POLICE are interviewing expats on Phuket about the shooting murder of Luciano Butti and have extended their investigation to Phi Phi as well as other islands off Phuket's coast.
The Italian, a long-time resident of the region, rebuilt his Ciao Bella restaurant on Phi Phi after the 2004 tsunami, wrote a book and established businesses over two decades that ranged from the restaurant to a massage shop and a counter tour booking agency.
All of Mr Butti's business affairs are being closely examined as investigating officers unravel information from his laptop, found in his room at Phuket City's Dara Hotel, and his mobile, recovered from his pocket after he was gunned down on Tuesday.
Other senior officers had been sent from mainland Krabi to make inquiries on Phi Phi.
Police from Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga are now involved and the murder probe has been given a high priority by Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipong.
Mr Butti, 60, was a frequent traveller between Phi Phi and Phuket, and the investigation now extends across three provinces in the belief that his killers may have escaped by boat to another island in the region.
Officers think that Mr Butti received a telephone call on Tuesday night, suggesting a meeting, possibly at one of several good Thai diners not far from the point where he was gunned down and hit by three bullets, in Phuket's relatively remote east.
Mr Butti had an Italian wife and one daughter, police said, then he remarried. He was in the final stages of a divorce from his second wife, a German, police said. The couple had a son, aged 12.
Officers said Mr Butti became involved with a Chilean woman after splitting up with his second wife, but his girlfriend had returned to Chile two months ago.
An entry on a dating site makes mention of his passion for young and beautiful women. Although a wealthy man, he delighted in riding motorcycles and was riding one when he was shot.
His personal affairs remain part of the inquiry, but investigations are now centring on his four or five businesses. Police say their work is ''30 to 40 percent complete.''
Phuket Murder: Butti Killers 'May Have Fled by Boat'The Italian, a long-time resident of the region, rebuilt his Ciao Bella restaurant on Phi Phi after the 2004 tsunami, wrote a book and established businesses over two decades that ranged from the restaurant to a massage shop and a counter tour booking agency.
All of Mr Butti's business affairs are being closely examined as investigating officers unravel information from his laptop, found in his room at Phuket City's Dara Hotel, and his mobile, recovered from his pocket after he was gunned down on Tuesday.
Other senior officers had been sent from mainland Krabi to make inquiries on Phi Phi.
Police from Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga are now involved and the murder probe has been given a high priority by Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipong.
Mr Butti, 60, was a frequent traveller between Phi Phi and Phuket, and the investigation now extends across three provinces in the belief that his killers may have escaped by boat to another island in the region.
Officers think that Mr Butti received a telephone call on Tuesday night, suggesting a meeting, possibly at one of several good Thai diners not far from the point where he was gunned down and hit by three bullets, in Phuket's relatively remote east.
Mr Butti had an Italian wife and one daughter, police said, then he remarried. He was in the final stages of a divorce from his second wife, a German, police said. The couple had a son, aged 12.
Officers said Mr Butti became involved with a Chilean woman after splitting up with his second wife, but his girlfriend had returned to Chile two months ago.
An entry on a dating site makes mention of his passion for young and beautiful women. Although a wealthy man, he delighted in riding motorcycles and was riding one when he was shot.
His personal affairs remain part of the inquiry, but investigations are now centring on his four or five businesses. Police say their work is ''30 to 40 percent complete.''
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Condolences to his family and friends for their loss. And so many unanswered questions regarding his tragic demise, the least of which is why a 'wealthy man' would consider checking into the Dara Hotel or riding a Honda Click a long distance via the bypass road/airport highway at night.
Posted by Treelover on March 18, 2011 18:23