Strangled at a Thai guest house on 10 August, 2000.

[Harry]

Family to visit Thai murder scene

Kirsty Jones was on a round-the-world backpacking trip
The family of murdered backpacker Kirsty Jones is preparing to fly out to Bangkok as authorities announce they are to hold a full review of the case.



The 23-year-old from Tredomen, near Brecon, was raped and strangled at a Thai guest house on 10 August, 2000.

She was on a two-year trip round the world at the time of her death.

Five years on from the murder, Kirsty's killer remains at large following an investigation by Thai police which has been heavily criticised.

Kirsty's mother Sue and brother Gareth will be accompanied by two officers from Dyfed-Powys Police in talks with Thai officials. They fly out of Sunday.

Initially they will meet the Royal Thai Police and staff from the British Embassy in Bangkok, before visiting the Aree guest house in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, where Kirsty was murdered.

It will be the first time that Kirsty's family has visited the country in South East Asia.

Kirsty was three months into a two-year trip around the world when was raped and murdered at the £1-a-night guest house.

The police investigation has been dogged by incompetence with Thai officers criticised after the murder scene was contaminated and vital forensic evidence destroyed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/4739535.stm

[Mid]

Powys mother's pledge for daughter murdered in Thailand
10 August 2010


Kirsty Jones was on an around the world trip when she was murdered

The mother of a backpacker murdered in an unsolved killing in Thailand 10 years ago has spoken of her long wait for justice for her daughter.

Kirsty Jones, 23, from Tredomen, near Brecon, Powys was raped and strangled at a guesthouse on 10 August, 2000.

Sue Jones says she will never give up the fight to see the murderer caught.

Dyfed-Powys Police recently questioned four Britons and a UK-based Thai national as a routine part of the inquiry, but they are not suspects.

Despite a number of arrests, no charges have ever been brought.

But Dyfed-Powys Police said there were lines of inquiry which still "needed to be resolved, and a number of people still of interest to detectives".

In recent weeks, five people who were in Chiang Mai, the city where she died, were interviewed by the Dyfed-Powys force. But they were not arrested and are not considered suspects.

This was a result of Dyfed-Powys Police having called on the Thai authorities to supply them with a letter of request, an official document, which enables British police to interview people on behalf of an overseas force.

It's a waiting game. It's been a long time, but we have the DNA and that's where the answer lies.”
Sue Jones Kirsty Jones' mother

Without the letter of request, the evidence would not be valid if the case came to court in Thailand.

The interviews will be passed to the Department of Special Investigations in Thailand, which has been reviewing the case since 2006.

Mrs Jones said securing the document was a "major breakthrough", but the interviews had not helped identify the killer.

Her daughter, a Liverpool University graduate, was found dead in a room at the Aree guest house in Chiang Mai, which is north of the country's capital, Bangkok.

She was three months into a two-year around-the-world trip when she was murdered on 10 August, 2000.

Dyfed-Powys Police later secured the killer's DNA, belonging to a man of south-east Asian origin, following a visit by two senior officers to the crime scene.

Sue Jones says she will never give up the fight to see her daughter's murderer caught

Mrs Jones said she was optimistic her daughter's murderer would be found.

She told BBC News: "I am always optimistic.

"It's a waiting game. It's been a long time, but we have the DNA and that's where the answer lies.

"I've never actually thought they wouldn't catch anyone, but I do get weary sometimes because it's such a long and slow process, but you can't give up. I'll never give up."

Ch Supt Steve Hughson has been involved in the case from the start, and along with his colleague Det Ch Supt Steve Wilkins, they have visited Thailand twice to help with the investigation.

The force's involvement in the inquiry started in September 2001 after the family became frustrated by the way the Thai police were handling the hunt for the killer.

"The 10th anniversary is a significant milestone," said Ch Supt Hughson.

'Confident'

"The focus is still actively on this case and that is testament to the concern we have shown to it, and the support we've given to the family.

"We recently received a letter of request from the Thai authorities to interview a number of UK-based witnesses, four British nationals and a Thai national, which is now complete.

"There were some points that needed clarification.

"We're in the process of analysing this and we'll then we'll send it to the Royal Thai Police."

Ch Supt Hughson said there were lines of inquiry which still "needed to be resolved, and a number of people still of interest to detectives".

He added that police had the killer's DNA and all they needed was a name.

He said: "I am confident that one day somebody will be caught for this.

We're doing everything we can to make sure it (the case) comes to a successful conclusion, and we're making sure it's on the political agenda."

In 2007, Brecon and Radnorshire MP Roger Williams asked Tony Blair to meet the Jones family during prime minister's questions in the House of Commons, and Ch Supt Hughson said a brief about the case was given to every Foreign Office official who visited Thailand.

On Wednesday, the BBC News website will carry a longer interview with Sue Jones, Kirsty Jones's mother.

bbc.co.uk

more threads here : TeakDoor.com - The Thailand Forum - Search Results

[Butterfly]

with a lazy police force and sometimes the criminal being the police force, it becomes a lost cause, sadly

[pet coon]

There have been some recent exceptions, but the Thai Police seem to be granted immunity after their indoctrination into the subtleties of police work in Thailand.

[Begbie]

Also here

https://teakdoor.com/moronic-kiddies-...ten-years.html

[grasshopper]

The presence of the murderer's DNA is a significant asset to the ongoing investigation. Maybe a test of the staff of the guesthouse at the time would help clarify things. A decade has gone by, though.

An increasing number of crims have been done for crimes committed in the past in Oz, purely because of the increasing use of DNA.

[Mid]

Also here

https://teakdoor.com/moronic-kiddies-...ten-years.html

Chiang Mai Citylife: Kirsty's Ghost<br><em>The murder of Kirsty Jones</em> by Oliver Benjamin

October, 2005

Like a recurring nightmare or a wandering ghost, the murder of Kirsty Jones just keeps coming back to haunt Chiang Mai. Every year the police department announces that it's got a fresh lead or new evidence and everyone starts talking about it again. That is, until nothing inevitably comes of it.
This year was marked by a special development: Kirsty's parents finally came to town, ostensibly to put a little pressure on the police department to wrap up the case, a case that byLog Out now has become utterly unravelled.

Kirsty Jones was 23 when she was killed in the Aree Guest House, just a block west of the popular Somphet Market in the old city. Now renamed 'Mam House', few who stay there today could ever imagine the tragedy and subsequent media circus that took place there five years ago.

It was the first time many had ever heard of Chiang Mai in the world media, and for many it influenced perceptions of the city irrevocably. Suddenly considered a 'dangerous' place, it took over a year for Chiang Mai tourist figures to bounce back. Despite a few tragic incidents a year, however, it is probably one of the safer cities of its size in the world.

Which is one of the reasons the media leapt on the story like lions on a gazelle. There was a lot of meat, after all: A pretty, young, blonde girl goes on a one-year, post-uni romp around the world and two months into it gets raped and strangled in her 1 pound-a-night guest house in a quaint little town. Though many at the guest house hear late-night screams, no one does anything about it, presuming it a 'lovers' tiff'. The following day, in exchange for kickbacks from the local media, the Thai police invite a horde of reporters in to handle, trample and contaminate the evidence, making forensics impossible. Then they boldly announce that Kirsty was killed when consensual sex went wrong, going so far as to presume, publicly and incorrectly, that she was murdered for refusing anal sex.

Speculations ran wild. Some said that there were multiple types of sperm present, indicating a gang-assault. The DNA was identified to be Asian in origin. All of the male tenants of the guest house became suspects and several turned out to be drug dealers or addicts. One of the more loony suspects assaulted a reporter and claimed that the police had required them all to give them 'dick prints' - that is, a 'fingerprint' of their penises. The tension (and embarrassment) had reached a boiling point and the police promised to find the killer in ten days.

Then a bombshell dropped. Though the body was reported to the police at 4 P.M., one of the guest-house workers admitted later that she had found the body at ten that morning. Not only that, she had been specifically instructed to check that room by the establishment's owner. And as anyone who has ever travelled knows, it's far from customary to investigate a room two hours before check out time.

The English owner of the Aree had an alibi for this apparent cover-up: His visa had run out two years prior and he faced jail or deportation if the police showed up to investigate. He insisted that he needed to try and bribe the immigration department before alerting the cops. It sounded patently ridiculous. He was tossed in jail and immediately considered the prime suspect.

Two months later, without any evidence to convict him, the Englishman was released - not due to the efficient, speedy nature of the Thai legal system but because he openly paid a one xxxxxx baht bribe. Regardless of any innocence or guilt on his part, the alternative would be to languish in Thai jail for years awaiting a drawn-out trial. Wisely, he fled to France and no one has heard from him since.

In the vacuum that followed, two incredible hypotheses were put forth. The first was that there had been no rape, that the sperm had been procured elsewhere and inserted into the victim's vagina. This has happened before in Thailand, a technique to throw investigators off the scent. Police investigators even tested the hypothesis by sending agents out into the streets to buy fresh semen - they returned successfully two hours later. But subsequent British investigationsdeemed this impossible. Apparently, there is some characteristic quality that distinguishes sperm that has been ejaculated and sperm that has been injected. The British Home Office has insisted ever since that a genuine rape took place, the murder occurring concurrently as she was strangled with a sarong. The fact that two transvestites admitted two years later to supplying the sperm (not their own) was dismissed without explanation.

At present, however, there is not enough proof to convict anyone at all and multiple layers of hearsay, circumstantial evidence and mere guesswork only appear to obfuscate the truth, whatever it may have been. The police had been temporarily roused from their inertia by the high-profile arrival of Kirsty's parents, but one can be sure that once the cameramen called it a wrap, they did too.

On August 31st of this year, the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok held a conference in which an English Channel 4 documentary on the subject was shown. Andrew Drummond, the Bangkok Post reporter who originally covered the story was on hand afterwards to discuss the debacle. Perhaps because he is currently fighting a libel suit (one which most journalists believe to be grossly unfair), Drummond proved reluctant to play fast and free with any theories as to who the killer actually was. He didn't believe it was the English guest-house owner and wouldn't speculate on the tourist policeman's guilt - going only so far as to say that though he had been transferred for a while, he was now back in his old job. Drummond's only evident contention was that whomever the killer is, he will probably never actually be brought to justice.

And that's where we are today. In the cult film 'The Big Lebowski', a down-and out hippie has his car stolen and inquires of the police if they have any leads. "Leads!" exclaims the policeman, laughing. "Yeah, they got us down at the station, working on shifts!" This seems to be the attitude of the police in Chiang Mai. If you want prompt, efficient and courteous service, all you have to do is drive down Huay Kaew road without a helmet. But whatever you do, don't get murdered. Any 'leads' there are will likely be trampled upon, or quite possibly even covered up by the police themselves in the interest of protecting their own.

In all fairness, Thailand is a relatively safe country for foreigners with a relatively honest police force. Of course, I am comparing it with Indonesia and Botswana, not Europe or the United States. It comes down to this: Thailand doesn't have the resources to pay for world-class civil guardians. Like anything else, you get what you pay for, and in a country where life is cheap, your life may not enjoy the same favourable exchange rate as your currency. Kirsty Jones was among the few who are assaulted annually in our beloved town, but a few is still too much, especially when their ghosts remain all too commonly unavenged. But perhaps this is just a conceit of a na?ve foreigner; Most Thais have never had any faith in their police to begin with. For them, the ghosts are all the more palpably real.

ex mkp kinda got caught in the sweep so to speak

[Seekingasylum]

Andrew Drummond has been very supportive of the family in the investiigation and to his credit he continues to gnaw on this particular Thai bone of contention but the problem remains, and one that continually thwarts the British embassy, is the fact that the Chiang Mai police act independently of the government. This of course is no news to anyone with even the most passing of knowledge of how provincial police work. However, despite their attempts to conceal the evidence, the Chiang Mai police are still stuck with the DNA of the killer which clearly identifies him.

That he is connected to the local police force is beyond any doubt. The only question yet to be resolved is just which particular Sgt Somchai did the foul deed.

[Chairman Mao]

Was in CM at the time, and followed the case over the following 4 or 5 years, but haven't heard anything about it since then.

There was a lot of talk of a tourist police PoS known as Tony who many suspect had quite a lot to do with the case.

[Ripley]

Yeah,
How does this cuntry get away with it?

[Chairman Mao]

Smiles and 500b bjs.

[Seekingasylum]

Yes, Tony had been transferred but I believe is now back in harness in Chiang Mai. There was also speculation that a teacher and associate of Tony had visted the Aree guest house on the night in question.

[Ripley]

Another caveat for visitors, if you die , your death may not be properly investigated.

That's when you call Expat Coroner ! [TM ]

Foreigner Coroner ! For when it absolutely, positively has to be investigated within the month.
Foreigner Coroner ! For your Piece of Mind

[billy the kid]

Thai's just don't have any respect for the life of a farang .
Tourism and face come a joint first.
Pretty fokin sick indeed.
Feel for her family.

[Drummondbkk]

Yes, Tony had been transferred but I believe is now back in harness in Chiang Mai. There was also speculation that a teacher and associate of Tony had visted the Aree guest house on the night in question.

Actually Tony's DNA did not match. I knew because I brought a sample of his DNA for analysis and after getting the DNA profile the doctor told me so and laughed saying he knew who it was as he had done it already!

But I have been told Tony was spotted with one other person outside the Aree at about the time in question.

Actually Gavin the producer of 'Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand' filmed with Tony in CMX. A lot of it he had to assign to the floor so to speak because T was drunk most of the time.

[sunsetter]

i bet someones sweating then, few quid in the right hands about now would nail the killer easy id say

[Seekingasylum]

I understand it is alleged that the person seen with Tony was a lecturer at the local university who bore a remarkable likeness to a serving police officer in Chiang Mai, suggesting a possible fraternal connection.

Do you know if that person had his DNA sampled for comparison?

[robuzo]

Yeah,
How does this cuntry get away with it?

How about this excuse from a piece posted above? "It comes down to this: Thailand doesn't have the resources to pay for world-class civil guardians." Which is a total crock of shit.

[dirtydog]

i bet someones sweating then

Doubt it, he has got away with it for the past 10 years, probably forgotten all about it by now.

[Drummondbkk]

I understand it is alleged that the person seen with Tony was a lecturer at the local university who bore a remarkable likeness to a serving police officer in Chiang Mai, suggesting a possible fraternal connection.

Do you know if that person had his DNA sampled for comparison?

Heard that too. Not to my knowledge. There is also the story that it was son of the guy the guy who provided land for the new (at the time) Regional police hq.

[Tasmaniagirl]

Andrew, so the DNA is definately of a Thai then?

[chingching]

the semen found at the scene was traced to a ladyboy who said he sold it to somebody else !and the police believed him

[Drummondbkk]

Andrew, so the DNA is definately of a Thai then?

Definitely Asian

[Drummondbkk]

the semen found at the scene was traced to a ladyboy who said he sold it to somebody else !and the police believed him

Mai ching. That was a red herring thought up by the Thai police. British police believe 100 per cent that the sperm DNA is that of the killer rapist

[Ripley]

the semen found at the scene was traced to a ladyboy who said he sold it to somebody else !and the police believed him

Mai ching. That was a red herring thought up by the Thai police. British police believe 100 per cent that the sperm DNA is that of the killer rapist

Stating semen inserted to give a false DNA isn't feasible when there is a witness saying he sold sperm is not logical.

Isn't that kinda a rare thing to buy.
I mean it's all around, who needs to buy sperm?
Test that witness' sperm and find out. If so, you know you have a conspiracy to cover murder.