POLICE believe the Phuket kickbox killer may become increasingly desperate while he stays on the run. Officers have staked out the Rawai home of the prime suspect and named him as Englishman Lee Aldhouse, 28.
Inside the house, most of his possessions remain. Police have a copy of Mr Aldhouse's passport. Officers also say that as he was not working and has already been on Phuket for several months, he is likely to be running short of cash.
The victim was a former US Marine, a veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq, and a Purple Heart holder, described by friends as a ''nice guy.'' Sad though the killing of 23-year-old American DaShawn Longfellow has been, even in tragedy Phuket provides an overlay of tropical island living: Mr Aldhouse lived at a spot named Happy House, and his murder took place at a resort with the alternative name of Paradise Beach.
Mr Aldhouse is unlikely to try to fly off Phuket: officials at the airport would quickly recognise him. Security has also been intensified at Tachatchai Checkpoint, which guards the only highway leading to the single bridge off the island.
Crossing neighboring national borders without paperwork or catching a local boat seem improbable courses of action.
Could he lay low on Phuket? Possibly, especially if he has the help of friends. Sweethearts Bar hostess killer, American Ronald Fanelli, held out alone for four weeks and a day before he was eventually nabbed by police last month.
Police believe that Mr Aldhouse did not return to his place at Happy House after Mr Longfellow was stabbed to death, and that he is still somewhere on the island. Booking into a guesthouse, though, as Mr Fanelli did, is less likely. Photographs of Mr Aldhouse are being widely exposed, making even travel by motorcycle difficult.
Here's what happened on Friday night, the night kickboxing exponents Mr Longfellow and Mr Aldhouse first met, with a timetable up leading to what police say was their second fatal and final encounter:
Friday evening: Mr Longfellow goes to the Freedom Bar in Rawai with five friends. Mr Aldhouse is at a neighboring table, drinking with his own friends. Sometime after 3am on Saturday morning, the two men meet by chance in the bar's toilet. Mr Aldhouse picks a fight and punches are thrown. Mr Aldhouse hits the floor. Friends hear the commotion and break up the fight, but not before one patron calls 191 for the police.
3am By the time officers arrive, the fight is over. Mr Aldhouse is already about 100 metres down the road at the local 7-Eleven store. Inside, he grabs one knife, snatching it from the kitchen bench where sausages are usually prepared, and walks out without paying for it.
3.15am Mr Aldhouse goes back to the Freedom Bar, where bills have been paid and Mr Longfellow and his group have headed off. Mr Aldhouse is told by someone where Mr Longfellow lives.
3.45am Mr Aldhouse arrives at the Ya Nui Resort II, otherwise known as Paradise Beach, where Mr Longfellow rents a 15,000 baht-a-month apartment. He sees that Mr Longfellow is not home, and opts to wait in the darkness outside.
4am Mr Longfellow arrives at his apartment. It's a self-contained unit, with a living room-kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Soon after he dismounts his motorcycle, he is attacked. A two-centimetre stab wound is made to his chest. He runs into his apartment, through the sliding door. He is attacked again, and this time a knife wound goes deeper into his chest. His girlfriend, awakened by the noise, comes from the bedroom to see her boyfriend lying on the livingroom floor. She sees a man fleeing through the door.
4.15am The same two police who were at the Freedom Bar earlier that morning answer an emergency call to Ya Nui Resort II. By the time they arrive, Mr Longfellow is dead. Officers find one bloody knife, discarded 300 metres from the scene. Inside the apartment, a second knife with a bloodied blade is also found. It is not known how the second knife, which belongs in the apartment, came to be bloodied.
Before dawn The hunt begins immediately for ''Mr Lee.'' 7-Eleven staff have reported the theft of the knife to police. They identify the blade found 300 metres away as a 7-Eleven knife. Police have been told about the trail off destruction wreaked by ''Mr Lee.'' There are two men who roughly fit the description, and who are known to police. One is an Englishman, the other is a German.
Saturday The first alert goes to Phuket International Airport, the Immigration HQ in Phuket City and Tachatchai Checkpoint, outlining what officers have learned about ''Mr Lee.'' Police talk more to people who were at Freedom Bar earlier in the morning and look at the security camera footage taken outside the 7-Eleven store. The alert goes out: the man they wish to interview is Englishman Lee Aldhouse. He already has quite a reputation. Now he is a murder suspect, and a fugitive.
Phuket Manhunt for Kickbox Killer 'Mr Lee' WidensInside the house, most of his possessions remain. Police have a copy of Mr Aldhouse's passport. Officers also say that as he was not working and has already been on Phuket for several months, he is likely to be running short of cash.
The victim was a former US Marine, a veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq, and a Purple Heart holder, described by friends as a ''nice guy.'' Sad though the killing of 23-year-old American DaShawn Longfellow has been, even in tragedy Phuket provides an overlay of tropical island living: Mr Aldhouse lived at a spot named Happy House, and his murder took place at a resort with the alternative name of Paradise Beach.
Mr Aldhouse is unlikely to try to fly off Phuket: officials at the airport would quickly recognise him. Security has also been intensified at Tachatchai Checkpoint, which guards the only highway leading to the single bridge off the island.
Crossing neighboring national borders without paperwork or catching a local boat seem improbable courses of action.
Could he lay low on Phuket? Possibly, especially if he has the help of friends. Sweethearts Bar hostess killer, American Ronald Fanelli, held out alone for four weeks and a day before he was eventually nabbed by police last month.
Police believe that Mr Aldhouse did not return to his place at Happy House after Mr Longfellow was stabbed to death, and that he is still somewhere on the island. Booking into a guesthouse, though, as Mr Fanelli did, is less likely. Photographs of Mr Aldhouse are being widely exposed, making even travel by motorcycle difficult.
Here's what happened on Friday night, the night kickboxing exponents Mr Longfellow and Mr Aldhouse first met, with a timetable up leading to what police say was their second fatal and final encounter:
Friday evening: Mr Longfellow goes to the Freedom Bar in Rawai with five friends. Mr Aldhouse is at a neighboring table, drinking with his own friends. Sometime after 3am on Saturday morning, the two men meet by chance in the bar's toilet. Mr Aldhouse picks a fight and punches are thrown. Mr Aldhouse hits the floor. Friends hear the commotion and break up the fight, but not before one patron calls 191 for the police.
3am By the time officers arrive, the fight is over. Mr Aldhouse is already about 100 metres down the road at the local 7-Eleven store. Inside, he grabs one knife, snatching it from the kitchen bench where sausages are usually prepared, and walks out without paying for it.
3.15am Mr Aldhouse goes back to the Freedom Bar, where bills have been paid and Mr Longfellow and his group have headed off. Mr Aldhouse is told by someone where Mr Longfellow lives.
3.45am Mr Aldhouse arrives at the Ya Nui Resort II, otherwise known as Paradise Beach, where Mr Longfellow rents a 15,000 baht-a-month apartment. He sees that Mr Longfellow is not home, and opts to wait in the darkness outside.
4am Mr Longfellow arrives at his apartment. It's a self-contained unit, with a living room-kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Soon after he dismounts his motorcycle, he is attacked. A two-centimetre stab wound is made to his chest. He runs into his apartment, through the sliding door. He is attacked again, and this time a knife wound goes deeper into his chest. His girlfriend, awakened by the noise, comes from the bedroom to see her boyfriend lying on the livingroom floor. She sees a man fleeing through the door.
4.15am The same two police who were at the Freedom Bar earlier that morning answer an emergency call to Ya Nui Resort II. By the time they arrive, Mr Longfellow is dead. Officers find one bloody knife, discarded 300 metres from the scene. Inside the apartment, a second knife with a bloodied blade is also found. It is not known how the second knife, which belongs in the apartment, came to be bloodied.
Before dawn The hunt begins immediately for ''Mr Lee.'' 7-Eleven staff have reported the theft of the knife to police. They identify the blade found 300 metres away as a 7-Eleven knife. Police have been told about the trail off destruction wreaked by ''Mr Lee.'' There are two men who roughly fit the description, and who are known to police. One is an Englishman, the other is a German.
Saturday The first alert goes to Phuket International Airport, the Immigration HQ in Phuket City and Tachatchai Checkpoint, outlining what officers have learned about ''Mr Lee.'' Police talk more to people who were at Freedom Bar earlier in the morning and look at the security camera footage taken outside the 7-Eleven store. The alert goes out: the man they wish to interview is Englishman Lee Aldhouse. He already has quite a reputation. Now he is a murder suspect, and a fugitive.
Updating News The Phuket police hunt for the Englishman known as ''Mr Lee'' who allegedly knifed an American to death continued today amid confused reports about his identity.
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Why is it unlikely that he will try to get off Phuket by boat? I have been thinking a lot about what he might do. He should realise that airport and Tachatchai Checkpoint will be on alert.
He can ride his motorbike with stolen plates and a full face helmet, covering his tatoos. He can ride to catch a ferry to Phi Phi and from there to Krabi. There, he is not known well and could lay low, depending on how much time he has on his visa.
He might not like to leave Thailand via land border while everyone is on high alert, if he has time on his visa he might wait until it expires and then go to a land border. The day before his visa expires would be another high alert for land border staff because Phuket immi would know what date he has to leave, so he might decide to leave before the expiry date.
He might decide to overstay and wait even longer, then try and pay overstay at a land border and paying someone off there in addition to the overstay.
I trained with him in the same gym for a while and spoke to him a few times. I can only confirm that he has a very weird temper, seemed aggressive, trained aggressively, hurt the trainer, and Thais would call him "baa", crazy.
Posted by Anonymous on August 15, 2010 17:43
Editor Comment:
Will he be wearing his full face helmet on the ferry all the way to Phi Phi and mainland Krabi? What will he do when he gets there? I am pretty sure making a visa run before he overstays would not be a huge priority right now. If he is on his own, escape may be difficult. If he has friends and money, he has a better chance. Here's hoping he realises he is better off giving up.