Forensic police inspected the car at Chalong Police Station yesterday (July 10).
Papke, 35, is the prime suspect for the murder of Ms Pischa, a 35-year-old beautician, who was last seen at her home in Rawai on June 30. She was reported to police as missing by her uncle on July 6. (See story here.)
Her body was found wrapped in blankets and dumped beside a graded track off Muang Chaofa Rd in Wichit on Sunday. (See story here.)
Papke remains under observation in hospital after he cut his own throat while police moved in to arrest him at his rented home in Rawai on Sunday evening. (See story here.)
The forensic search of the car Papke rented, a white Toyota Vios, followed officers’ belief that he used the car to dispose of Ms Pischa’s body.
Officers found small red stains believed to be blood on the carpet floor, which have been sent for DNA tests, police told reporters.
Police said they also took fingerprints samples from the car in order to confirm the link with Papke.
“Then investigators returned to the house Mr Papke rented in Rawai to conduct a thorough search to collect additional evidence,” one officer told The Phuket News.
Phuket Provincial Police Chief Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen said yesterday that Ms Pischa’s body had been sent to the Forensic Institute of Police Sciene in Surat Thani to determine the exact cause of death and for the results of the autopsy to be included as evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, Chalong Police Deputy Chief Investigator Lt Chanat Hongsittichaikul invited Ms Pischa’s older sister, Bang-Earn Ornkorat, 40, to give further testimony.
“I know that my sister has been with Papke for three to four months, but I do not know exactly how she got to know him, because my sister did not tell me the details,” she said.
“She worked as a beautician at a salon in Chalong. She has one child, who lives in Kamphaeng Phet. She worked to help send money back for the child and for our mother,” Ms Bang-Earn said.
“I only just recently met Mr Papke. To my knowledge he is the owner of a fitness centre in Rawai. He was quiet and kept to himself, was very introverted. I did not think that he would be violent toward my sister.
“If it is proven that [Papke] is the murderer, we want him to be prosecuted by law. When something immoral is done, it must be punished. When the forensic investigation of her body is complete, our mother has asked for her funeral to be held here in Phuket,” she added.
Ms Pischa’s niece, Rujida Onkorat, 19, who posted a missing person report that went viral on Facebook, told reporters yesterday, “I still cannot come to terms with what has happened. Our family and relatives are incredibly upset, in particular [Ms Pischa’s] parents.”
Police told reporters that Papke’s immigration history showed he had entered Thailand for the first time on June 21, 2016 with a 60-day tourist visa.
He departed on September 19, 2016 before returning for the second time on June 20, 2017 and had since worked a fitness trainer in Rawai.
Despite reports that the murder may have been motivated by jealousy, police have yet to confirm any motive for the killing.
Lt Col Sanan Chanrong, Deputy Superintendent of the Chalong Police, said yesterday that he had not interrogated Papke as the suspect was still unfit to communicate.