Tommy Viktor Söderlund was handed a life sentence.
Aug 2011, Swedish murder suspect on the run.
Police have initiated a manhunt for T. V. Soderlund, a Swedish national, following the murder of M. Schantz, a Russian born Swedish citizen. Soderlund, along with another unidentified white male, rented a house near the victim's residence at The Lantern residential complex in Koh Kaew. The suspects, believed to have stolen a Yamaha Fino motorbike with license plate number กตจ-729, fled the scene.
According to a maid at the complex, Soderlund signed a one year lease for a house opposite his residence on the morning of the incident. At around 8 PM, as he returned home on his motorcycle, unaware of the presence of him and his accomplice, they attacked him. Despite their attempt to strangle him with a wire, Mr. Schantz put up a fight. In the struggle, one of the suspects stabbed him in the neck. He managed to run away, crying out for help, but tragically collapsed and died near a security guard booth.
The two assailants fled through his house, scaling a wall to escape onto the street. There, Soderlund forcibly removed a passing motorcyclist and made his getaway, according to Col Jumroon. The Swedish Embassy in Bangkok confirmed his Swedish citizenship and his residence in Gothenburg. He had been living in Thailand for approximately three years, operating his IT companies based in Sweden from Pattaya and later Phuket.
City Police revealed that Soderlund ran an IT business in Pattaya and had an ongoing dispute with him, possibly related to business competition. Additionally, Soderlund's half Thai girlfriend had left him for Mr. Schantz, suggesting a potential connection between the murder, a love triangle, and the business rivalry.
March 2014, Tommy Viktor Söderlund from Sweden was sentenced to life in prison.
In a court, he was handed a life sentence for his involvement in the killing of M. Schantz, a Russian born Swede, on August 1, 2011. The fatal incident took place at The Lantern apartment complex in Koh Kaew, following a dispute related to a Pattaya boiler room scam that all three individuals were implicated in.
Back on January 24 of this year, Johan Sebastian Ljung, also from Sweden, received a life sentence for the murder. During the trial, both defendants pleaded not guilty and claimed that his death was an unintentional outcome of his struggle with Ljung, who was holding a knife to his throat.
Phychaya Titapattawong, their defense lawyer, revealed after the hearing that the court arrived at the guilty verdicts based on evidence presented by the police. This evidence indicated that the defendants had come prepared with a knife, a handgun, a strip of rubber for restraining their victim, and a woolen ski mask.
When initially apprehended, both individuals had confessed to the murder, a confession that Mr. Phychaya asserted was a mistake on their part. Mr. Phychaya further stated that he had already filed an appeal on behalf of Ljung and would do the same for Söderlund at the earliest opportunity. Ljung has already been transferred to Nakhon Sri Thammarat Central Prison, and Söderlund will join him there. The appeal hearings will take place at the same facility.