Briton Arrested In Thailand And Extradited Back Sentenced To Life In Prison

[sriracha john]

Builder jailed for life for murder

A building boss who killed his fiancée by crushing her head under the wheels of a Land Rover before hiding her body and fleeing to Thailand has been jailed for life.

A hunt for Christopher Caunter, 36, was launched after clumps of scalp and hair of his girlfriend Deborah Townsend were found near a layby on the A146 in Beccles in 2005.

Miss Townsend's family let out shouts of “yes” from the public gallery and wept as Caunter was convicted of her murder yesterday, at the end of a six-week trial at Ipswich Crown Court.

Jurors had been told by the prosecution that the couple had driven to Lowestoft after Caunter was tipped off that his building business in Essex was being raided by the Inland Revenue. The pair spent the evening of July 14, 2005 drinking heavily in the Norfolk Arms pub, but started to row as Caunter drove them towards Norwich in the early hours. After Miss Townsend got out of the hired Land Rover, Caunter mowed her down, injuring her legs so severely that she was unable to stand up, before reversing over her head, killing her instantly.

After picking up his girlfriend's body and putting it in the passenger seat, Caunter drove on, stopping once in a layby to transfer it to the boot.

After phoning his brother Robert, Caunter drove to a fishing lake near Chelmsford, where he cleaned blood off the outside of the vehicle using wet-wipes brought by his brother. He covered Miss Townsend's body with towels and shirts and left it in the Land Rover, before changing his clothes at the home of a friend, Joseph Brown.

Caunter took £20,000 in cash and flew to Thailand, where he stayed until he was extradited in 2007. His brother phoned the police to tell them where they could find Miss Townsend's body.

Caunter, of Hullbridge in Essex, denied murdering Miss Townsend, who was 35, claiming she had jumped from the moving vehicle. He said he drove for a while before deciding to go back for her, but was unable to remember if he had reversed or done a u-turn to return to the spot where she lay. He accepted that he could have run over her by accident, and said he transferred her body to the boot because he was “freaked out” to have it next to him.

Caunter, wearing jeans and jumper, showed no reaction as the unanimous verdict was delivered, after just over 10 hours of deliberating at the retrial. A jury was unable to reach a verdict last November.

The court heard earlier in the trial that Caunter, who stands 6ft 6 and weighs 18 stone, had a temper like a “volcano exploding”.

Sentencing him to life in prison, with a minimum of 21 years to be served, Judge John Devaux said: “The evidence has shown that you have been violent in the past on a number of occasions and that you are a danger to others.”

After the verdict Miss Townsend's uncle, Alan Phillips, said: “Although my family and I still carry an enormous gap in our hearts we also carry wonderful memories of our never to be forgotten Debbie.

“However, we can at least be rest assured that now, not only has justice been done, it has been seen to be done. We hope that after all the efforts that have been made to convict Christopher Caunter, who is solely responsible for this vile and cowardly act of her murder, that he finds his years of incarceration long, hard, and painful to endure.”

Superintendent Rick Munns, of Suffolk Police, said: “The jury were faced with a difficult case and have found the offence proved.”

He said that due Caunter fleeing the country, only now do Miss Townsend's family know of the events leading to her death, adding: “We hope that, through the process of bringing Caunter to trial, it will help them find some peace and closure.”

Robert Caunter, of Barking, and Joseph Brown, from Romford, both 39, denied assisting an offender. They were found guilty and will be sentenced on December 22.

- Norfolk Eastern Daily Press (Norwich, England, UK) / 2008-11-24

[jamesjdaly]

Good. Another shitbag off the streets.

[Boater]

where was he hiding in Thailand???

[MSingh]

Quite close to home for me...

[MyphuketLife]

what is it with the scum and Thailand, it seams like any s*&t bag from any country finds their way to Thailand, I don't get it.....

[dingdongrb]

How was he found in LOS?

[farangpattaya]

what is it with the scum and Thailand, it seams like any s*&t bag from any country finds their way to Thailand, I don't get it.....

How was he found in LOS?

A lot of people seem to think (probably because of the perfect media), that Thailand is a paradise for hiding: "Nobody will find me there!!"

(Un)fortunately, the Thai police knows the country better than most of the cullprits and will be caught after all, most of the time after some tips from 'friends' of the scum bag.

[mickmac]

Don't forget, the police have access to Flight passenger lists etc, and it doesn't take much of a program to check names and passport numbers, so in some cases its quite an easy trail to follow, especially if the person on the run is using their own passport rather than a false one.

[ourmaninbangers]

what is it with the scum and Thailand, it seams like any s*&t bag from any country finds their way to Thailand, I don't get it.....

How was he found in LOS?

A lot of people seem to think (probably because of the perfect media), that Thailand is a paradise for hiding: "Nobody will find me there!!"

(Un)fortunately, the Thai police knows the country better than most of the cullprits and will be caught after all, most of the time after some tips from 'friends' of the scum bag.

you seem to think most people hiding out here will be caught. You are totally wrong. And sorry to tell you the thai police are the ones partly repsonible for this.

The truth only a very small perecentage of them do. Thailand is a GREAT place for hiding out.

I am told this by prisoners, embassy staff and police here and in europe.The main reason that they do get caught is;

1- they run out of money to live and thus expose themselves

2-more importantly, they run out of enough money to pay the bribes to stay here, get out of any trouble, know when any trouble is coming

3- they have not bothered to study how to remain hidden ( there are books on this that some felons have been found with- check out paladin press to name but one, also services which help people on the run- check out PT club, where one can buy covers passports good here to open bank accounts, and ways to make untracable phone calls)

to do a good job I was told they must get a fake passport ( easy) to leave their homeland, so they is no record of them coming here.Best to leave their place to a second place first, say france in this case, and then to malaya.This messes things up a little. They can never call or email back.often they have a confederatre or go into elabarote firewall type communcation schemes. any are member of some sort of organisation. If so, it an up hill climb for the authorty and unless a real headline grabber they ahve better things to do.

many crooks told me how much they loved the 9-11 incident because it meant so much resources were now trained upon the AQ and nhot them. I was told the same by authortys.

They only have so much time and budget.

a US marshall told me how hard it is for a felon to completely break with his past.They call their girlfriends, they take up the same hobbys.They wander back to their old habits.Their method they use is to look for someone they will contact, then take it from there.

As the native american indians said

"the hunter can make many errors,

the hunted can not afford to make even one"

In this case the gentleman did not seem to be a member of any group.Not support structure.

Some prisoners have told me that a service exists here for people on the run.So long as you are not on the number 1 wanted list they claim you can pay a fee and remain quite safe and sound.

A recent book hints of something like this- but the title escapes me, by a man called bernd lintle, something maybe- also another about a triad in cambodia

The law is that foreign police organisations must tell their thai counterparts when they are hunting someone here- that messes things up- therefore the truth is that many do not, until the very last minute, then the locals take all the credit and another general gets a star, quite pathetic really

Some international police have all but given up trying to train the locals in correct surveilance methods to do the job themselves, officially they say" get the singaporeans/HK because we can save time and they are the best in this region

' I was told it was because the locals just could not be trusted nor trained. I will not quote the exact words I was told. I was told of one man who needed to call his wife to tell her he would be late, another who had to pop out for cigerette.. this was common I was told.. they gave up

many top foreign crooks who have been held here have been let go, escaped, or... lost.

Dawood abrahim.. did'nt he somehow manage to get past all his security.. and many top drug mafia types

No, unfortuntatly this place is still a haven for crooks

and its this denial type emntality that does not help at all

[Jimjim]

Thailand seems like the Mexico of the East. A lot of criminals from the U.S. flee to Mexico and indeed, other Latin American countries. Likewise, in the East, many criminals from all over the world go to Thailand or even Cambodia and Philippines.

[sassienie]

So how long did this scumbag plan to stay in Thailand on £20000 (1 million baht)?

Must of had allies when he arrived here.

[Scott]

Ourmainbanger seems to know a lot about this subject!

Anyway, thanks for the info. Glad this guy is out of society.

[sriracha john]

where was he hiding in Thailand???

How was he found in LOS?

Don't forget, the police have access to Flight passenger lists etc, and it doesn't take much of a program to check names and passport numbers, so in some cases its quite an easy trail to follow, especially if the person on the run is using their own passport rather than a false one.

Answers and specifics below..............

The murderer:

Christopher Caunter

and his victim:

Deborah Townsend

Grim discovery started global manhunt

WHEN the macabre discovery of blood and scalp tissue was made at the side of a Suffolk road in 2005, it sparked one of the most complex murder probes undertaken in the county.

The investigation into the brutal killing of Deborah Townsend took three years, two trials and a close collaboration with the Thai authorities before Christopher Caunter was finally brought to justice.

Crime reporter JOSH WARWICK examines how the case was cracked.

CHRISTOPHER Caunter's unenviable collection of previous convictions includes kidnap, serious assaults and road rage violence.

Today, the 18-stone company director can add murder to that list.

Caunter is beginning a life sentence after a jury decided he had deliberately and callously run over his partner Deborah Townsend, leaving her with appalling injuries from which she could never recover.

The Suffolk horror story began on July 14, 2005.

When Caunter's failing business was raided by the Inland Revenue, he and Ms Townsend fled to Lowestoft, spending the evening drinking in the Norfolk Arms pub.

But before long, the couple - known for their fiery relationship - began to argue.

They abandoned plans to spend the night at a flat in Lowestoft and instead got into Caunter's rented Land Rover and embarked on the journey which would result in Ms Townsend's death.

At his trial, Caunter claimed 35-year-old Ms Townsend had leapt from the car as they travelled along the A146 at Beccles, falling to her death under the vehicle's wheels.

But detectives were certain Caunter had deliberately run his partner down, reversing over her head as she lay stricken in the road.

His actions after the incident appeared to be those of a guilty man.

Frantic phone calls to his brother, Robert, and friends, preceded the gathering of cash and the hasty purchase of a £3,000 ticket to Thailand from Paris.

Ms Townsend's partially clothed body was found on July 16, rolled up and dumped in the back of a car in Roxwell, Essex. In one last act of indignity, she had been hidden underneath clothing and a towel. Efforts had been made to clean the car.

While Caunter claimed a tragic accident had claimed his sweetheart, a Home Office post mortem examination found her injuries were not consistent with such an explanation.

Instead, medics quickly came to believe that Ms Townsend had been the victim of a gruesome murder.

DESPITE appeals to Caunter, communicated through his family and friends, the 36-year-old steadfastly refused to return to the UK to explain what had happened on that July evening.

So began the complicated legal process to obtain permission from the Thai authorities to ensure Caunter's extradition back to the UK.

Aided by a Crown Prosecution Service specialist lawyer, police obtained a magistrates' warrant by providing sufficient evidence to charge Caunter.

The full case was then outlined and put before a district judge and was then translated into Thai, ready to be handed over to the Attorney General's office.

In January 2006 the extradition papers were formally accepted but it was May 2006 before an arrest warrant and authorisation was granted so that British officers - Suffolk detectives - could assist in enquiries.

This gave them no legal powers but ensured officers could work with the Thai police to trace their man.

On 11 June, 2006 detective chief inspector Rick Munns and detective sergeant Trevor Prior flew to Thailand to start work.

The decision was taken to fly out during the World Cup, with detectives believing the football could draw Caunter out into the bars and pubs to watch the matches.

“I felt that the World Cup would represent a decent chance for us to track him down,” Dci Munns told The Evening Star. “Brits abroad tend to club together in ex-pat communities and we felt that if the football was on, he would gravitate out to the bars.

It was quite clear he was not going to come back voluntarily, so on that basis we had to try to go out there and find him. We knew from our enquiries that he had holidayed in Thailand a number of times before. It was feasible he had gone anywhere but working on the balance of probability we thought he would be in the areas he had previously visited.”

Dci Munns and Ds Prior spent nearly three weeks in Thailand in the resorts of Cha-Am and Hua Hin - and eventually their efforts reaped huge reward. The police's World Cup hunch paid off when Caunter was sighted in a bar in Hua Hin. He was subsequently arrested by Thai police as he sat in his car at a garage forecourt.

“We realised the only way we would secure his arrest was to go out to Thailand and spend time with the Royal Thai Police,” said Dci Munns. “We did everything we could to get them on board to help us find him - including giving a presentation in Thai to explain the case and to personalise Deborah and her family so they knew why it was important that we find him.”

After months of hard work, Caunter was brought back to the UK via the Metropolitan Police extradition unit in April 2007.

He was met by Suffolk police officers at Heathrow in the early hours of April 5 and immediately brought back to the county where he was charged with Deborah Townsend's murder and put before South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court on the same day.

Dci Munns said: “We knew he represented a serious danger. He had been engaged in violence over a considerable amount of time, some of which had resulted in criminal convictions. We were unable to speak to Caunter. We offered him the opportunity, but he did not want to engage with us. At the time of his arrest, he indicated he had not killed her and was not going to go to prison for something he had not done.”

However, the jury disagreed.

During the second trial, the court heard how Caunter, who stands 6ft 6ins and weighs 18 stone, had a temper like a “volcano exploding”.

Sentencing him to life in prison, with a minimum of 21 years to be served, Judge John Devaux said: “The evidence has shown that you have been violent in the past on a number of occasions and that you are a danger to others.”

- Evening Star (UK) / 2008-12-10

[Artisi]

I seem to remember only just recently 2 convicted criminals from Thailand doing a runner to England - seems it works both ways.

[sassienie]

what is it with the scum and Thailand, it seams like any s*&t bag from any country finds their way to Thailand, I don't get it.....

Easy, can sum it up in two words:

Visa Runners.

[dotcom]

Too bad life doesn't mean he dies in prision.

[TAWP]

Unless he gets shanked in the shower...toothbrushes are efficient...

[Considered Opinion]

where was he hiding in Thailand???

Need an idea do you Boater?

[percy2]

So two coppers came to Thailand with a "plan" to stake out British Pubs showing the Football matches in a seaside resort during the world cup.

How did they get that past their boss?

Cheers

[bangkokrick]

So two coppers came to Thailand with a "plan" to stake out British Pubs showing the Football matches in a seaside resort during the world cup.

How did they get that past their boss?

Cheers

As stupid as it sounds it does seem to have paid off. Good on the British and Thai police for catching this guy. The Brits are so predictable.

Cheers, Rick.

[Ambet]

... bad guys... they can run but they can't never hide...

Edited December 11, 2008 by Ambet

[animatic]

Couldn't happen to a nice bloke!

[SomNamNah]

6'6" jesus h c. what a monster.

[Maizefarmer]

How was he found in LOS?

Telephone: he was careless in who he phoned in the UK - the UK cops had a pretty good idea who he would contact at some point and waited patiently.

[gbswales]

I get very sad when I read how people still have this revenge mentality - someone does something bad and instantly people cry for the same bad things to happen back - reasons for wanting to hurt someone are immaterial - there is no such thing as a good reason for wanting to hurt anyone and by joining the cries for blood you just become as bad as the person who committed the crime. I guess that many of you would call yourselves Christians but it would seem that if you do you have learnt little of what JC had to say on the subject of enemies and forgiveness

It is revenge for misdeeds of the past that lead to continuing wars, terrorism. Why is mankind always looking for some kind of revenge or retribution in every situation - I just dont get it

[Considered Opinion]

I get very sad when I read how people still have this revenge mentality - someone does something bad and instantly people cry for the same bad things to happen back - reasons for wanting to hurt someone are immaterial - there is no such thing as a good reason for wanting to hurt anyone and by joining the cries for blood you just become as bad as the person who committed the crime. I guess that many of you would call yourselves Christians but it would seem that if you do you have learnt little of what JC had to say on the subject of enemies and forgiveness

It is revenge for misdeeds of the past that lead to continuing wars, terrorism. Why is mankind always looking for some kind of revenge or retribution in every situation - I just dont get it

First I think you are asking the question of the wrong people, since most here won't actually understand the end product of the question being asked.

In my considered Opinion it would be wasteful of you to hope that the idea of leaving judgment to the qualified, no matter which court, would never occur to our "educated" brethren here at TV. One can watch and perhaps with some hope, but in all the years I have watched it has never happened. I just like watching their funny little snouts getting pushed into the trough of public comment whenever something happens to a foreigner.

It would even be easier to put up with if just once in their miserable lives, they would find something good to say about their fellow man. Virtually everything they write here is putting someone down or complaining about their TGF or their TBF or how bad their wife/life was, and even after living in LOS for years, still find something to complain about.

Christians, in the way you mean it, are very unlikely to stay long on ThaiVisa. Buddhists even less so. No, in my considered opinion, most of them are just bad tempered old men, and those who will be.

Tch Tch

[hamishgillan]

pretty scary, glad i never met him.

[Lucifer]

Should be out for his 60th birthday, when he can retire to.....

[hamishgillan]

So two coppers came to Thailand with a "plan" to stake out British Pubs showing the Football matches in a seaside resort during the world cup.

How did they get that past their boss?

Cheers

Makes me think of one of those Simon Pegg movies. Brilliant humour for a sad story.

Edited December 11, 2008 by hamishgillan

[Considered Opinion]

pretty scary, glad i never met him.

Why? He was just another bloke that killed his "financee". God it's a wonder to me everyone doesn't kill their financee at the moment.

MODS: Please note the spelling of the above. No one is harmed in the writing of this posting. Also, my apologies to the offended by my honest appraisals.