Two Men Arrested For Stabbing Murder Of Phuket Tourist Michelle Smith

[Exsexyman]

Phuket=turning into Pattaya

That's original, never seen that on here before. Did you think that up all by yourself? Well done. Silly Tony indeed!

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Arrests over Australian's murder in Thailand: police

BANGKOK, June 25, 2012 (AFP) - Two Thai men have been arrested for the robbery and murder of an Australian woman killed in an attempted bag snatch on the Thai resort island of Phuket, police said Monday.

Michelle Elizabeth Smith, 59, was stabbed in the chest as two men on a motorcycle tried to rob her last Wednesday near her hotel in Phuket town.

One of the suspects was detained near Bangkok on Monday and the other in the southern province of Chumphon, Police Major General Chanasit Vatanavarangoon said by telephone from Phuket, without disclosing their identities.

"They were charged with robbery and murder and they both confessed," he said.

The pair, who both fled to the mainland after the killing, were filmed by a security camera during the attack.

The victim was part of a group of tour operators visiting the island. One of her travel companions was hospitalised after suffering a cut to her arm.

The death was another blow to Thailand's tourist-friendly image, coming less than a week after two Canadian sisters were found dead in their hotel room on nearby Phi Phi island, showing signs of an extreme toxic reaction.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-06-25

[pointoffew]

It baffles me how anybody can beg for the death penalty. Many of those who demand the death penalty repeatedly complain that the BIB and Thai justice system are flawed, and rightfully so.

If you get framed and people call for you to be put to death, you will beg again, this time that there is someone to stand up for you.

Moreover, no matter how horrific this case is, it is a typical case of manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Can't see how a competent judge in any country would pronounce the death sentence for those two fatal stabs.

I have to disagree with you pointoffew, as far as was manslaughter, in the footage the "killer" violently stabbed that lady, he didnt accidently stab her or trip over and accidentally stab her

"...murder requires either the intent to kill – a state of mind called malice, or malice aforethought – or the knowledge that one's actions are likely to result in death; manslaughter, on the other hand, requires a lack of any prior intention to kill or create a deadly situation."

Source: http://en.wikipedia....ki/Manslaughter

well you got me there pointoffew, i guess the assailant didnt realise her heart was in that side of her body and just tried to scare her off and thought he would give her a little nick with his blade, as far as i know there are varying degrees of murder. A bank robber enters a bank brandishing his pistol demanding money, the security guard runs towards the perp, the perp shoots the security guard dead, would you call that manslaughter? he may not have intended "initially" to kill anyone but the result was death by his actions, the perp therefore did create a deadly situation

It's not up to you or me to make the call, that's what we have lawyers for.

[dingdang]

this means, that when you want to stab someone to death, then you better first pull a bit on the handbag - as it is then manslaughter?

[kohphangan]

<p>This video should be removed from TV and youtube. i'm not sure the family would want he whole world to see there mother,sister or aunt be stabbed in a alley way.its disgusting that TV let this be shown and then delete other minor things.disgusting if you ask me.showing this video can not help catch the killers in anyway %2

I agree. The video is inappropriate for this forum.

Totally agree 100%. I replied to an earlier question as to who put it up. A. the editor of a news source we cannot mention. Nuff said.

Everyone does need to ask : what human benefit comes from watching the video ? And does anyone care about the feeling of the grieving relatives ?

It does clearly say "WARNING Graphic Content" if you do not like looking at things like this,just do not put your little arrow on play. Any positive information that can be gathered from people that know what to expect when it says "Warning" surely has to be a good positive reason for showing.

I am far from squeamish ( I can handle gore) but even for myself it made me shiver,it brought an anger of i want justice,so again i feel this has to be positive.

This is just one video footage,surely leaving i guess up kata noi hill there will be more cameras,and more as they flee. For the police it would be just a case of following all CCTV footage.

I hope they have the right guys........ They could have 5 mins of my time for sure... RIP........

[dude007]

Why, prithee, would someone be videoiing an empty street quite by chance? The robbery seems very inept and badly rehearsed to me.

It's CCTV footage of an alleyway, exactly the sort of place where you would hope to find CCTV cameras!

It's a hand held camera

But WHO is taking footage (at night) with a hand-held camera of an empty alley and by pure coincidence happens to film a murder in front of his camera lens... Strange. I cannot believe this. What was this guy's intention when he started filming this empty alley?

Edited June 25, 2012 by dude007

[Jayman]

Why, prithee, would someone be videoiing an empty street quite by chance? The robbery seems very inept and badly rehearsed to me.

It's CCTV footage of an alleyway, exactly the sort of place where you would hope to find CCTV cameras!

It's a hand held camera

But WHO is taking footage (at night) with a had-held camera of an empty alley and by pure coincidence films a murder in front of his eyes... Strange. I cannot believe this. What was this guy's intention when he started filming this empty alley?

Are you just not following anything here? It's a hand held video of the CCTV video being shown on a monitor. Jeeze.. It's been said at least a dozen times already.

[coma]

I'm a little confused. Maybe someone can shed some light on this.

Is the footage from a 'fixed' CCTV camera? Or someone holding a

video camera? I haven't read many replies so maybe this has

already been discussed. If it is someone holding a video camera

(which is what it looks like) then why are they just randomly

filming an empty street. The camera is moving about so it doesn't

look like it's fixed to a wall or pole etc.

Read earlier posts and you will know dude. It is CCTV footage however it was copied with a hand held camera.

[TomTom55]

Funny yesterday people bashing the police saying that the tactics were pure folly. Also that wasn't graphic, unfortunate that she died and well wishes to her loved ones, funerals are for the living not the dead.

[Bender]

In Europe a police investigation can take weeks, and sometime more, to catch criminals.

But in miracle thailand they just need few days...

[bangkokheat]

your exactly right pointoffew, it was just a debatable opinion

[notime]

The video clearly shows how unfortunate and tragic the loss of life was. And how little it takes to kill someone when unleashing sharp objects like knives in a fight. I'm sure these low-life idiots neither wanted to kill the victim or fully understood possible consequences of their actions. Maybe this shocking video could serve as a teaching tool in educating about the consequences of violence and how dangerous the knives are. Not showing it is not going to bring Michelle back. Sadly nothing will. But where and how to show it to get this message across and perhaps save someone else?

[transam]

The video clearly shows how unfortunate and tragic the loss of life was. And how little it takes to kill someone when unleashing sharp objects like knives in a fight. I'm sure these low-life idiots neither wanted to kill the victim or fully understood possible consequences of their actions. Maybe this shocking video could serve as a teaching tool in educating about the consequences of violence and how dangerous the knives are. Not showing it is not going to bring Michelle back. Sadly nothing will. But where and how to show it to get this message across and perhaps save someone else?

Unfortunately those lacking brain cells will NEVER learn, easy money target is all that computes. Nobody will change that. In farang land old age pensioners are being murdered in their homes for a pittance of cash. Low life's are the scourge of decent folks life. I have a place for them 6 feet under ground. Nooooo excuses, 6 feet under.

[julemanden]

Phuket=turning into Pattaya

Puuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhh !!

[Tanlic]

"May be a good idea to find out if it is the right two men first"

Do you really think this matters to the BIB, remember this murder

has the potential to damage Phukets tourist industry. If they are

the murders, I sincerely hope that they are punished to the full

extent of the law.

Unfortunately it happens too often in TH that police take 2 poor suckers who have nothing to do with that crime... Only to show media they acted very fast..... poor guys ( i mean the 2 "victims" )

Do you actually know someone who was framed by the Thai Police to be making wild statements like that or is just sweetie wife heresay?

In a high profile case like this, which has been highly publicised do you honestly think they would take the risk of framing someone? Not a chance in Hell!!

[ManInSurat]

"May be a good idea to find out if it is the right two men first"

Do you really think this matters to the BIB, remember this murder

has the potential to damage Phukets tourist industry. If they are

the murders, I sincerely hope that they are punished to the full

extent of the law.

Unfortunately it happens too often in TH that police take 2 poor suckers who have nothing to do with that crime... Only to show media they acted very fast..... poor guys ( i mean the 2 "victims" )

Do you actually know someone who was framed by the Thai Police to be making wild statements like that or is just sweetie wife heresay?

In a high profile case like this, which has been highly publicised do you honestly think they would take the risk of framing someone? Not a chance in Hell!!

I think they genuinely don't care about who's watching or the publicity for reasons of serving justice correctly.

Do I think they want the whole furore to go away asap to ensure their cash cow isn't badly damaged? Yes, I believe that.

It would make sense to them to make an arrest, secure a conviction and sentence execution to make it blow over as quickly as possible and show that Thailand is dealing with these things in an effective manner so the ฿ keeps pouring in. If you happen to wrongfully execute 1 or 2 young and innocent fellas in the process, well that's breaking a few eggs. Who would know, from the international media that it would be a false conviction? Who'd bother to try and find out and publicise that fact?

I'm assuming it'd be execution as every high-profile Thai on farang murder case I can think of has resulted in execution.

I'm not saying that this is what's going to happen now. That would be myopic. There's no proof, no detailed evidence either way of these being the people in that CCTV footage. Let's see what they show the waiting media. We coud be surprised.

I do think the governance is capable of this though. Definitely.

Are you seriously saying no one's ever been framed in Thailand or in Phuket? That people with power don't abuse and even kill the people below them and in their care to maintain that power in this country?

EDIT : I've just done some research and found out that the 2 men convicted of murdering Katherine Horton in 2007 had their sentences commuted to life, after initially getting the death sentence.

Edited June 25, 2012 by ManInSurat

[EyesWideOpen]

If the police caught the actual bad guys , good for them. Normally these high profile cases are solved in three days, so they did run over by one day...... But before the government starts slapping itself on the back, breathes a sigh of relief, and starts predicting the return of massive amounts of tourists, here is something to keep in mind.

A tourist WAS murdered in a nice area of Phuket. Therefor the danger exists for anyone there as a tourist. Catching the bad guys alters NOTHING as regards the danger level of Phuket. It makes the police feel good, and certainly provides closure for the family members. But the other travel agents who are still alive are going back to Australia and tell everyone to stay the hell away from Phuket....

[dundee48]

Phuket=turning into Pattaya

Nah Pattaya is much much better, less expensive and no unprovoked murders of elderly lady tourists by thugs on motorbikes. I guess that's why 7 million people visited Pattaya last year as opposed to Phuket's 3.7...

Your dreaming. The reason so many people visited Pattaya is because of its' location to the Airport and Bangkok. You can see it coming. I had the opportunity to sit at the police office the other day when I notice that it was almost one after the other falang going in to fill out report about a theft or a crime against by a Thai. Exspecially bag snatching a neckless snatching. I also figured out real quick that it is the venders who most likely call their friend to let them know that the tourist went swimming come and get it. Its a blast watching them try to describe the Thai person that stole their bags.

Glad to see you take so much pleasure in other peoples misfortune.Hope it happens to you some day soon.<Deleted> Edited June 25, 2012 by metisdead
: Expletive removed.

[bumpkin]

Phuket=turning into Pattaya

Nah Pattaya is much much better, less expensive and no unprovoked murders of elderly lady tourists by thugs on motorbikes. I guess that's why 7 million people visited Pattaya last year as opposed to Phuket's 3.7...

Your dreaming. The reason so many people visited Pattaya is because of its' location to the Airport and Bangkok. You can see it coming. I had the opportunity to sit at the police office the other day when I notice that it was almost one after the other falang going in to fill out report about a theft or a crime against by a Thai. Exspecially bag snatching a neckless snatching. I also figured out real quick that it is the venders who most likely call their friend to let them know that the tourist went swimming come and get it. Its a blast watching them try to describe the Thai person that stole their bags.

Does this observation reveal something about the character of people who choose to visit a place with the reputation of Pattaya ...... ?

[ttelise]

Looked at the video and having worked as a cameraman about 30 years I noticed that CCTV video's are steady and this looks like a phone or other camera which means someone saw the actual killing and there may be more than the video we see. I am not sure but can this be the reason we not see all footage because what we not see may have let to the arrest and to stories that the police knew names already.

Funny about camera issues.

It is patently obvious that the original video is CCTV. Someone the taped the original video playing on a monitor with a hand camera or phone. Look at blue border at top. The video itself is steady. The person filming the video is not steady.

[ttelise]

Why, prithee, would someone be videoiing an empty street quite by chance? The robbery seems very inept and badly rehearsed to me.

It's CCTV footage of an alleyway, exactly the sort of place where you would hope to find CCTV cameras!

It's a hand held camera

But WHO is taking footage (at night) with a hand-held camera of an empty alley and by pure coincidence happens to film a murder in front of his camera lens... Strange. I cannot believe this. What was this guy's intention when he started filming this empty alley?

No one is taping. Its CCTV and steady. The guy taping the playback of the CCTV with a phone is moving. Look at blue border of the original CCTV at top of video and you will see the actual video footage is steady.

[Jimi007]

If the police caught the actual bad guys , good for them. Normally these high profile cases are solved in three days, so they did run over by one day...... But before the government starts slapping itself on the back, breathes a sigh of relief, and starts predicting the return of massive amounts of tourists, here is something to keep in mind.

A tourist WAS murdered in a nice area of Phuket. Therefor the danger exists for anyone there as a tourist. Catching the bad guys alters NOTHING as regards the danger level of Phuket. It makes the police feel good, and certainly provides closure for the family members. But the other travel agents who are still alive are going back to Australia and tell everyone to stay the hell away from Phuket....

Why all the sensationalism? Random acts of violence do occur in places other than Phuket. I was recently at my home in Santa Cruz California and there was such an act. A homeless man from San Francisco with no ties whatsoever to Santa Cruz, stabbed to death a woman he didn't know in broad daylight for no apparent reason. She was just walking down the street near her home. It was the only murder there this year. It seems like many members of TV just love the chance to slam Phuket any opportunity they get...

[travelmann]

It baffles me how anybody can beg for the death penalty. Many of those who demand the death penalty repeatedly complain that the BIB and Thai justice system are flawed, and rightfully so.

If you get framed and people call for you to be put to death, you will beg again, this time that there is someone to stand up for you.

Moreover, no matter how horrific this case is, it is a typical case of manslaughter, not premeditated murder. Can't see how a competent judge in any country would pronounce the death sentence for those two fatal stabs.

If you carry a weapon I expect you will use it ergo you intend to cause maximum injury including death. Hang em.................by the ba**s.

There was absolutely NO need to stab these two women, the guy was a total coward, he was probably surprised they actually put up a decent fight halfwit that he was.

Some of us will fight for our principles not be walked over even if it means losing our lives.

Nothing more than lowlife scummy cowards.

[ManInSurat]

If the police caught the actual bad guys , good for them. Normally these high profile cases are solved in three days, so they did run over by one day...... But before the government starts slapping itself on the back, breathes a sigh of relief, and starts predicting the return of massive amounts of tourists, here is something to keep in mind.

A tourist WAS murdered in a nice area of Phuket. Therefor the danger exists for anyone there as a tourist. Catching the bad guys alters NOTHING as regards the danger level of Phuket. It makes the police feel good, and certainly provides closure for the family members. But the other travel agents who are still alive are going back to Australia and tell everyone to stay the hell away from Phuket....

Why all the sensationalism? Random acts of violence do occur in places other than Phuket. I was recently at my home in Santa Cruz California and there was such an act. A homeless man from San Francisco with no ties whatsoever to Santa Cruz, stabbed to death a woman he didn't know in broad daylight for no apparent reason. She was just walking down the street near her home. It was the only murder there this year. It seems like many members of TV just love the chance to slam Phuket any opportunity they get...

Random? The lady was stabbed for her bag in a premeditated attack. Alright he may have not gone in with the intention of stabbing anyone, but he also probably didn't expect the lady to fight back. His reaction was to stab her when she did fight back. The reason = money and they targeted 2 ladies alone.

The Swede murderd by a gang of 12 Thais outside his house in full view of his neighbors? Bound with cable ties, slashed and stabbed for his laptop, money and valuables. Money motivated and a robbery and extremely brazen.

The Australian stabbed on his bike, by the 2 Thai youths, a couple of months ago for ฿300. He didn't die, but he easily could have. Why? Money.

It's not someone having a psychotic episode, they're violent robberies targeting tourists. In a place that never used to have them. The rate of murder and violent crime is definitely going up. Can't you see that?

Phuket doesn't have one murder a year. You're not even taking into account all the "suicides" that happen either. The murder rate is much much higher than is officially documented.

Sure, all large cities and massive metroplises have high murder rates, that's to be expect. Phuket's tiny in comparison with a small population.

I think it's quite rose-tinted to say there's not a problem and people can't highligh this fact.

I concede that gratuitous bashing is uncalled for and I can be overly critical of places, but don't deny there's a violent crime epidemic. It's been rumbling on this forum for a number of years.

Edited June 25, 2012 by ManInSurat

[travelmann]

The video clearly shows how unfortunate and tragic the loss of life was. And how little it takes to kill someone when unleashing sharp objects like knives in a fight. I'm sure these low-life idiots neither wanted to kill the victim or fully understood possible consequences of their actions. Maybe this shocking video could serve as a teaching tool in educating about the consequences of violence and how dangerous the knives are. Not showing it is not going to bring Michelle back. Sadly nothing will. But where and how to show it to get this message across and perhaps save someone else?

The sad reality is ( and its the same worldwide) is that " people like this" really DONT CARE at all whether they kill or dont kill, this is their world.

[KeyserSoze01]

I'll give 20 to 1 odds that the numpties in custody are not the people who carried out the crime.

[samsiam]

Phuket=turning into Pattaya

Nah Pattaya is much much better, less expensive and no unprovoked murders of elderly lady tourists by thugs on motorbikes. I guess that's why 7 million people visited Pattaya last year as opposed to Phuket's 3.7...

Your dreaming. The reason so many people visited Pattaya is because of its' location to the Airport and Bangkok. You can see it coming. I had the opportunity to sit at the police office the other day when I notice that it was almost one after the other falang going in to fill out report about a theft or a crime against by a Thai. Exspecially bag snatching a neckless snatching. I also figured out real quick that it is the venders who most likely call their friend to let them know that the tourist went swimming come and get it. Its a blast watching them try to describe the Thai person that stole their bags.

Does this observation reveal something about the character of people who choose to visit a place with the reputation of Pattaya ...... ?

Lets guess what the 'opportunity' was to be so privileged to sit in a Thai police station all day ??

[dingdang]

you cannot compare the "usual" murder in your hometown with these cases here...

here are tourists selectively attacked...

you come here as a tourist and you know, you are in the crosshairs already...

[Payboy]

I'll give 20 to 1 odds that the numpties in custody are not the people who carried out the crime.

You do know gambling is strictly forbidden in Thailand, don't you?

[Jimi007]

If the police caught the actual bad guys , good for them. Normally these high profile cases are solved in three days, so they did run over by one day...... But before the government starts slapping itself on the back, breathes a sigh of relief, and starts predicting the return of massive amounts of tourists, here is something to keep in mind.

A tourist WAS murdered in a nice area of Phuket. Therefor the danger exists for anyone there as a tourist. Catching the bad guys alters NOTHING as regards the danger level of Phuket. It makes the police feel good, and certainly provides closure for the family members. But the other travel agents who are still alive are going back to Australia and tell everyone to stay the hell away from Phuket....

Why all the sensationalism? Random acts of violence do occur in places other than Phuket. I was recently at my home in Santa Cruz California and there was such an act. A homeless man from San Francisco with no ties whatsoever to Santa Cruz, stabbed to death a woman he didn't know in broad daylight for no apparent reason. She was just walking down the street near her home. It was the only murder there this year. It seems like many members of TV just love the chance to slam Phuket any opportunity they get...

Random? The lady was stabbed for her bag in a premeditated attack. Alright he may have not gone in with the intention of stabbing anyone, but he also probably didn't expect the lady to fight back. His reaction was to stab her when she did fight back. The reason = money.

The Swede murderd by a gang of 12 Thais outside his house? Boung with cable ties and stabbed, for his laptop, money and valuables. Money motivated and a robbery.

The Australian stabbed on his bike, by the 2 Thai youths, a couple of months ago for ฿300. He didn't die, but he easily could have. Why? Money.

It's not someone having a psychotic episode, they're violent robberies. In a place that never used to have them. The rate of murder and violent crime is definitely going up. Can't you see that?

Phuket doesn't have one murder a year. You're not even taking into account all the "suicides" that happen either. The murder rate is much much higher than is officially documented.

Sure, all large cities and massive metroplises have high murder rates, that's to be expect. Phuket's tiny in comparison with a small population.

I think it's quite rose-tinted to say there's not a problem and people can't highligh this fact.

There was never a Swede murdered by twelve Thais. It turned out to be a murder by his business partners in Pataya that tracked him to Phuket and killed him. They were also Swedes! The population of Phuket at peak times is near one million according to some reports and most are from other areas of Thailand as well as other countries. But since this is Thailand you seem to want to blame Thais for all the problems. Tourist areas attract more than just tourists, they attract scum who want to prey on them as well... There seems to be a bit of a crime wave in low season here. It has happened almost every year that I have been living here. The tourists leave, the jobs for many are lost and some idiots turn to crime...

Edited June 25, 2012 by Jimi007