The defense appeals were exhausted in August and a royal pardon or commutation of the death sentence by the Thai king is the last chance for a pardon. The mother of murdered Norfolk backpacker Hannah Witheridge has spoken of her heartache of losing two daughters in five years. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. The thing that struck me about this episode was the guitar. Ms. Witheridge, a student at the University of Essex from Hemsby, Norfolk, was beaten to death in thailand. Historic ocean treaty agreed after decade of talks, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, 'The nurses wanted me to feel guilty about my abortion, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor. It turned out that the latter had left Koh Tao the night before the murders and so was above suspicion. Thai National police today charged two Myanmar men with murder and rape after they confessed to killing the pair, with AFP reporting their DNA matched traces at the crime scene on Koh Tao island. , updated The trial came following accusations Lin and Phyo, who were migrant workers on the island, were being used as scapegoats by desperate investigators. He made it seem important then it was dropped. Fact is scarier than fiction A community following Casefile: True Crime Podcast! It is easy to see how/why the Thai police would want to pin this on them, but one part of their story that seemed odd to me was how they ended up with the cell phone. Myanmar men withdrew their first confessions to the crimes, saying that they were tortured by the police. Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found dead on the island of Koh Tao on 15 September last year. We are saying that by giving them the death penalty, they will lose the opportunity to do something good with their lives, lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman said at the time. The inquest, which began last month and finished on Wednesday, heard that Mrs Daniels had a complex medical history and had undergone numerous surgeries and treatments at various hospitals over the years. Coming just four months after a coup had installed a military junta in power, the case quickly became a litmus test of the new government's commitment to fighting crime. Two Myanmar migrant workers sentenced to death in Thailand for the murder of two British backpackers had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, their lawyer said. Stricter rules for hiring migrant workers across the archipelago were introduced in the wake of the killings with astonishing speed. Yet, that case has also been disintegrating. Doubts about the case against the migrants - and the underlying mystery of who killed the tourists - have only deepened since the trial began in early July. Contribute to chinapedia/wikipedia.en development by creating an account on GitHub. Bizarre pictures showed them handcuffed wearing bicycle helmets surrounded by cops as they reconstructed the attack on Sairee beach. . The bodies of David Miller, 24, from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, aged 23, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, were discovered semi-naked on a beach in the divers' paradise of Koh Tao yesterday. They lost their appeal in 2017. student Backpacker Hannah Witheridge was found dead in Thailand was raped by two men, while the other was followed before she was killed on September 15, 2014, Ko Tao, Ko Tao, Thailand. The names of the tourists were first announced in a Sky News tweet. The bodies of Miss Witheridge and 24-year-old David Miller, from Jersey, were found on the resort island of Koh Tao in 2014. Putting names to archive photos, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, In photos: India's disappearing single-screen cinemas. Then came Friday's bombshell about the DNA on the bloody hoe. They will also have the opportunity to further reduce their sentences for good behavior. Doesn't seem like the killers would have left that behind. Their sentences will be reduced to life in prison after a royal clemency decree was issued on Friday, said their lawyer Nakhon Chompuchat. Grieving: Hannah Witheridge's family at the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok last year. ago This episode has been added to the Casefile Spreadsheet. Burmese migrant workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, also known as Win Zaw Htun, were found guilty of the murders and sentenced to death in December 2015. For other inquiries, Contact Us. The convictions were mired in a controversy with supporters of the two men who argued that they had been indicted and that they had initially confessed to the crimes under duress. Thai police initially blamed Burmese migrant workers (favorite targets, in the words of Paul Quaglia, a Bangkok-based risk analyst). The authorities scoured its jungles for suspects as islanders blocked the ferry to prevent the murderers' escape. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller are perfect strangers who hail from coastal towns in the UK. Magazines, Digital 2023 TIME USA, LLC. The sister of a British backpacker murdered in Thailand died in a 'double tragedy' while nine weeks pregnant, an inquest has heard. On Friday, a Thai forensic expert said that DNA evidence from the supposed murder weapon did not match that of the accused. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. What science tells us about the afterlife. Cruise staffer fired after shock bathroom act. They both decide to take a backpacking trip to Thailand before pursuing Master's Degrees in their respective fields. Hannah was also raped. On a human level, it's understandable why they would have these feelings considering the grief and emotional pain they've gone through, but at the same time, judges, juries, and prisons exist for a reason. They werent trained for this. Hannah Witheridge pictured on Facebook back in September 2013. Its also reported that Witheridge had been raped prior to her death, those reports were later found to be unfounded. Yeh I made the same mistake and I feel a bit sick now. Yeah, it was a but suspicious given they had the phone and there was apparently DNA evidence. Cookie Notice I tend to want to see what the players look like after I am done listening, and some of the images that came up should just not be online. Last month, a court on Koh Samui - 64 kilometres from Koh Tao - ordered that the remaining forensic evidence in the case be sent for re-examination. These two kindred spirits meet for the first time on the . He added: 'Life was never going to be easy or the same again, we shared difficult times but we found happiness together.'. Today it emerged that two men had confessed to killing the pair. 2023 BBC. By the time dawn broke over Koh Tao, the beach had been transformed into a bloodbath. Their bodies were discovered on a beach on the popular resort island of Koh Tao in September 2014. Casey just wanted to come up with his own pronunciation of the Thai locations, but they're no more incorrect than the widely-accepted English mispronunciations of the places. Witheridge and Miller are the two British tourists who were found dead after being chopped up on a Thailand beach. In the request, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo have called for the kings compassion, added Andy Hall, advisor to the legal defense team. A bloodstained garden hoe, which is thought to be the murder weapon, was discovered nearby, AFP reported. A royal commutation does not require an admission of guilt, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok. David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, didn't know each other before they met on holiday in Thailand in September. Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk and David Miller, 24, of Jersey were bludgeoned to death with a wooden hoe as they walked back to their hotel room late at night on September 15, 2014, on the popular Sairee Beah. Both bodies were found lying on a beach, stripped naked and bloodied. Hannah Witheridge & David Miller: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Witheridge died from severe head wounds while Miller died from blows to the head and drowning, according to the Thai forensics department. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Scan this QR code to download the app now. David Miller, 24, from Jersey in the Channel Islands, had been backpacking across Asia and Australia before spending time on the popular party island of Koh Tao. The two suspects, identified only as "Saw" and "Win," appeared at a news conference this week where the Thailand police commissioner said that DNA samples from . Finally, police appeared to have found their footing when they arrested two 22-year-old migrants from Myanmar who, police claimed, had confessed to the crimes. The bodies of 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge and 24-year-old David Miller were found on a beach in Koh Tao in September 2014. Hannah was also raped in the attack. Given the handling of the case, its pretty clear that Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo definitely didnt do it. International legal and forensic scientists said in 2016 that the DNA investigation by the Thai Police Forensics Laboratory was incompetent with no chain of evidence. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Human Rights Watch at the time called the verdict 'profoundly disturbing', citing the defendants' accusations of police torture that were never investigated and questionable DNA evidence linking them to the crime. Or, for the IPA-inclined, '/k/ /taw/'. Not to defend the police on Koh Tao, but they arent even a real police station just a outpost. But when no evidence emerged to pin the murder on any Burmese, the focus shifted to other outsiders: Western friends of the victims. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller have been named as the two tourists who chopped up by a hoe in Thailand. And even Sairee was mispronounced. I kept thinking the episode was going to circle back around to this aspect but it never did. Last month, the translators, who were used to obtain the now retracted confessions, admitted in court that they were roti (pancake) vendors who barely understood Thai and spoke little Burmese, the Myanmar Times reported. We are not challenging judgment. Thoughts and prayers with his family and friends. Two men convicted of murdering two British backpackers in Thailand have had their death sentence upheld by its Supreme Court. Davids not that bad, but my god what they did to Hannah. Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found dead on the island of Koh Tao on 15 September last year. Read about our approach to external linking. The investigation descended into the absurd when the Thai Prime Minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, commented on the killings by saying that only ugly women were safe wearing bikinis in Thailand. Miss Witheridge's family paid tribute to their. Laura Daniels, 30, died five years after her sister Hannah, 23, was killed on Koh Tao with David Miller of Jersey. . Miss Witheridge, a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey, were bludgeoned to death. Her sister Hannah Witheridge was found dead on a beach in Thailand in 2014 . A few days later, staff checked her room to discover her mobile phone, passport and camera had all been left behind. Don't google the images either I just did bad idea. They both decide to take a backpacking trip to Thailand before pursuing Master's Degrees in their respective fields. Do you know this baby? The two workers, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, were sentenced to death for the murder of David Miller and the murder and rape of Hannah Witheridge, whose bodies were discovered on a beach on the popular tourist island of Koh Tao in September 2014. The men alleged that they had been tortured by the police, and legal teams claimed that the evidence was . The bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found on a beach on Koh Tao in September 2014. Thailand backpacker murders: David Miller and Hannah Witheridge - two lives cut short The two young tourists were killed in the early hours of 15 September, 2014, after which their relatives. Friends and family of Mr Miller have commissioned a "simple seat from a plank of oak from a tree that fell in the great storm of 1987". Two Burmese workers were sentenced to death in 2015, after being found guilty of killing David Miller, 24, of Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, of Norfolk. The police are getting a lot of not only domestic media coverage but also international, and are under pressure to make statements about progress.. Tourist police said the safety measure would be voluntary. Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk and David Miller, 24, of Jersey were bludgeoned to death with a wooden hoe as they walked back to their hotel room late at night. A bloodstained garden hoe, commonly used by beachside bars to dig fire pits, was found nearby and has now been confirmed as the principal murder weapon, along with a wooden club. An autopsy examination showed that Ms. Witheridge had been raped. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. The men said they didn't use a condom, even though police insisted they had. In a statement, Miss Witheridge's family said their daughter had been "taken from us in the most horrific way possible" and learning of her death had been an "indescribably impossible time". She also preyed upon the families of the victims to suit her narrative. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered on a Thai island in 2014 Wa-hee-rah-long-gonenever heard anyone else pronounce it like that. Press J to jump to the feed. So those other people were probably also murdered, but I am SO tired of relatives saying "she didn't kill herself, she was so happy" being used as a real argument that someone didn't kill themself. He said the plan would be rolled out soon on popular resort islands such as Koh Tao and Koh Phangan and also the tourist beach area of Pattaya. The pair said they offered information to. Ms Witheridge was found with her face smashed in, her skirt wrenched up and her body showing signs of rape. Police initially named a British friend of hers as a person of interest, then began taking DNA samples from hundreds of suspects. Ms Witheridge had been raped and Mr Miller had been. Since then, the case has perplexed police, devastated their families, and damaged the countrys tourism industry. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. View our online Press Pack. The University of Essex student and her male compatriot David Miller, formerly of University of Leeds, were subsequently murdered. Lawyers for the two men had claimed evidence used in the case against them was mishandled and they made confessions under duress that they later retracted, raising questions about police competence and the judicial system in Thailand. Our hearts go out to the Witheridge family who are also coming to terms with the sudden trauma of the equally senseless ending of their Hannahs life, Mr Millers family said in a statement earlier this week. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Witheridge is a native of Great Yarmouth in the Southwest coast of England. The men alleged that they had been tortured by the police, and legal teams claimed that the evidence was misused. But given all the other weird deaths and rumours of coverups etc. Mrs Daniels went on to qualify as a paediatric nurse and the pair were married in 2018. Yep and the fact that he straight up fucked off out the country for fear of persecution from locals. She screams, he panics, so he hits her multiple times with the hoe to make her shut up - not rage as much as fear and desire to stop her screams. Both were detained on the island and questioned by police who brought them to the crime scene to re-enact their alleged crimes, a standard part of criminal investigations in Thailand. First, Thai police admitted in court that they never bothered to check CCTV footage of a boat leaving from a nearby pier just an hour after the killings. Brit David Miller was bludgeoned to death The terrifying incident happened just a year before David Miller and Hannah Witheridge died. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. Having backpacked a few parts of South-East Asia (tho not Thailand), theres def a dark underbelly to some of these tourist paradise places that is palpable and unsettling.. and that came through in the storytelling of the episode. Lt Gen Panya, appointed assistant national police chief earlier this week authorities had arrested three immigrant migrant workers. Miss Witheridge's family paid tribute to their "beautiful Hannah". Burmese bar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty of murder in 2015. However, their supporters had claimed the pair had been framed and the evidence mishandled. All Rights Reserved. Wearing helmets, bullet-proof vests and handcuffs, and wielding a dust bin instead of a hoe, the men demonstrated how they had supposedly killed the tourists. POLICE have finally made a breakthrough in the shocking murders of two British backpackers in Thailand, but mystery still surrounds the horrific discovery. Both had been in Thailand since August and had met just hours before their deaths. "They said they didn't do it, that the Thai police beat them until they confessed to something they didn't do. The decree released Friday said the royal pardons were granted to mark the kings birthday on July 28 and to illustrate the kings clemency.. Case 220: Hannah Witheridge & David Miller casefilepodcast 70 56 56 comments Add a Comment Lisbeth_Salandar 4 mo. Hannah Witheridge was a beautiful blonde from eastern England. Hannah Witheridge, from Hemsby, and David Miller, from Jersey, were found dead last September, David Miller's family released a new photograph of their son one year after his death in Thailand, Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin deny the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Chris Rock talks Oscars slap in live Netflix show, Everything Everywhere wins big ahead of Oscars, PM to end asylum claims from small boat arrivals, Mbappe breaks PSG goal record in win over Nantes, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court. Although there were signs of sexual activity, investigators have not ascertained whether Witheridge was raped. Thai king commutes sentence of UK pairs killers, Historic ocean treaty agreed after decade of talks, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, 'The nurses wanted me to feel guilty about my abortion, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor.