Japanese father returns to Thailand, pursuing 17-Year quest for daughter’s murderer

[webfact]

Yasuaki Kawashita, a Japanese man from Osaka, returned to Thailand today to demand answers from the Thai police regarding the unsolved murder of his then 27-year-old daughter during the Loy Krathong festival in Sukhothai province 17 years ago.

 

He is scheduled to revisit the spot in Sukhothai Historical Park where his daughter, Tomoko, was killed, something he has done almost every time he has returned to Thailand.

 

File photo : Yasuaki Kawashita

Tomoko’s throat was slashed and her body suffered knife wounds, Thai police said. Her body was found near Wat Saphan Hin in the Mueang district, lying next to the bicycle she had rented for sightseeing.

 

Some of her belongings were missing, leading police to suspect that it was a robbery gone wrong. “She was stabbed when the attacker tried to rob her. She resisted and ran away, but then he caught her and slashed her throat with a knife,” a police officer said at the time.

 

Top: file photo

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2024-02-12

 

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[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Some of her belongings were missing, leading police to suspect that it was a robbery gone wrong. “She was stabbed when the attacker tried to rob her. She resisted and ran away, but then he caught her and slashed her throat with a knife,” a police officer said at the time.

Seem to know what happened but no arrest?

[scubascuba3]

Japanese man not giving a DNA sample was suspicious but in some ways not surprising due to lack of trust in the police

[retarius]

How sad this is. Tragic.