Koh Tao murders: 2 DNA profiles from alleged murder weapon do not match defendants' DNA

[tingtong]

It is shocking new. Or not.

I believe many of us thought this outcome from the start, only BIB took their time to admit to it.

Guess now all bonus has been spent already.

Now reshuffle the culprits, and pay a bonus for the new bunch for the good work...stick to what worked here for long time.

If still trouble, cry for the PM to censor media more.

[monty1412]

Ohhh Thailand what are you doing...... could the rush attempt to try and find the perpetrators to quell international concerns not have been more bungled . The persons I feel for here apart from the two Burmese who may well find their freedom soon , is the parents . relatives and friends of the deceased.. terrible for the loss but then to see that the investigation into their loves ones deaths handled at best in a totally unprofessional manner and at worst in a deliberate frame up will bring them no joy or measure of solace

[stephenterry]

So they should walk I would guess

Why should they? If the prosecution was using a DNA match between the two defendants and the murder weapon yes they should. But that's not what they are basing their case on, the DNA results could be from any other person that handled the hoe before or after the murders.

We have now confirmed that the DNA from the hoe did not belong to the B2. Yes maybe they should walk and that would be the end of the story but still they could be involved in some way, they are still a part of this mystery.

And please stay on topic this time , before you consider attacking "RTP defenders".

Just out of interest, what is there left to defend? Can't see any normal reasoning person finding the RTP's case remotely credible in this case. And also, to allege that the B2 are still a part of the mystery is pure speculation, unless of course, because they were hand-picked to be scapegoats instead of others.

[AlphMichaels]

I've felt this from the very beginning. This was done, not by a Thai or even a Burmese criminal. The ones involved skipped town quickly and are back in their home country.

[Jim walker]

Case dismissed now for the RTP to go out there and catch the real double killer who is still stalking about possibly looking out for his / her next victim what we need here is a decent reward to get the RTP motivated because its just a couple of falangs that was murdered so its not so important as if it had been Thais that were murdered.

[mark131v]

So they should walk I would guess

Why should they? If the prosecution was using a DNA match between the two defendants and the murder weapon yes they should. But that's not what they are basing their case on, the DNA results could be from any other person that handled the hoe before or after the murders.

We have now confirmed that the DNA from the hoe did not belong to the B2. Yes maybe they should walk and that would be the end of the story but still they could be involved in some way, they are still a part of this mystery.

And please stay on topic this time , before you consider attacking "RTP defenders".

Hi balo

Did you bother reading the links on this one or are you just spieling from a position of ignorance again?

You are one of the defenders yet you offer very little other than stating the obvious and if you cannot see the potential for a complete travesty of justice here then I think you must be blind, stupid or have ulterior motives

The B2 case is in tatters there is good evidence that everything the Police Farce has done so far is massively flawed yet you and the RTP cheerleaders are still grasping at straws and the B2 are still remanded in a shithole Thai prison, personally I think that is wrong

[atyclb]

https://twitter.com/pakhead/status/642202002634743808

Now, run, run, run for your life, Dr. Porthip,... the mafia is gonna witch hunt you now....

could not understand her defending the gt200 bomb detectors but her courage in the KT trial is a great start towards forgiveness.

[shaurene]

Lack of Evidence, Local Media Coverage Adds to Mystery of Koh Tao Murder

Last week, a partially blind Burmese beach cleaner told the court he spotted the garden hoe at the scene before police arrived, and returned the tool to its normal spot nearby. Upon police's request, he later retrieved the hoe, which he said he was unaware was covered in blood.

The garden hoe yielded no DNA traces and no fingerprints, according to police, said the defendants lawyer, Nakhon Chompuchat. But we think there should be something left.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1436774626&typecate=06&section=

how blind was he, sounds very convenient

I agree, wonder what the Police promised him for this convenient story.

Discusting the whole thing. Some official heads need rolling. Let them go, you have nothing. Start taking DNA samples from the village heads family and all the others from that bar.

[StealthEnergiser]

Follow

Andy Hall‏@Atomicalandy

Andy Hall retweeted Mark Farmaner

Great @burmacampaignuk join @Reprieve seek accountability&transparency UK gov response Koh Tao murder case @KentBKK

Andy Hall added,

Mark Farmaner @MarkFarmaner

This week Met police missed legal deadline for @b

[zaphod reborn]

We were expecting some breaking news from Dr Pornthip but this is more explosive than I thought, and we have still got to hear the other evidence from the UK! There's enough now to call a complete halt to these unjust and farcical proceedings

They will not stop the trial now the loss of face would be just to great. Better to stumble on to the end and then plead S*******y

Under the Thai criminal procedure code, the judge cannot stop the case and enter a dismissal. That process is called a directed verdict or nonsuit, and doesn't exist in Thailand. The judge must hear all the testimony and evidence before rendering a verdict. Even in modern judicial systems, a directed verdict is only entered if the prosecution failed to establish all of the elements of the crime in its prima facie case.

Dr. Pornthip is only an expert witness for the defense. The judge is the factfinder and has to decide the facts, including resolving any conflicts in the testimony provided by the expert witnesses for both sides. In modern judicial systems, it is the norm to have expert witnesses conflict on their testimony. I think most of the posters here think that Dr. Pornthip is some type of independent, court-appointed expert. She is not. She is a hired gun, like any expert witness.

As for the hoe, I'm not even convinced it was the murder weapon. I think there is equally as great a chance that the victims were already dead, and they were posthumously bludgeoned with the hoe (to cover up the real perpetrator, aka "a set up"). In any event, the hoe was not secured by the police, and any evidence that could be taken from it was contaminated and unreliable.

I'm not sure there was ever testimony from the police officer who actually removed samples from the victims' bodies and the chain of custody in taking that evidence for testing. To me, and I've been a lawyer for 20 years, that would be the only probative evidence in the case. The rest of the prosecution's case was a sham - it reminded me a lot of the prosecution's case in the OJ Simpson trial. Put everything into evidence, and see if it sticks.

Well, RTP can walk away from this and say they gave it their best shot. The investigation was botched from the start, and whether, like the Erawan bombing, this is due to incompetence, or police officers on the take, we will never know.

[Dogmatix]

What happened to the 'perfect job' of an investigation performed by Thai police?

The person in charge of the investigation when they arrested the 2B will take over as national police chief in two weeks time and stay for 5 years.

[tonysilly]

No Shit!!! Hope those kids get some money from the police. Sad!!!

[fstarbkk]

Well, this is getting quite awkward now for the RTP. I bet the bosses up in Bangkok are having meetings right now on how to end this fiasco with a minimum of loss of face.

Tradition would dictate to find the mid-level investigator with the least powerful political connections and nail him to the cross (i.e. Transfer him to an inactive post).

[DM07]

SUUUUUUUUURRRRRPRRRRRIIIIIIISE!

[oldsailor35]

I cannot see what all the fuss is about!

What difference does it make that there is no DNA match to the defendants? I mean this is the RTP here after all, evidence is just an inconvenience for them. The two lads are "obviously" guilty as they provided a full confession, and of course did a re-enactment video complete with finger pointing, what more does the RTP need? They already have all this on, it is a watertight case!​​

Yes and to show how much they knew. At the re enactment, they were seen pointing the wrong way until corrected by a police officer and told to point the other way. What a farce !

[givenall]

what a surprise!!!!!!!

[hutchings1963]

Let them go now, it is plain as day that these two Burmese lads are just scapegoats, the sad thing is the real killers are still out there.

Yes and you and i know the police know who the killers are because brown envelopes were exchanged,the police who handled this should be in prison,with all the other rif raf

[NeilSA1]

I feel very sorry for the poor B2.

Disgusting RTP - liars/corrupt/inefficient.

[webfact]

DNA on weapon does not match men accused of killing British tourists in Thailand
Oliver Holmes in Bangkok

Forensic expert says DNA found on bloodied garden hoe does not belong to two men standing trial for deaths of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller

BANGKOK: -- DNA samples taken from a garden hoe believed to have been used in the murder of British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand last year does not belong to the two men who are standing trial, a top Thai forensic expert has told the court.

The revelation is the latest in a string of inconsistencies in the police investigation into the brutal killings. During a three-month trial, police have been accused of improperly collecting evidence at the crime scene, intimidation and abuse of witnesses.

Thai police deny any wrongdoing.

The head of the Thai forensics institute, Porntip Rojanasunand, told judges on the island of Koh Samui that her team had identified DNA on a garden hoe, found bloodied near the deceased on a beach on Koh Tao island in September last year. The samples belonged to two males but there was no match with the defendants, she said.

The chief judge had allowed Porntip to retest the hoe at the request of defence lawyers, who are working pro-bono to support the 22-year-old bar workers, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, who are from Myanmar.

Full story: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/11/dna-weapon-not-match-men-accused-killing-british-tourists-thailand

-- The Guardian 2015-09-11

[stephenterry]

I've felt this from the very beginning. This was done, not by a Thai or even a Burmese criminal. The ones involved skipped town quickly and are back in their home country.

The DNA found on the female victim was purported to be (as stated by the RTP) of Asian descent. In all probability, more likely to be Thai or Burmese, but most likely Thai. Sheer population numbers outweighs Indian, Chinese, Malaysian etc. holiday-makers.

So, it's possible, not probable.

[Jonathan Fairfield]

https://twitter.com/pakhead/status/642226847690809345

[Jonathan Fairfield]

https://twitter.com/pakhead/status/642228184247746560

[gchurch259]

Post number five with same comment, "Take these two guys to the border and turn them loose" !!

Then find the Island dweller who did this !!

[MaxLee]

what a surprise!!!!!!!

But now "the real fun part aka the real face-saving emergency procedures are about to begin, aka intimidating, silencing or slowly secretly killing key witnesses......

Watch out for the real Koh-Tao mafia hence on.....

[KunMatt]

So they should walk I would guess

Why should they? If the prosecution was using a DNA match between the two defendants and the murder weapon yes they should. But that's not what they are basing their case on, the DNA results could be from any other person that handled the hoe before or after the murders.

We have now confirmed that the DNA from the hoe did not belong to the B2. Yes maybe they should walk and that would be the end of the story but still they could be involved in some way, they are still a part of this mystery.

And please stay on topic this time , before you consider attacking "RTP defenders".

Hi balo

Did you bother reading the links on this one or are you just spieling from a position of ignorance again?

You are one of the defenders yet you offer very little other than stating the obvious and if you cannot see the potential for a complete travesty of justice here then I think you must be blind, stupid or have ulterior motives

The B2 case is in tatters there is good evidence that everything the Police Farce has done so far is massively flawed yet you and the RTP cheerleaders are still grasping at straws and the B2 are still remanded in a shithole Thai prison, personally I think that is wrong

All of his posts now are to save his online persona because he realises that the RTP case, which he vehemently defended for the last year, has fallen to bits and he also realises that people here are getting wise to his bad character which is why his last few weeks posts have all been "come on guys, let's all be nice to each other and stay on topic" instead of the usual lowlife shameful posts he was used to leaving on the Koh Tao threads since the case began.

To me it's a good sign as it seems that just about all of the RTP defenders have either abandoned the cause once the shambolic trial progressed or they are slyly doing a 180 and hoping that we don't notice. But don't worry, I remember what you all posted and I'll be calling you on your BS and I'll always be a thorn on your sides, especially you Balo.

[SuwadeeS]

This system of "justice" is a shame.

[a99az]

Happy that this has been sorted and that the BiB have been shown to be what they are. Sadly what effect will this have on the Bangkok bombers. Can we now ever believe/trust what the police say or do. I think not.

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed.

[weaver93]

Wonder if the Poo Yai Baan will now withdraw the 1m bht offer, if any of his family

are indicted???

[ttthailand]

I still am waiting for the DNA test results found on her body compared with the 2 defendants. Is that a positive match that can be proven ?