Family Feud over Inheritance Ended in Murder: Fugitive Arrested after 16 Years on the Run

Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

A woman who had been on the run for over 16 years has been arrested in connection with the murder of her aunt during a violent family dispute over inheritance. The shocking crime involved a brutal assault and the concealment of the victim’s body, which was found buried in a field behind a rural home.

Police from The Crime Suppression Division, acting under the orders of Police Major General Wichaya Sriprasertphap, arrested Ms Woraporn, 47, in Nakhon Pathom province. The arrest was made under a warrant issued by the Pathum Thani Provincial Court on 5 February 2009 for the charge of “joint murder and concealment of a corpse”.

The case dates back to 5 February 2009, when Mr Somchao reported his wife, Mrs Boonthing, 50, missing. She had vanished without trace from the family’s home in Soi Wat Bangkudee Thong, Pathum Thani. Police began an investigation and discovered fresh earth and a swarm of flies about 50 metres from the property, a single-storey wooden house raised on stilts and surrounded by farmland.

Digging into the site, officers uncovered a black plastic bag containing the decomposed remains of Mrs Boonthing. Her skull had been fractured by repeated blunt force trauma and her hands and neck had been tightly bound with rope.

Initial investigations led to the arrest of Mrs Wisai, the victim’s younger sister, shortly after the murder. She and her daughter, Ms Woraporn, the deceased’s niece, were identified as the primary suspects. While Mrs Wisai was detained, Ms Woraporn fled and evaded capture for over a decade and a half.

According to police, Ms Woraporn had been moving between Thailand’s northern, northeastern and southern regions, frequently changing addresses and jobs to avoid detection. Believing the case had faded from memory, she eventually settled in Nakhon Pathom with her son. Her arrest came after investigators finally tracked her whereabouts and moved in on her rented room in Don Tum District.

During interrogation, Ms Woraporn admitted partial involvement in the incident, claiming she had only tried to help her mother during a heated quarrel with Mrs Boonthing over ancestral land. She said that when her mother was shoved during the argument, she intervened by pulling the victim’s hair and slapping her repeatedly.

She alleged it was her mother, Mrs Wisai, who used a heavy wooden plank to strike the victim on the head multiple times until she became unresponsive. Terrified, Ms Woraporn claimed she fled the scene immediately and had no knowledge of the burial until later. She said she learned of the murder warrant only after escaping and had lived in fear ever since.

Authorities have now transferred Ms Woraporn to Pak Khlong Rangsit Police Station for prosecution. 
 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-07-16