Lt Gen Kitrat revealed the news during a brief update while at the Phuket Check Point yesterday (Aug 16).
Teerawat, a 27-year-old resident of Pa Khlok on Phuket’s east coast, during a press conference broadcast live nationwide on Aug 8 confessed to choking Ms Sauvain-Weisskopf unconscious in order to rob her but denied intention to kill her and denied any attempt to rape her.
When Ms Sauvain-Weisskopf’s body was discovered on Aug 5, it was found face down in a stream near the Ao Yon Waterfall, on Phuket’s east coast. Her body was naked from the waist down and covered with a dark tarpaulin weighed down by rocks. Her denim shorts, Nike trainers and small backpack were found amid the undergrowth nearby.
“Right now the suspect is in the Phuket Provincial Prison. We are still waiting for the autopsy report from forensic police [in Bangkok]. We do not rush them because we understand that the work takes time, and officers need to work thoroughly,” Lt Gen Kitrat said.
The autopsy results are expected to help police determine whether Teerawat will face additional charges.
“At this stage, we have the confession of the suspect and evidence which is enough for prosecution. There are no problems with this issue, nothing to worry about,” he told his subordinate officers and the press.
“The suspect’s wife and relatives have accepted that the suspect killed the tourist and will not file a request for bail,” he said.
“Regarding tourists’ safety, the national police commissioner-general has ordered Region 8 Police to create safety measures for local people and tourists in the provinces under our responsibility,” he added.
“I have ordered police in the provinces to patrol and share information with the provincial government in order to create safety measures for tourists. I have also ordered them to investigate risk locations in their provinces and create measures to make the places safer,” he said.
Region 8 Police is responsible for all police in the Upper Southern Thailand Provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Chumphon, Surat Thani and Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
Lt Gen Kitrat gave his brief update on the murder case while at the Phuket Check Point yesterday to hand over smart card readers and smartphones that he paid for out of his own pocket so that officers will be able to scan Thai ID cards of Thai nationals wanting to enter Phuket to make sure they are not wanted on any outstanding arrest warrants.