PHUKET: Police investigating the brutal murder of two British tourists at a holiday island in Thailand are considering asking the FBI to help, a senior officer said today.
Royal Thai Police Deputy Commander, Somyot Pum Muing, told reporters that detectives needed the latest technology to deal with the clues that could lead them to the killer or killers of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24.
The bodies of the pair were found on a small beach on the holiday island of Koh Tao on Monday but a series of leads and likely suspects have emerged and vanished on closer inspection in the days since.
Calling in American assistance could expose deficiencies in the way the double homicide case has been conducted so far but Thai police are alarmed at the prospects of the killer or killers escaping with the British media particularly critical of the lack of results so far.
A reward of 100,000 baht for clues leading to an arrest has been offered by the residents of Koh Tao. They have been shocked by the brutal slaying in their community and are fearful of a reaction that could damage the island's tourism.
That's the reason why the suggestion of FBI involvement is being raised. Attempts to match DNA samples from the bodies of the victims and a cigarette found nearby have failed.
A British tourist and Burmese workers were among 12 early suspects who, despite police suspicions, could not be linked to the killings.
Not just one but five cigarette butts found near the bodies on the small beach have been checked. One of them is tinged with lipstick.
Police would still like to talk to a man of Asian appearance who was captured on grainy black and white security camera footage proceeding back and forth nearby, not far from the cove where the bodies were found.
They also want to identify a guitar-playing man who was strumming and singing under a tamarind tree early that Monday, not far from the beach.
More of the holiday island's labor force of 4000 workers are being interviewed, said Major General Panya Mamen, the Commander of Region 8, who oversees a district that stretches west to Phuket on the Andaman coast and south to the border with Malaysia.
''We are adding 150 officers to the 150 officers already involved in the operation,'' he said today. ''We remain confident we will catch whoever is responsible.''
Royal Thai Police Deputy Commander, Somyot Pum Muing, told reporters that detectives needed the latest technology to deal with the clues that could lead them to the killer or killers of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24.
The bodies of the pair were found on a small beach on the holiday island of Koh Tao on Monday but a series of leads and likely suspects have emerged and vanished on closer inspection in the days since.
Calling in American assistance could expose deficiencies in the way the double homicide case has been conducted so far but Thai police are alarmed at the prospects of the killer or killers escaping with the British media particularly critical of the lack of results so far.
A reward of 100,000 baht for clues leading to an arrest has been offered by the residents of Koh Tao. They have been shocked by the brutal slaying in their community and are fearful of a reaction that could damage the island's tourism.
That's the reason why the suggestion of FBI involvement is being raised. Attempts to match DNA samples from the bodies of the victims and a cigarette found nearby have failed.
A British tourist and Burmese workers were among 12 early suspects who, despite police suspicions, could not be linked to the killings.
Not just one but five cigarette butts found near the bodies on the small beach have been checked. One of them is tinged with lipstick.
Police would still like to talk to a man of Asian appearance who was captured on grainy black and white security camera footage proceeding back and forth nearby, not far from the cove where the bodies were found.
They also want to identify a guitar-playing man who was strumming and singing under a tamarind tree early that Monday, not far from the beach.
More of the holiday island's labor force of 4000 workers are being interviewed, said Major General Panya Mamen, the Commander of Region 8, who oversees a district that stretches west to Phuket on the Andaman coast and south to the border with Malaysia.
''We are adding 150 officers to the 150 officers already involved in the operation,'' he said today. ''We remain confident we will catch whoever is responsible.''
Why FBI, not British agencies?
Posted by Sue on September 19, 2014 22:58