visit Thailand on vacation and end up getting killed.

Yea the hometown paper does not say too much.

You can take some those facts though and conduct a search on google. There was some rumor and conjecture on another Thailand specific web board that I had never heard of plus there is of the course the local and fairly active Hua Hin forum but on this particular topic everyone is pretty much keeping quiet.

Hua Hin is pretty tight, the yank is supposed to be a long time resident and for some reason the people who do know are not talking except to each other.

Only the deceased has been named, the Yank has not been publically named yet.

[November Rain]

As far as I can ascertain, an American man was arrested & released (on bail?). The shooting happened in the American man's home, drink was involved, so the rumours say & I've not heard anything about Thais being suspected for anything. This is all hearsay, I hasten to add.

[darrendsd]

QUOTE(darrendsd @ 2007-05-20 21:06:10)

lot's of rumours circulating round hh at the moments as to what happened

i won't post them on here for obvious reasons

Com'on why all this secretcy ?? let us know some.......the link from the Newspaper didnt help any, except that we he was killed..........

sorry but i just don't think it is acceptable to post rumours on a public forum about something as serious as this

if the op wants to contact me i'm sure he will

[Maestro]

sorry but i just don't think it is acceptable to post rumours on a public forum about something as serious as this

Darren, your circumspection is commendable.

Bdenner, I appreciate your thoughtfulness and discretion, too.

--------------

Maestro

[Chingatchgook]

I don't know about rumors but there sure are alot of questions.

Does anybody know if the American is still in town?

It would interesting to know the specifics of this real estate/business/drinking party deal gone bad.

If the American has his passport back he could leave Thailand but it is possible he could be extradited to Britain and tried under British Law depending on where he sets foot assuming he does leave the country.

Edited May 24, 2007 by Chingatchgook

[mmaggi]

On the evening of May 15, Martin Connolly, a British friend of mine of several years was shot and killed in Hua Hin. He was on a 2 week holiday after buying a condo in the Palm Hills Golf and Country Club and three days away from returning to his job in the UAE as Quality Manager for Foster Wheeler on a $1.4 billion gas project. I was going to pick him up at the airport and drive back to the camp where we both live.

I don't know the circumstances of the murder, but I did know Martin fairly well after several years of working with him abroad and also from the fact we both living in Thailand during the last decade.

Martin spent about 6 weeks in Thailand during the past year because mostly he was working in Paris and spending time with his two teenage children in the UK. That was important to him because he had not spent as much time with them as he wanted.

This last trip to Thailand would have been his last for a while because he was going to spend his next two rotational leaves in the UK, so during the end of summer and around the time before Christmas, he would have the most time with him children.

He was making money hand over fist due to the upward spiral of wages in the oil and gas industry the last few years. He had worked hard in Algeria, Egypt, Paris and now the UAE and he was closing in on a retirement plan. This is why he bought the condo.

He moved to Hua Hin after living 9 years in Pattaya because he was sick and tired of the social scene there and wanted something quieter and safer. He thought Hua Hin and not Pattaya would be a better life.

He started taking golf lessons in the UAE and was not too good at it. It found it very fustrating, but he had only done four of the six lessons he bought when he was killed.

He was a interesting guy, always willing to share a cup of tea or a beer and talk shop, talk motorcycles, talk about his kids, talk about women, or talk about just about anything you wanted to talk about.

He was British, so he had a caustic sense of humor and sometimes I did nto always understand his jokes. He did not hestiate to say something that he thought. He could get angry, maybe pissed off is a better way to put it, and I never saw any indication that he would every do anything violent.

So how did this guy get killed? I don't know and I don't understand it.

If Martin was in somebody's house it was because he was invited. He was that kind of guy, somebody that meets people wherever he goes.

Was Martin trying to force somebody to sell him a business? Rediculous! His mind was on his kids, his retirement, and that stupid game with a little white ball.

It is too bad that people who did not know Martin and who know as little about how he died can pass out such garbage as "what they heard."

You missed a chance to know a good guy. The photo is Martin on the left and me on the right during a lighter moment in the Sahara desert 2004.

Mike Maggi

[BigA]

Hey Mr. Maggi, I'll take your word for it that your buddy was a good guy.

I don't see so much speculation here. Try one of other forums. It seems like thats all you have to go on. Maybe you could PM some of the posters.

Hua Hin has many Brits many of whom are staunchly against gun violence.

I used to live and work by Palm Hills and I think I know the condos you mentioned.

With only 3 days left on his vacation your buddy was running up on a time constraint and that could have been an issue.

I will tell you this, if your buddy had tried to buy land or a house in addition to the condo there's lots of things that can go wrong that a person could get real upset about.

[Ollie]

Hey Mr. Maggi, I'll take your word for it that your buddy was a good guy.

I don't see so much speculation here. Try one of other forums. It seems like thats all you have to go on. Maybe you could PM some of the posters.

Hua Hin has many Brits many of whom are staunchly against gun violence.

I used to live and work by Palm Hills and I think I know the condos you mentioned.

With only 3 days left on his vacation your buddy was running up on a time constraint and that could have been an issue.

I will tell you this, if your buddy had tried to buy land or a house in addition to the condo there's lots of things that can go wrong that a person could get real upset about.

A little sympathy for the guy, who is rightly hacked off about what happened to his firend, would have been more in order than attacking him!

Where does MrMaggi mention gun control in his post? Why do you say you'll take his word that his buddy was a good guy, why wouldn't you? Then you make some speculations about land/house deals, thats not mentioned by MrMaggi either.

Seems like you've added to the speculation.

Edited May 27, 2007 by Ollie

[BigA]

I'm not attacking Mr Maggi at all I feel sorry he lost a friend. If it happened to me I'd feel the same. Mr Maggi please do not in any way construe my post as being an attack or intolerant.

He's looking for answers has posted several times. and nobody has anything for the guy.

My thoughts are collective what has been said by others on various forums. Remember TV is not the only source. This shooting has been covered on several forums.

It has been insinuated that the American may have already split the country after he was released by the police.

Self defense, alcohol, real estate deal gone bad, has come up as well.

Who's got the paperwork to this condo your friend supposedly bought? Thats a good question. Hopefully it will go his surviving family.

[Prakanong]

On the evening of May 15, Martin Connolly, a British friend of mine of several years was shot and killed in Hua Hin. He was on a 2 week holiday after buying a condo in the Palm Hills Golf and Country Club and three days away from returning to his job in the UAE as Quality Manager for Foster Wheeler on a $1.4 billion gas project. I was going to pick him up at the airport and drive back to the camp where we both live.

I don't know the circumstances of the murder, but I did know Martin fairly well after several years of working with him abroad and also from the fact we both living in Thailand during the last decade.

Martin spent about 6 weeks in Thailand during the past year because mostly he was working in Paris and spending time with his two teenage children in the UK. That was important to him because he had not spent as much time with them as he wanted.

This last trip to Thailand would have been his last for a while because he was going to spend his next two rotational leaves in the UK, so during the end of summer and around the time before Christmas, he would have the most time with him children.

He was making money hand over fist due to the upward spiral of wages in the oil and gas industry the last few years. He had worked hard in Algeria, Egypt, Paris and now the UAE and he was closing in on a retirement plan. This is why he bought the condo.

He moved to Hua Hin after living 9 years in Pattaya because he was sick and tired of the social scene there and wanted something quieter and safer. He thought Hua Hin and not Pattaya would be a better life.

He started taking golf lessons in the UAE and was not too good at it. It found it very fustrating, but he had only done four of the six lessons he bought when he was killed.

He was a interesting guy, always willing to share a cup of tea or a beer and talk shop, talk motorcycles, talk about his kids, talk about women, or talk about just about anything you wanted to talk about.

He was British, so he had a caustic sense of humor and sometimes I did nto always understand his jokes. He did not hestiate to say something that he thought. He could get angry, maybe pissed off is a better way to put it, and I never saw any indication that he would every do anything violent.

So how did this guy get killed? I don't know and I don't understand it.

If Martin was in somebody's house it was because he was invited. He was that kind of guy, somebody that meets people wherever he goes.

Was Martin trying to force somebody to sell him a business? Rediculous! His mind was on his kids, his retirement, and that stupid game with a little white ball.

It is too bad that people who did not know Martin and who know as little about how he died can pass out such garbage as "what they heard."

You missed a chance to know a good guy. The photo is Martin on the left and me on the right during a lighter moment in the Sahara desert 2004.

Mike Maggi

Sorry to hear about your pal - he was from the same part of the world I am

For once though there has not been much gosip and speculation about this - condolences to his family