Girlfriend of Australian tourist found dead in Thai police custody suspects foul play

[webfact]

Photo via Facebook

 

by leah

UPDATE

The girlfriend of the Australian man who was found dead inside the detention room at a police station in Phuket, southern Thailand, on Monday says her boyfriend was “not suicidal” and had every intention of returning to his family.

 

Police arrested 31 year old Matthew Michael Winder for being drunk and disorderly at around 5.45am and detained him at Patong Police Station to ‘calm down.’ Police say they went out for lunch at 11.30am and when they returned, Winder had hanged himself.

Police say there is CCTV footage that documents Winder’s cause of death.

Winder’s girlfriend Ayla Varoxis spoke to Winder on the phone just 30 minutes before he was arrested on Monday morning…

“He told me that he drank too much and just wants to be home,” she told the Daily Mail Australia. “I don’t believe Matty was suicidal… foul play is in the mix and none of it makes sense.”

 

“I think he shouldn’t have been left alone in the state he was in.”

 

Three days before his death, Winder assured Varoxis that he couldn’t wait to fly home to Newcastle near Sydney to see her and their young daughter McKenzie.

 

On Sunday night, Winder posted a photo of the beach on Facebook dedicated to his girlfriend that read, “Good night Thailand missing my Ayla Varoxis.”

 

Winder’s friends on Facebook expressed their doubts about the suicide…

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/girlfriend-of-australian-tourist-found-dead-in-thai-police-custody-suspects-foul-play

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-04-26

 

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RELATED TOPIC: https://aseannow.com/topic/1293020-mysterious-death-australian-tourist-found-dead-in-police-station-cell/

 

[petermik]

Good luck in proving it.....TIT

[d4dang]

is assisted suicide legal here?

[Banana7]

Let's see the video and have it authenticated as original and unaltered

[smedly]

9 minutes ago, d4dang said:

is assisted suicide legal here?

they seem to have switched from plastic bags to string

 

I don't believe any of this either - the claimed CCTV footage will show nothing

[Jackbenimble]

34 minutes ago, smedly said:

they seem to have switched from plastic bags to string

 

I don't believe any of this either - the claimed CCTV footage will show nothing

they don't need to show the footage to the public. 

[aldriglikvid]

Not entirely uncommon that very drunk people, left unattended, die in custody (suffocation etc.). Perhaps something similar happened here, and BiB thought it would be better if it was a suicide? ????

[Drop the dead donkey]

The question is. 
What was he doing alone in Thailand, when he has a gorgeous girlfriend and a baby girl?

Maybe it was for business and not pleasure !

Just seems weird that he was alone and highly drunk at 05:45 in the morning, and away from such a nice little family unit.

[smedly]

20 minutes ago, Jackbenimble said:

they don't need to show the footage to the public. 

seems it would be in the public interest to do so, the police serve the public

[Bday Prang]

21 minutes ago, Jackbenimble said:

they don't need to show the footage to the public. 

Not suggesting a video of a suicide should be shown to the public, but if there's nothing to hide, allowing an other independent authority to see it would certainly remove the need for further speculation and would presumably exonerate  the police involved.

On the other hand.....

[Goat]

16 minutes ago, Drop the dead donkey said:

What was he doing alone in Thailand, when he has a gorgeous girlfriend and a baby girl?

Maybe it was for business and not pleasure !

The reason he gave to the missus for going to Patong was for a couple of new face tattoos.

He worked in a bong shop in Australia.

His wherabouts and who he had spent time with in Thailand will now be investigated. If he had taken someone back to his room his missus will soon find out.

 

The last person to see Warney alive was a massage girl who visited his room.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, d4dang said:

is assisted suicide legal here?

More often than you might think.

[Bday Prang]

1 minute ago, Goat said:

The reason he gave to the missus for going to Patong was for a couple of new face tattoos.

He worked in a bong shop in Australia.

His wherabouts and who he had spent time with in Thailand will now be investigated. If he had taken someone back to his room his missus will soon find out.

 

The last person to see Warney alive was a massage girl who visited his room.

Unless she visited him in the police station she could not possibly be the last to see him alive

[monty1412]

13 minutes ago, smedly said:

seems it would be in the public interest to do so, the police serve the public

For God's sake dont tell the police that.. it will cause an uproar....

 

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, Banana7 said:

Let's see the video and have it authenticated as original and unaltered

Yes, but by a totally independent third party if they can find one here

[Goat]

1 minute ago, Bday Prang said:

Unless she visited him in the police station she could not possibly be the last to see him alive

I think you are confused.

Missus stayed at home. He was on a boys trip to Patong. Told her he was going to get some new face tattoos.

[Bday Prang]

Strange quote from the GF if you ask me .... "I don't believe he was suicidal"  but then she says " i don't think he should have been left alone in "the state " he was in... What state was he in exactly ? Only a bit homesick based on what she has said.

 

If it had been me, I would have expected my mrs to say something along the lines of " there's no way he would ever have  contemplate suicide no matter how wasted he was !  I just asked her now and she confirms that is pretty much exactly what she would say

 

Maybe he had prior history of suicidal tendencies,  Also a bit strange that he travelled so far just for a face tattoo, All the way to Thailand , alone ! Bet that went down well with his GF 

 

Much more to this than meets the eye  "Normal" people do not just get drunk and become suicidal, generally speaking

 

[FritsSikkink]

2 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Strange quote from the GF if you ask me .... "I don't believe he was suicidal"  but then she says " i don't think he should have been left alone in "the state " he was in... What state was he in exactly ?

According to the article he was very drunk and accosting other people.

[Bday Prang]

20 minutes ago, Goat said:

I think you are confused.

Missus stayed at home. He was on a boys trip to Patong. Told her he was going to get some new face tattoos.

I am confused.  you wrote....."The last person to see Warney alive was a massage girl who visited his room."

 But According to the OP He hanged himself in police custody so I think the last person to see him alive would have been the police who locked him in his cell

I await your clarification to end my confusion

[soalbundy]

12 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Strange quote from the GF if you ask me .... "I don't believe he was suicidal"  but then she says " i don't think he should have been left alone in "the state " he was in... What state was he in exactly ? Only a bit homesick based on what she has said.

 

If it had been me, I would have expected my mrs to say something along the lines of " there's no way he would ever have  contemplate suicide no matter how wasted he was !  I just asked her now and she confirms that is pretty much exactly what she would say

 

Maybe he had prior history of suicidal tendencies,  Also a bit strange that he travelled so far just for a face tattoo, All the way to Thailand , alone ! Bet that went down well with his GF 

 

Much more to this than meets the eye  "Normal" people do not just get drunk and become suicidal, generally speaking

 

Motive?

[Bday Prang]

5 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

According to the article he was very drunk and accosting other people.

 

  Sounds like he should indeed have been left alone. Being drunk and accosting other people is no reason for any body to class him as a suicide case or reason to have somebody keep him company

 I'm thinking they had some sort of row on the phone , maybe she dumped him ? "you'll never see your kid again,in fact it's not even your kid "       That might send somebody over the edge if he was intoxicated and that way inclined.  Who knows ?

 

[BestB]

Police keep saying have CCTV but have not provided it and yesterday stated n investigator was launched .

 

why launch an investigation if you have cctv ? 

[oslooskar]

Maybe the guy did hang himself. I'm not a shrink, but it seems to me that a Western male who feels the need to have tattoos on his face would be very dissatisfied with himself and suffer from low self-esteem. That, of course, is just a guess.

[kcpattaya]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Police say there is CCTV footage that documents Winder’s cause of death.

If that's the case, it's end of story.

[AhFarangJa]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

seems it would be in the public interest to do so, the police serve the public

Sorry, this is Thailand, the police serve the police.

[Bday Prang]

8 minutes ago, kcpattaya said:

If that's the case, it's end of story.

That would normally be the case, but something tells me its not so clear

[Bday Prang]

Just now, AhFarangJa said:

Sorry, this is Thailand, the police serve the police.

And a few select others

[AhFarangJa]

1 minute ago, Bday Prang said:

And a few select others

Yes, sorry, I forgot those for a minute................

[MrJ2U]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

I think he shouldn’t have been left alone in the state he was in

Unfortunately Thai jails don't offer babysitting services. 

[off road pat]

1 hour ago, aldriglikvid said:

Not entirely uncommon that very drunk people, left unattended, die in custody (suffocation etc.). Perhaps something similar happened here, and BiB thought it would be better if it was a suicide? ????

True, about the fact that very drunk people left unattended could die in custody.

But what would the police gain in killing him !?!? what motive would they possibly have ??