Family suspect cover up in death of American expat in Hua Hin

[rooster59]

 

Family suspect cover up in death of American expat in Hua Hin

 

The brother of an American man found dead in a Hua Hin hotel room say he was murdered, and did not die of natural causes, as claimed by the authorities.

 

James Hughes who worked as a lecturer at the Webster University (WUT) in Cha Am was reported missing in August.

 

At the time, a friend told how he had seen Mr Hughes the day before he went missing and described the American as being “very much not himself”.

 

Mr Hughes was officially reported missing on August 5.

 

He was body was later discovered in a Hua Hin hotel room on September 6.

 

Where Mr Hughes was or who had contact with during that time remains a mystery.

 

Thai authorities officially ruled that James had died from a heart attack.

 

An official autopsy ruled his death was the result of “failed respiration and blood circulation”.

 

Police found no sign of forced entry into the hotel room and were happy to put James’s death down to natural causes.

 

However, when James’s brother David, who lives in New York, received the autopsy report he saw it detailed other injuries, including contusion, tear and avulsion wounds. James also suffered internal bleeding on his head.

 

"He was beaten badly and I am sure he died from these injuries, definitely," David told the Bangkok Post, which features at length the family’s concerns that a cover up has taken place.

 

However, police said they did not investigate the incident further as they did not suspect a homicide had taken place.

 

The Bangkok Post reports that after James was reported missing, evidence that he was still  alive, in the form of CCTV footage showing him using a Kasikorn ATM was sent to WUT but seemingly not acted upon.

 

Furthermore, it is also reported that a friend of James, Donald Johnson, obtained morgue photographs of his body.

 

However, Mr Johnson told the Bangkok Post that he was forced to sign a letter that warned he would face serious consequences if the photographs or information about James’s death was made public.

 

The letter asked Mr Johnson to: “cease and desist from showing, displaying or otherwise making public or available to other people photographs of the deceased James Hughes”.

 

Mr Johnson was also prohibited from: “discussing, describing or in any other way representing the contents of the photos to others”.

 

He was also asked to list the names of people who have may seen the photos.

 

The Bangkok Post, which claims to have seen the photos, says they appear to show that James was beaten prior to his death, suffering two two black eyes, a bruised forehead and a cut across his nose.

 

David Hughes claimed that his brother’s death was covered up to protect both the university where James worked and the tourism industry in Hua Hin.

 

He made comparisons to the brutal beating of a British family in Hua Hin in April which despite the seriousness of the crime was barely covered in Thai news before being exposed by Thaivisa.

 

"I feel very violated, very f**ked over, by the higher-ups, and all for saving the reputation of a country's government and for tourism's sake ... and maybe even to save a few personal reputations here and there," said David Hughes.

 

The report by the Bangkok Post goes into much more detail. Read it here.

 

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2016-11-27

[NanLaew]

I always thought that his disappearance and death failed to feature with any significance on the radar at the time. I fellow TV'er was also perplexed that WUT hadn't even acknowledged his initial disappearance and only issued a sparse note acknowledging his contribution to teaching and formal condolences when his death was finally announced.

[BigBadGeordie]

Sadly this appears to be par for the course.

I know people get murdered all over the world, but what seems like a cover up to save face and protect the holy cow of tourism only has the reverse affect and damages the country even more.

If only the powers that be could see this, for if they did, the finger of suspicion would not be raised following every death by "natural" causes.

[williamgeorgeallen]

cops dont make money from investigating a crime like this.  it is not just because the deceased is a foreigner either. even thais have to post graphic photos on facebook to get the cops to act.  good luck getting any justice if there was foul play involved.

[StefanBBK]

Unbelievable . 

[al007]

Very sad but this is Thailand, and maybe we have to accept the things we can not change

 

There are risks we take by choosing to live here and need to be aware the rules and law is not the same as our home country,

[elgordo38]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

However, Mr Johnson told the Bangkok Post that he was forced to sign a letter that warned he would face serious consequences if the photographs or information about James’s death was made public.

Yes Mr. P this reinforces my thinking that nothing has or will change. It must be a lonely job to stand on top of the mountain and spout out all the goodness that is happening in the land. You should take a personal interest in this case to show your words cover one and all and not a selected few. If the police could just stop building up their personal hierarchy in a corrupt system and do some real policing we would sing their praises to the stars. The threats made to Mr. Johnson were inexcusable. 

[BlindMagician]

Spread the news far and wide, Thailand covers up murders of foreigners.

[elgordo38]

47 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

If only the powers that be could see this

As one presenter stated of me myopic and it surely does apply here. I must study this word a little further. 

[elgordo38]

This story kind of reminds me of one of my favorite movies "Ten Little Indians" in a sense but in this case there was only one. 

[rudy h]

Unbelievable . 

Not in LOS, this is the norm

[petermik]

7 hours ago, BlindMagician said:

Spread the news far and wide, Thailand covers up murders of foreigners.

Life is cheap here for anyone.............. unless you have connections

[fish monger]

Silly question; what is the US embassy doing...?

 

[NanLaew]

Someone made the decision for a fast-track and small, private cremation. Was it this 'interim rector' ? The same one that claims the police shared cctv footage with him and only him and he agreed that this showed Hughes was still alive and left it at that? One of your senior and most respected teachers mysteriously disappears for a whole month and that's it? No questions asked? Then he turns up dead and it's business as usual? Disappeared August 6th, found dead on September 6th, autopsied on September 8th and cremated on September 14th.

Edited November 27, 2016 by NanLaew
added chronology

[amykat]

When I first heard of this missing person case, I shared it on my FB page. And after some period  ...I never heard any news.  Well after a month later, I tried to write to the originator of the whole  missing person FB package which I had shared, who I believe is mentioned in the article. He wouldn't write me back to tell me what had happened with the case, nor would he 'friend me'. I thought that was weird.

 

Now I guess I know why.

 

 

Edited November 27, 2016 by amykat

[arrowsdawdle]

1 hour ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Sadly this appears to be par for the course.

I know people get murdered all over the world, but what seems like a cover up to save face and protect the holy cow of tourism only has the reverse affect and damages the country even more.

If only the powers that be could see this, for if they did, the finger of suspicion would not be raised following every death by "natural" causes.

 

The powers that be are of the position that no Thai would do such a thing and that warped view is whitewashed over everything that does not challenge it. Anybody living in LOS for any time at all knows this.

[daveAustin]

Horrendous (and typical) if true. Unfortunately, in a place where face is more important than life, it ain't going to change anytime soon.

[OMGImInPattaya]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

I always thought that his disappearance and death failed to feature with any significance on the radar at the time. I fellow TV'er was also perplexed that WUT hadn't even acknowledged his initial disappearance and only issued a sparse note acknowledging his contribution to teaching and formal condolences when his death was finally announced.

They're his employer...not his mummy and daddy. There's no reason for them to comment on it all if they don't want to.

[OMGImInPattaya]

No contact with his family for 10 years...obviously came to Thailand to "get away from it all and start over." If it was an unnatural death, it's most likely he go involved in financial dealings with shady characters or a personal relationship with a shady person (people). I don't see why a family member in America, who obviously wasn't close to him is getting all exercised at his death; and surely nothing will come of it from 10,000 miles away. As the recent case of the Aussie death in Surin, it took years of footwork and the expense of lots of money to find the killers...and this in a case where the cause of death was clear. Best to let sleeping bodies rest in peace.

[Honthy]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Police found no sign of forced entry into the hotel room and were happy to put James’s death down to natural causes.

However, when James’s brother David, who lives in New York, received the autopsy report he saw it detailed other injuries, including contusion, tear and avulsion wounds. James also suffered internal bleeding on his head.

 

"He was beaten badly and I am sure he died from these injuries, definitely,"

 

Only if I put these two things together.....  well.... just a falang .. mai belai

[BlindMagician]

52 minutes ago, fish monger said:

Silly question; what is the US embassy doing...?

 

Enjoying their perks and benefits, protected by well trained security, a military presence, and the occasional CIA geezer in shades. Joe public gets.....errr...shafted?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The main point here is, presumably, he didn't get head wounds, bruising, wounds and black eyes from a supposed "heart attack."

 

Edited November 27, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[KBsinter]

Embassys,have no power over the Authority of the country 

they are in,........".live with it" 

[goldenbrwn1]

When are the so called 'higher ups', 'elites' , government or whoever they are going to learn? It's the age of world social media, internet , available to pretty much everyone, smart phones, annomynous postings online ect ect. You would think they would be aware by now (esp with their elite, higher educated brains) that it's best to just come clean straight away about these kind of events nowadays. 

 

[TheFishman1]

TIT

[jlwilliamsjr18]

Lets face a truth...No one dies of natural causes.

[Grubster]

10 minutes ago, KBsinter said:

Embassys,have no power over the Authority of the country 

they are in,........".live with it" 

No but they could take the time to go to the police and view any evidence they were willing to share, and take a look at the autopsy report just as a curtesy to one of their fellow US citizens that died here. After all they do need to complete a death certificate for him anyway.  If they saw a discrepancy, I'm sure they could pass that info to somebody of relevance.

[Yann55]

1 hour ago, fish monger said:

Silly question; what is the US embassy doing...?

 

 

Cocktails.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Yann55

[KBsinter]

(If only we had the staff,) he was a professor,somewhat a Hiso

perhaps more can be done,latent thinking.......lol

[Retiredandhappyhere]

There could be a 100 cases like this on top of all the other adverse events recently and TAT would still "expect" 33.8 million visitors this year compared to their earlier projection of 32.6.   Teflon Thailand and its teflon tourism industry reigns supreme.