When Anuwat was found, strangled and minus his mobile phone, B10,000 in cash and his ID card, investigators managed to identify him and began to look into the behaviour of his known associates.
They found that one of them, Itsara Pantip – with whom Anuwat had been friends for about five years – had suddenly moved out of his rented accommodation in Phattana Rd, Rawai, soon after the body was found.
They kept an eye out for Itsara, spotting him eventually when he and his girlfriend stopped to do some shopping at the Tesco Lotus on Chao Fa East Rd. Officers moved in and searched the couple. In the girlfriend’s bag they found Anuwat’s missing mobile phone.
Itsara admitted that he and Anuwat had argued and then fought over a drug deal, and that he had used a piece of bungy cord to strangle him. He then bundled up the body in the duvet and dumped it a couple of kilometres away.
Itsara has been charged with premeditated murder and theft. He is being questioned about his other drug-related connections in Chalong.
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