Thai authorities uncovered a shocking discovery during a police raid on an alleged passport forgery den, leading to the arrests of three American individuals. Local media reported that forensic experts have determined the body found in a freezer during the raid most likely belonged to an individual of Eastern European descent.
The macabre find occurred on September 23, when law enforcement officers stormed the compound rented by the three American suspects, resulting in an exchange of gunfire that left one officer and one suspect injured. Udomsak Hoowijit, the head of forensic medicine at Chulalongkorn Hospital, stated that the deceased man "is believed to have originated from the southern part of Eastern Europe, possibly Hungary."
Although the man's age was estimated to be between 40 and 50, and his height measured at 179.5 centimeters, the exact time of death could not be determined due to the extended period of freezing. Hoowijit further added, "The victim probably died from a lack of oxygen or the use of drugs." The forensic assessment followed a dental examination and computerized tomography scan, conducted after a previous traditional autopsy.
The autopsy revealed that an electric chainsaw had been used to dismember the body. Authorities initiated the raid after receiving reports of suspicious activities within the building in eastern Bangkok. As a result, the three foreigners were apprehended, although there was initial confusion regarding their nationalities due to the significant quantity of forged passports found on the premises. The suspects were later identified as Aaron Thomas Gabel, 33, James Douglas Eger, 66, and Herbert Craig La Fon, 63, all of whom hold American citizenship.
During the raid, La Fon, who was armed, injured a police officer before sustaining injuries himself. He is currently receiving medical treatment at a local hospital. The three men face multiple charges, including resisting arrest, attempted murder of an official, possession of firearms, counterfeiting official documents, and concealing a corpse. Records from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations indicate that he had an outstanding federal arrest warrant issued against him in 1979 in Baltimore, Maryland, related to credit card fraud. However, the case could not proceed due to the death of a key witness.
Chief, Gen. Sanit Mahathavorn, expressed his belief that the victim discovered in the freezer was connected to the passport forgery operation and that foul play was "highly likely." Investigation findings revealed that he had purchased the large freezer in 2008, leading authorities to suspect that the body could have been frozen since that time.
The police has taken another step forward in their investigation into the freezer man. The man whose house on Ekkamai Soi 12 initially housed the freezer chest is not British but American. This has been confirmed by the FBI. His name is not Colter but Herbert Craig La Fon (63). A warrant for his arrest was issued in June 1979 in Baltimore because he was suspected of credit card fraud, but the case stalled when the key witness died.
The identity of the dismembered body found in a freezer chest during a raid on a house on Sukhumvit Soi 56 is still a mystery. The autopsy did not provide any information, and the FBI doesn't know either. The body could belong to a 65 year old foreigner named Robert Logan Grandy, who died of cancer and was cremated in a temple.
According to the tourist police, La Fon and the two American men arrested during the raid were part of a gang involved in passport forgery. Immigration has no information about him, but it's possible that he entered the country under a different name. The police have found fingerprints, not from the freezer man, but from the plastic bags in which the body was placed.
The report contains three contradictions: 1) The body was dismembered but also cremated. 2) The victim's fingerprints were sent to foreign embassies, but previous reports stated that they were too faint to use due to the body being frozen for a long time. 3) According to La Fon, the body is Grandy's, but the suspects deny that it belongs to Grandy.
Dec 2017, The chilling case: 44 year sentence for American guilty of hiding body in refrigerator.
The 64 year old American has been sentenced to 43 years and 10 months in prison for attempted murder of a police officer during his arrest, passport forgery, and concealing the body of a murdered American businessman, which had been kept in six pieces for eight years in a freezer.
They were arrested in September of last year at a property on Sukhumvit Soi 56 following a tip off that it was being used by a gang of passport forgers. During the investigation, the police accidentally stumbled upon the corpse. The identity of the murderer remains unclear, and none of the three individuals have been prosecuted for it. He only admitted to concealing the body.
The case against the others has been dropped due to lack of evidence, but they remain in custody pending an appeal. They had rented the property where the corpse was found, and one of them possessed a forged passport.