Lopburi: The smell of teacher Lek’s corpse began to spread in the well; she had been murdered by her nephew. The case of a nephew who murdered his own aunt and dumped their bodies in a well before fleeing abroad, and then returned to surrender two weeks later due to remorse, continues. Despite searching for over 12 hours, rescue teams have been unable to retrieve the body of “Teacher Lek” from the well.
According to Thai News Agency, a rescue team from the Ruam Katanyu Foundation, comprising over 30 members from both the local area and the central office, brought various rescue equipment to search for the bodies of “Teacher Lek,” Ms. Jiraporn Puangmalai, 61, who was murdered by her nephew along with her older sister, “Teacher Mam,” Ms. Phanomporn Puangmalai, 64, and thrown into a well. The nephew then covered the well with crushed rocks. The motive was revenge for their grandmother, who was bedridden and abused by their aunt and uncle. After two days and more than 12 hours of searching, the rescue team has not yet been able to retrieve the bodies from the bottom of the well.
The search was difficult, as the bottom of the well was covered with crushed rock. The rescue team had to scoop up the crushed rock one 20-liter paint can at a time. Each officer was only allowed a maximum of 20 minutes in the well, depending on the oxygen tanks, which had to be changed continuously. Pol. Lt. Col. Rattapong Nityarawiwar, Deputy Superintendent of Investigation at Phatthananikhom Police Station, closely monitored the operation.
By 11:30 PM, approximately 2 meters of crushed rock had been removed from the pit, but the body of “Kru Lek” had not yet been found, forcing the search to be suspended for the second day. However, the rescue team used a long, sharp metal rod to penetrate the crushed rock into the pit. It is estimated that there are still about 2 meters of crushed rock remaining. After retrieving the rod and analyzing the smell, the rescue team unanimously agreed that it was the smell of a corpse. They believe that “Kru Lek’s” body is likely located more than 2 meters beneath the rock. The rescue team will resume the search today, the third day, and expects to find “Kru Lek’s” body today.
As for the body of “Teacher Mam,” Ms. Phanomporn Puangmalai, officials were able to retrieve it from the well on the first day, after the suspect, feeling remorse, turned herself in and led police to the location where she had dumped the bodies of her aunt and uncle in the well.
Regarding the progress of the case, yesterday, the parents, four relatives, and a private lawyer stayed with the suspect throughout the night at the interrogation room. The suspect was not taken to a holding cell because he surrendered himself and showed no signs of attempting to flee. The relatives refused to provide any information. Later that morning, investigators took the suspect to be remanded at the Lopburi Provincial Court, accompanied by relatives. The suspect appeared exhausted from lack of rest. Initially, police charged him with “causing death by assault.” Further charges regarding concealment of a body will depend on the DNA test results from the Forensic Institute.