Briton Accused Of Murder Arrested In Thailand

[Jai Dee]

Briton accused of murder arrested in Thailand

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A British fugitive facing a murder charge at home for pushing his fiance out of a moving car and then running over her has been arrested in Thailand a year later, police said on Thursday.

The man, named as Christopher Alan Caunter, 34, was caught late on Wednesday after driving away from police waiting to arrest him at a bar in the beach resort of Cha Am, 150 km (90 miles) south of Bangkok, police said.

"We caught him at a petrol station around midnight after he realised that police waiting outside a bar wanted to arrest him," Lieutenant Colonel Chakrit Iamchangpun told Reuters.

Caunter is accused of killing his fiance, Deborah Jane Townsend, 35, by pushing her out of her car in the eastern county of Suffolk, then backing over her, Chakrit said.

Britain has sought the extradition of Caunter, who entered Thailand in November and also faces charges of assaulting police, robbery, money laundering and drug smuggling in England, a police statement said. It would take at least five months to go through the Thai legal system to extradite Caunter to England, Chakrit said.

Source: Reuters - 29 June 2006

[Phil Conners]

Britain has sought the extradition of Caunter, who entered Thailand in November and also faces charges of assaulting police, robbery, money laundering and drug smuggling in England, a police statement said. It would take at least five months to go through the Thai legal system to extradite Caunter to England, Chakrit said.

That gives him at least five months to contemplate how much nicer a UK jail is to a Thai jail...

[Backpack_thailand]

Another pleasant chap who found his way to Thailand...!!!

I'm sure he'll enjoy his porridge!

[george]

Briton arrested in connection with girlfriend's murder

BANGKOK: -- Police have arrested a British man wanted in connection with the murder of his girlfriend in England.

Christopher Alan Caunter, 35, was arrested on Wednesday in Petchaburi province, Pol Col Chaiwat Ketworachai, a deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division, told a press conference Thursday.

Chaiwat said Caunter had a Thai girlfriend and been been living in Phetchaburi since last year. The British fugitive also invested in real estate business in Phetchaburi.

British police had been searching for Caunter since the death of his girlfriend, Deborah Townsend, whose body was found on a road in eastern England last year. She was allegedly pushed from a moving car and run over, Chaiwat told the press conference.

He said police would ask public prosecutors to ask the court to approve Caunter's extradition.

--The Nation 2006-06-29

[britmaveric]

Good job - deport the bastard!!!

[yoshiwara]

bad drivers are not welcome in thailand...

[leisurely]

Excellent news. Scummy bstard killed (allegedly) his wife and strew her body parts around Essex. Let's hope he enjoys his stay in Thailand for more than 5 months.

[Soundguy]

It would take at least five months to go through the Thai legal system to extradite Caunter to England, Chakrit said.

That gives him at least five months to contemplate how much nicer a UK jail is to a Thai jail...

I'd rather be in Klongprem than Belmarsh, but that's just me.

[lampard10]

So if you are caught changing a light bulb, you can be sent instantly back to UK, but if you murder someone it takes five months. Sounds more like the British justice system

[Maejo Man]

So if you are caught changing a light bulb, you can be sent instantly back to UK, but if you murder someone it takes five months. Sounds more like the British justice system

Not quite Lampard. If an alien is in breach of an immigration law, he can be deported within days, and rightly so, but if he has not comitted any crime in Thailand, the country asking for deportation has to submit all documentation. Sometimes it's only weeks, sometimes months. There are several Europeans in the same boat as we speak

[Scott]

Good riddence! The only thing is with the light sentencing laws in the UK, he'll probably back on the beaches in Cha Am in a few years.

[splitlid]

Just saw the guy on ABC News.

giving it the, "wern't me guv" routine.

his thai misses looks like a resoectable girl also,someone you definately want argueing your case

[FlyingDutchman]

If I was his lawyer, I'd say : " Your 'onor ... The man and woman had an argue because she was drunk and had taken drugs. She wanted to get out of the car herself and my client drove off ... never to hear from her again. The defence thinks she might have walked on the middle of the road to a certain death ... "

Would I be a good lawyer ?

[PREM-R]

The BBC has a different "slant" to the story, they state that the victims body was found in a Land Rover in Essex whilst her "blood and hair" were found near Beccles in Suffolk. The report also states that three other Essex men have been arrested in connection with the murder.

BBC News Story

Edited June 30, 2006 by PREM-R

[george]

Update:

Extradition process for alleged British killer starts

BANGKOK: -- Public prosecutors began on Friday proceedings to extradite a British man wanted for allegedly killing his girlfriend in England last year.

They also asked Ratchadapisek Criminal Court not to grant bail to Christopher Alan Caunter, 34, for fears he would escape.

An English court issued an arrest warrant last August for Caunter for allegedly pushing Deborah Jane Townsend, 35, out of a moving vehicle and deliberately running her over in Suffolk on July 14, 2005. Her body was found the next day.

Caunter fled to Thailand, prompting the British government to ask the Thai government in February to arrest him so that he could be tried in Britain.

The Thai Crime Suppression Division police arrested Caunter on Wednesday at a guest house in Phetchaburi's Chaam district.

Ratchadapisek Criminal Court ordered him to be detained pending an extradition hearing set for September 4.

-- The Nation 2006-06-30

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

The victim, Deborah Townsend

The murder suspect, Christopher Caunter, when he was arrested in Thailand

Man due in court on murder charge

A murder suspect has arrived back in the United Kingdom from Thailand today and is expected to appear at court this afternoon charged with killing his girlfriend.

Christopher Caunter, 35, from east London was arrested in Thailand in June 2006 on suspicion of the murder of Deborah Townsend.

Her body was found in July 2005 a day after her hair and scalp tissue was discovered on the A146 at Beccles.

Police discovered her corpse in a Land Rover Discovery in the grounds of Newland Hall, Roxwell near Chelmsford.

They applied for Caunter to be extradited almost immediately after his arrest and he has finally arrived back in the UK today, accompanied by British police officers.

He was to be brought to Suffolk this morning and formally charged with the murder of his 35-year-old girlfriend.

He was then expected to appear at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court for a preliminary hearing.

- Evening Star (UK)

Edited April 5, 2007 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Additional thaivisa thread found here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...c=82812&hl=

[ronw]

He looks like a well built chap, but , thinking about someone throwing another person out of a car,whilst it is moving..........how difficult that must be.....having to steer the car, with one hand, then , with the other, opening the door,and pushing a passenger out...unless of course, they were unconscious, but even that would not be easy....

Hmmm , maybe he had some help!

Anyway, if guilty, then good riddance ......may he rot in hel_l....

[Dakhar]

Regardless, the guy has got instincts of a cat.

How many folks would have known to run when you see a few regulars/cops around a bar intrance?

[Falux2]

Sounds like a sweet chap.

[sriracha john]

Man in court over scalp murder

A man accused of the murder of a woman whose scalp and hair were found on the A146 in Beccles appeared in court yesterday, just hours after arriving in this country from Thailand.

Christopher Caunter, 35, of South Avenue, Hullbridge, Essex, was arrested in Thailand last June on suspicion of killing his girlfriend Deborah Townsend. The Thai authorities agreed to his extradition in September but it was not until late on Wednesday night that he was put on a plane to England.

He arrived back at Heathrow airport yesterday morning, accompanied by British police officers. He was taken to Ipswich police station and formally charged at with the 35-year-old's murder.

Looking tanned, he appeared in the dock at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court in Ipswich yesterday afternoon where he spoke only to confirm his name, age and address. He was dressed in a light blue denim shirt and khaki combat-style trousers and appeared composed throughout the four-minute hearing.

Caunter, who has greying hair, is alleged to have murdered his girlfriend in July 2005, at or near Beccles, but has said in the past that he is innocent. The investigation started after a motorist reported seeing blood on the A146 at Beccles, near the Morrison's roundabout, on July 15. It proved to be scalp tissue and hair, and a search was launched for her body. It was found on July 16 in a Land Rover Discovery in the grounds of Newland Hall, near Chelmsford. She had died of head injuries on what was also the day she became a grandmother.

Deborah Townsend, a carer from East Ham, London, who was also known as Deborah Hamilton, had two daughters, aged 18 and 15, and an eight-year-old son. She had been living with Caunter in Bromley, south-east London, for a short while leading up to her death. She had told friends that she was going on holiday to the Broads and was seen in Lowestoft shortly before her death.

In court yesterday Ian Pells, prosecuting, asked magistrates to remand the defendant in custody and send the case to crown court.

Caunter, who was represented by Neil Saunders, was remanded in custody to appear at Ipswich Crown Court on May 4 for a plea and case management hearing.

Robert Caunter, 37, Michael Briggs, 39, both from Barking, and 37-year-old Joseph Brown, from Romford, have all been charged with assisting an offender in relation to the inquiry.

They have denied the charge and are due to stand trial at Ipswich Crown Court in October.

- Norfolk Eastern Daily Press (UK)

[atlastaname]

Good job - deport the bastard!!!

Hasn't been proved guilty yet!! At least wait until he is before calling him a bastard

[mikethevigoman]

bad drivers are not welcome in thailand...

I agre, that reversing manouver will cost him 3 points and 20 years i should hope !

[mikethevigoman]

Good job - deport the bastard!!!

Hasn't been proved guilty yet!! At least wait until he is before calling him a bastard

i agree, it may be a case of she jumped out and he backed up to see where she was !

[markr]

Good job - deport the bastard!!!

Hasn't been proved guilty yet!! At least wait until he is before calling him a bastard

i agree, it may be a case of she jumped out and he backed up to see where she was !

Edited April 7, 2007 by markr

[astral]

Send him home and let the court decide.

[Tolley]

Of course Thailand will send him home as quickly as possible after they have relieved him of as much baht as they can.

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Extradited murder suspect denies charge

A MAN extradited from Thailand on suspicion of a Suffolk murder today denied the charged when he appeared at Ipswich Crown Court.

Christopher Caunter, 34, of south-east London, is accused of the murder of his girlfriend Deborah Townsend.

Her body was found in July 2005, a day after her hair and scalp tissue were discovered on the A146 at Beccles.

The 35-year-old's body was found in a Land Rover Discovery in the grounds of Newland Hall, Roxwell, near Chelmsford.

In court today, Caunter spoke only to confirm his name and to enter a not guilty plea to committing murder between June 30 and July 16, 2005.

Caunter was remanded in custody and a trial date fixed for October 8.

Earlier this year, a Bangkok court ruled in favour of Caunter's extradition to Britain.

During a previous Ipswich Crown Court hearing his brother Robert Caunter, 36 and Michael Briggs, 38, both of Barking, Essex, and 36-year-old Joseph Brown, of Romford, all denied assisting an offender in relation to the murder inquiry.

Greg Perrins, today's prosecutor, requested all four men stand trial at the same time.

- Evening Star (UK)

[sriracha john]

UPDATE

Extradited murder suspect denies charge

Caunter was remanded in custody and a trial date fixed for October 8.

UPDATE

Man, 35, denies fiancee's murder

A 35-year-old man has denied murdering his fiancee and dumping her body in his Land Rover before fleeing to Thailand.

Christopher Caunter, 35, of Hullbridge, Essex, was extradited back to the UK this year and has pleaded not guilty to killing Deborah Townsend in July 2005.

Ipswich Crown Court was told Mr Caunter drove at Ms Townsend, knocking her to the ground, and then reversed the vehicle over her body. Karim Khalil, prosecuting, said Ms Townsend's skull was crushed.

The court heard Mr Caunter drove to Newland Hall, near Chelmsford, Essex, after murdering Ms Townsend and then left her body in the boot of his vehicle.

Mr Caunter, who ran a labouring business under investigation by the Inland Revenue, made arrangements to drive to the south coast, before boarding a ferry to France, the court was told. He then travelled to an airport in Paris to catch a flight to Thailand.

Jurors heard Mr Caunter had fled to East Anglia with Ms Townsend after being told tax inspectors had raided his business. The couple arranged to stay in a flat in Lowestoft, Suffolk. Ms Townsend was last seen leaving the address in a Land Rover driven by Mr Caunter in the early hours of 15 July 2005.

Robert Caunter, 38, of Barking, Essex, best friend Joseph Brown, 38, of Romford, Essex, and an employee and friend, Michael Briggs, 40, of Barking, all deny assisting an offender. The prosecution claims the trio attempted to cover up for Mr Caunter and helped him leave the country.

- BBC

[Flatouthruthefog]

It would take at least five months to go through the Thai legal system to extradite Caunter to England, Chakrit said.

That gives him at least five months to contemplate how much nicer a UK jail is to a Thai jail...

I'd rather be in Klongprem than Belmarsh, but that's just me.

Fascinating observation! I've been in jail in UK and Thailand too, but happily they let me out after each visit. It's hard for a visitor to get an accurate impression of what it's like to actually live there, though a sensitive person CAN detect atmospheres.

North Sea Camp, in the marshes east of Boston, Lincs, which a certain fallen UK MP and novelist describes in one of his books as "heaven" seemed to be a reasonable - even friendly - place, much like the impression given at a jail outside Kalasin, in Isaan. But the dark and forbidding place in Khon Kaen turned out to be just as evil as it looked and felt, according to the Thai inmate I visited.

A dedicated prison visitor connected with a church in Thailand tells me that the deportation jail in Bangkok is THE worst a foreigner would ever experience here. There's a feeling that this is intentional, too.

Sorry I've diverted off topic a few kms. Scope for a new thread here, mods?