German national murdered in Thai resort city

[Mid]

German national murdered in Thai resort city

A 59-year-old German national was murdered over the weekend in his home at Thailand's Pattaya beach resort, Thai police said Monday.

The body of Kurt Schmolke of Lahnstein on the Rhein River in western Germany was discovered Sunday evening when police received reports of a fire at his home in Pattaya, 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok. Schmolke had been stabbed and suffocated, police said.

Found next to the body was a plastic bag containing 500 euros and 30,000 Thai baht (870 dollars), said Major Jakarin Tuasupat of Pattaya's Banglamung Police Station, who inspected the scene.

Tuasupat suspected Schmolke was killed three hours before the fire by a foreigner, he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview.

A foreign man and a Thai woman reportedly visited Schmolke Sunday and were seen leaving in his car that afternoon.

Neighbours told police that Schmolke, who worked in the German Navy and had a Thai wife, was feuding with a foreigner over stolen belongings, which he had been planning to report to the police.

Schmolke entered Thailand on August 10 although his wife remained in Germany.

dpa sk ef ls
digitaljournal.com

[Some thing]

Tuasupat suspected Schmolke was killed three hours before the fire by a foreigner, he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview.

No crime goes unsolved, not when Major Tuasupat's on the job!

[buriramboy]

FORMER GERMAN MARINE IS BRUTALLY MURDERED AND HIS HOUSE IS SET ON FIRE
Banglamung police are investigating the baffling case of an ex-German Marine, Mr. Kurp Schmorke (60). He was hit on the head and brutally stabbed in the forehead, cheek and behind his ear. His head was covered with a plastic bag and wrapped in a towel. Mr. Schmorke’s house was set on fire, but the fire was extinguished quickly. The housing estate’s CCTV camera was covered by an umbrella. The motive for this heinous crime is unknown at this time.

At 7 PM on 9 September 2007, Police Lieutenant Colonel Jarakin Tua-supharp, a Banglamung Investigator, was notified of a house fire at 106/83 Moo Baan Ekmonkol 2/1, Moo 10, Soi Khao-talo; and rushed to the scene along with the Nongprue Fire Department.

The fire broke out on the second floor of the house. The main gate and front door were locked; and it took about ten minutes to gain access. The source of the fire was in the second floor master bedroom, which was also locked. Officials forced their way into the room and discovered that the bed was aflame. The firefighters got the fire under control after about twenty minutes.

Officials found the body of Mr. Kurp Schmorke (60), an ex German Marine Corps member. He had been struck on the head and stabbed in three places: on the forehead, the cheek and behind his right ear. The wall and Venetian blinds were covered with blood and there were signs that Mr. Schmorke had put up a struggle. A Kasikorn Bank, South Pattaya Branch, bankbook with a balance of two million baht and one hundred thousand baht cash were found next to the body. Mr. Schmorke’s bronze Honda City automobile, license 1066, Chonburi, was missing.

A neighbor, Mrs. Amphawan Bpothinart (45), told officials that she observed smoke coming from the roof of Mr. Schmorke’s house, and immediately notified the police. She was shocked to hear that Mr. Schmorke was in the house and deceased.

"Earlier around 11AM, Mr. Schmorke drove his car out with a blonde chubby guy, about 180 cm tall, and a dark Thai woman. After about three hours, he came back home alone and now he is dead," Mrs. Amphawan said.

Police searched the area around the house and discovered that the CCTV camera at the front entrance of the housing project, about one hundred meters from the house, was covered with an umbrella, arousing suspicion that this was done by the perpetrators to hinder detection. Mr. Schmorke’s car was found parked on Pattaya Soi 14, about a kilometer away from the crime scene.

Banglamung Superintendent, Police Colonel Sarayut Sa-gnuen-bpo-kai, declared that Mr. Schmorke was definitely the victim of foul play, but the motive was unclear at this time. This appeared to be a well planned crime. The investigation will proceed to find the individuals responsible for this brutal crime as soon as possible.

Pattaya Daily News

[peterpan]

Banglamung Superintendent, Police Colonel Sarayut Sa-gnuen-bpo-kai, declared that Mr. Schmorke was definitely the victim of foul play, but the motive was unclear at this time.

Good Work so far Police Colonel Sarayut Sa-gnuen-bpo-kai

[Dr Zaius]

Found next to the body was a plastic bag containing 500 euros and 30,000 Thai baht (870 dollars), said Major Jakarin Tuasupat of Pattaya's Banglamung Police Station, who inspected the scene

Wonder how much was in it before Major Somchai inspected the scene.

[dirtydog]

POLICE CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE BRUTAL MURDER OF FORMER GERMAN MARINE

Police are continuing to search for evidence in the case of the murdered German ex-marine, Mr. Kurb Schmorke (60), by separating investigators into two teams to comb the areas near and outside the crime scene. Police have put forth various possible motives for the crime, such as jealousy, robbery or some sort of financial conflict.


On 9 September 2007, Mr. Schmorke (60), a former German marine, was brutally murdered at 106/83, Moo Baan Ekmonkol, Soi Khao-Talo. He was hit on the head and brutally stabbed in the forehead, cheek and behind his ear. His head was covered with a plastic bag and wrapped in a towel. Mr. Schmorke's house was also set on fire.

On 10 September 2007, at 12:00, Banglamung Superintendent, Police Colonel Sarayut Sa-gnuen-bhio-kai, and an investigation team, went to the scene, again, to look for more evidence and to take fingerprints from various parts of the house and surrounding area.

Police Colonel Surayut stated that Mr. Schmorke was, formerly, a prison warden in Germany. He retired from his job and came to live in Thailand. He was married to Mrs. Paiwan Jansorn (35), a Thai national. The couple bought a house in which to live together. At the time of the murder, Mr. Schmorke’s wife had gone to Germany on holiday. Police thoroughly searched the house and found a large amount of forensic evidence, which they are not identifying at this time.

Police surmised that Mr. Schmorke had been dead for more than five hours before the house was set on fire. The police believe that there were at least two perpetrators involved in the crime, who were well acquainted with the victim. After questioning several witnesses, Police ascertained that Mr. Schmorke had taken a thin, dark skinned woman, about thirty-five years old, with curly hair, to the house. Police are interested in locating this woman to determine if she was involved in the crime.

The police also detained Mr. Michael Smith, a German citizen, who drove Mr. Schmorke’s car from the scene of the murder and parked it on Soi Khao Talo 14, about one kilometer away. It turned out that Mr. Smith, a close friend of Mr. Schmorke, the victim, had offered to buy the car from Mr. Schmorke. He had promised to make the last payment on the day that Mr. Schmorke was murdered. Police released Mr. Smith, pending further investigation.

Pattaya Daily News

[in4zip]

was wondering wot happened to the ole krautmuncher
so finally they got Stroller...

[klongmaster]

Found next to the body was a plastic bag containing 500 euros and 30,000 Thai baht (870 dollars), said Major Jakarin Tuasupat of Pattaya's Banglamung Police Station

A Kasikorn Bank, South Pattaya Branch, bankbook with a balance of two million baht and one hundred thousand baht cash were found next to the body.

I bet Tuasupat is pissed off with this bit of info being released...

[Mid]

Police nab suspect in German's murder
BREAKING NEWS

(dpa) - Thai police have arrested a German tourist as the chief suspect in the murder of fellow-countryman Kurt Schmolke earlier this week at Thailand's Pattaya beach resort, Thai police said Wednesday.

Michael Schmidt, 49, from Wurmannsquick, Germany, was arrested Tuesday night after evidence indicated he was the prime suspect in Schmolke's murder, said Major Jakarin Tuasupat of Pattaya's Banglamung Police Station.

"Schmidt still claims that he is innocent, although he admitted to being with the victim on the day of the murder," said Jakarin in a telephone interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The body of Schmolke, who was from Lahnstein on the Rhein River in western Germany, was discovered Sunday evening when police received reports of a fire at his home in Pattaya, 100 kilometres south-east of Bangkok. Schmolke had been stabbed and suffocated.

Schmidt and a Thai woman visited Schmolke Sunday and were seen leaving in his car that afternoon before a fire broke out in his house.

Police suspect Schmidt stole money from Schmolke, although several plastic bags filled with euros and Thai baht were found in his house after the fire.

"The bags of money had been washed out of their hiding places by the firemen's water hose," said Jakarin. "We suspect he had hidden a lot more money in the house and Schmidt took it."
The Post Publishing Public Co

[dirtydog]

SUSPECTED KILLER OF FORMER GERMAN MARINE ARRESTED

Police have arrested an acquaintance of the former German marine who was brutally murdered and whose house was set on fire. The suspect has denied being responsible for the terrible crime, but the police are confident that he is the killer.

Mr. Kurt Schmolke (60), a former German marine, was murdered at house number 106/83 Moo Baan Ekmongkol 2/1, Moo 10, Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi. After the grizzly killing, the house was set on fire. Mr. Schmolke’s bronze Honda City automobile, license 1066, Chonburi was missing. Police later detained Mr. Michael Schmidt (49), who drove the car away and parked it about one kilometer from the incident, on Soi KhaoTalo14.

Banglamung Superintendent, Police Colonel Sarayut Sa-gnuen-bpo-kai, held an arrest warrant No. 957/2550, dated 11 September 2007, for the arrest of Mr. Michael Schmidt (49), a German citizen, for the murder. Evidence included a blood stained chopping knife, which was found in the trunk of the car. Police Colonel Sarayut interrogated Mr. Schmidt, who denied committing the crime. Mr. Schmidt worked as a painter, in Germany, before coming to Thailand. He has been living in Pattaya for six years at Moo Baan Chat-Kaew 9, Soi Nern-plubwarn. He has a reputation for loutish behavior among his fellow German expats. He knew Mr. Schmolke and came to his house, regularly. He often showed up with a group of people to drink alcohol and extorted money from the victim. Lately, Mr. Schmolke grew tired of being abused and became resistant to Mr. Schmidt’s demands for money.

At the time of the incident, Mr. Schmidt had come to drink beer at Mr. Schmolke’s house. He tried, once again, to extort money from Mr. Schmolke, but Mr. Schmolke refused. Mr. Schmolke threatened that he would tell his brother to come from Germany and report to the police for protection. Mr. Schmolke and Mr. Schmidt exchanged words and Mr. Schmolke retired to his bedroom. Apparently, Mr. Schmidt took a chopping knife and slashed Mr. Schmolke on the head numerous times. Mr. Schmolke bled profusely and collapsed. Mr. Schmidt put a plastic bag over Mr. Schmidt’s head and wrapped it with a towel. Then, he set the house on fire.

According to the police, Mr. Schmidt drove the victim’s car to Soi Khao-Talo, about one kilometre from the house. He claimed that he had bought the car from Mr. Schmolke, legally, but the police are dubious of this claim. In addition, the police found the bloodstained knife in the trunk of the car. The police also interviewed Mr. Hans, a German national, who was a friend of the dead man. He told them that Mr. Schmolke frequently discussed, with him, the fact the Mr. Schmidt extorted money from him.

Mr. Schmidt has denied all of the charges. However, the police believe that they have strong evidence against him. Mr. Schmidt has been charged with intentional murder. The police will continue to analyze the evidence and will determine if the blood on the knife matches Mr. Schmolke’s DNA.

Pattaya Daily News

[Sparky]

Nice work cleaned that up very quickly . Thailand keeps its good reputation as a safe holiday destination ! it was a Farang this time .

[Up2U]

SUSPECTED KILLER OF FORMER GERMAN MARINE ARRESTED

Police have arrested an acquaintance of the former German marine who was brutally murdered and whose house was set on fire.

After the grizzly killing, the house was set on fire.

Pattaya Daily News

So - there was a German guy killed - then a poor defenceless bear?

And the house was set on fire after each killing?

Or did the reporter mean 'grisly'??

[dirtydog]

Suspected Murderer Refused Bail.

After two attempts for getting bail, Pattaya Provincial Court refused bail for German Michael Schmidt who is suspected to have murdered his German friend Mr. Kurt Schmolke.

The police are still awaiting the results of the DNA tests.

Pattaya People Media Group has been updated on the horrific murder case that occurred to 60 year old Mr. Kurt Schmolke on 9th September.
From hard investigation and witnesses’ statements; a suspect, Michael Schmidt aged 49 from Germany was found and arrested on 11th September with the victim’s car. On the day of the arrest the suspect also possessed a knife, a shirt, and trousers with blood stains. All the evidence was sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory in Bangkok.
Schmidt has been sent to Nongplalai prison and is still there waiting for the results of the DNA tests. Pattaya Provincial Court had ordered Schmidt to be imprisoned there from 13th – 24th September; but since no results have come back, the court extended the imprisonment from 25th September – 6th October.

Pattaya People

[kk boy]

It's great how they can "solve" a felang on felang murder so quickly but when a Thai is involved it can go years or remain unsolved, did anyone notice that no report of looking for the Thai lady in the last few press releases.
Will alaways be double standards

[barbaro]

That guy sounds like a real bad egg.

There are some snakes in the Pattaya area.

If I had money (which I don't at this point in me life), I wouldn't let other expats know.