Police in Thailand allege 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla spent her final moments at a hotel with Simon Carman, who denies the charges
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NEED TO KNOW
- Simon Carman was arrested at a Bangkok airport on June 26, hours after a teenage girl’s remains were found in a suitcase
- Police allege that Carman was with the teen, Tunchanok Donhomla, at a hotel during her final moments
- Carman, who denies the charges, reportedly had scratches consistent with a struggle
After a teenage girl's remains were discovered in a suitcase in Thailand, police arrested an Australian man who police say was in a hotel room with her just before her death.
Tunchanok Donhomla, 17, was reported missing at 5 p.m. local time on Friday, June 26. Police arrested 45-year-old Simon Carman on multiple charges, including murder, two hours later at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, per Australian outlet ABC News. He was arrested while trying to buy a ticket to return to Australia, reports the Pattaya News.
Police claim that in the early hours of Thursday morning, the Australian national picked Donhomla up from the Beach Road vice strip in Pattaya. Her body was found naked and stuffed into a black suitcase around 11 p.m. on Friday, according to ABC News.
Per the outlet, the luggage was discovered along a railway line located about a 10-minute drive away from the hotel where Carman had been staying — and where police say the teen spent her final moments. Security footage allegedly shows the pair together, according to Siam Rath.
Security footage also allegedly shows the Australian national leaving the hotel the previous night around 9:30 p.m. with a black suitcase like the one the teen's remains were found in, according to ABC News. Prior to her death, Donhomla had entered a room at the hotel with Carman, the outlet reported, citing police.
Police charged Carman with four charges, including murder and offenses relating to “taking a minor for indecent purposes,” per ABC News. He has denied all of the charges, the outlet reported, citing Lieutenant Colonel Kanoknun Sooksri, who is leading the investigation.
The Pattaya City Police and Pattaya Tourist Police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Saturday, June 27.
In addition to the hotel footage, security video allegedly shows Carman riding a motorcycle with the suitcase near the railway tracks where Donhomla's remains were found. Per ABC News, he then allegedly disappeared from the security camera's view for just under 10 minutes before he could be seen returning to the same hotel.
Describing the state her body was found in, Police Colonel Anek Sarathongyu, superintendent of the Pattaya City Police Station, told ABC News, “She was completely naked, her face showed signs of severe assault, with swelling and bruising covering the entire face, and blood was flowing from her mouth and nose.”
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Carman, meanwhile, “has fingernail scratches across his body that are consistent with a struggle, but he denies killing her,” Sarathongyu said. Footage of Carman's arrest shared by ABC News shows what appear to be three small scratch marks on his upper arm and several more by his neck.
Asked about scratches on his neck while speaking with police, Carman said, "I think it's a spider; they always get in here.”
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"We believe he killed her, and he is being questioned on suspicion of murder," Sarathongyu said, per ABC News. Carman claimed that Donhomla “disappeared from the room while I was asleep and unaware of anything,” the police superintendent said.
Carman is currently being held in Pattaya Prison, according to ABC News.
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