Life imprisonment sentence to a Thai woman named Pannada Raolueang.
A Thai court has handed down a life imprisonment sentence to a woman named Pannada Raolueang, who orchestrated the killing of her ex husband and attempted to dispose of his body by dismembering and burning it on a barbecue. The judge at Petchaburi provincial court commuted the initial death sentence to life in prison for Pannada, aged 35. Additionally, three accomplices, consisting of two relatives and a neighbor, were also sentenced to life imprisonment.
Judge Sarayuth Susayanawin declared Pannada guilty of arranging the murder of her ex-husband, Toby Charnaud, a 41 year old British man from Chippenham, Wiltshire. Witnesses in the court revealed that Pannada lured Mr. Charnaud to her residence in Petchaburi, located 65 miles southwest of Bangkok, in April 2005, under the pretense of collecting their four-year-old son, Daniel.
Upon his arrival, the three men, Bunthiam Phuiphong, 31, Chatri Sriprathum, 28, and Niphit Satabut, 27, attempted to shoot him, but their makeshift firearm malfunctioned. Subsequently, they brutally beat him to death with an iron bar before dismembering his body and attempting to cremate it on a barbecue. The charred remains were eventually buried in a prepared hole within a nearby national park.
Initially, Pannada reported Mr. Charnaud as missing, but his family hired a private investigator to locate him. Mobile phone records revealed that the owner of two bars had been at his ex-wife's house on the day he disappeared, prompting the police to conduct a raid. Two of the defendants eventually confessed to the crime and led the authorities to the burial site. The judge commuted the death penalty for all four individuals due to their cooperation with the court.
Following the verdict, Pannada expressed her desire to see her son, who currently resides with his father's family in England. In response, Sarah Charnaud, the mother of the deceased, issued a statement describing the murder of her "Wonderful father" son as a devastating event that shattered their lives.
Toby Charnaud and Pannada met in Bangkok and got married in 1997. Initially, they resided with Mr. Charnaud's parents in Wiltshire until he sold his farm and returned to Thailand, where he purchased bars. The couple divorced in 2004 after Mr. Charnaud discovered Pannada's affair with a Thai police officer and her mounting gambling debts. Although Mr. Charnaud retained custody of their son, Daniel frequently visited his mother.
Pannada admitted to arranging the murder after learning about Mr. Charnaud's involvement with another Thai woman. Testimonies read out in court indicated that she feared her son would face hardships and used this as motivation for the crime.
However, a lawyer representing the Charnaud family argued that money was the primary motive, suggesting Pannada aimed to "inherit everything through their son," according to Bunchu Yensabai's statement.