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| Confessions to murder of two British backpackers in Thailand reported | Confessions to murder of two British backpackers in Thailand reported |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| One or possibly two Burmese migrant workers have confessed to murdering Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, the young British backpackers found dead on a Thai island last month, police have said. | One or possibly two Burmese migrant workers have confessed to murdering Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, the young British backpackers found dead on a Thai island last month, police have said. |
| “The investigation has advanced considerably,” Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda, Thailand’s deputy national police chief, told Reuters. “Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners,” he said. | “The investigation has advanced considerably,” Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda, Thailand’s deputy national police chief, told Reuters. “Three Burmese workers were detained and we took their DNA for testing. During the investigation one of them admitted to killing the two foreigners,” he said. |
| Another senior officer, Major General Kiattipong Khawsamang, told the Associated Press that two of the men detained had confessed to the killing, while the third denied any involvement. | Another senior officer, Major General Kiattipong Khawsamang, told the Associated Press that two of the men detained had confessed to the killing, while the third denied any involvement. |
| “We are interrogating them. So far, accounts from the two men matched and they confessed they killed the tourists,” Khawsamang was quoted as saying. | |
| In yet another version of events, the Bangkok Post quoted a local officer, Decha Butnamphet, as saying one of the arrested men, with the surname Soe, had admitted to being a man seen on CCTV and sought in connection with the case, but denied murder. | |
| According to the paper, Soe was detained when he got off a boat from Koh Tao in Surat Thani, the mainland port for ferries to the island and the bigger holiday islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. The other two were detained on Koh Tao, it reported. | |
| The bodies of Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, and Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found together on a beach on Koh Tao, a popular destination with young foreign tourists, on 15 September. | The bodies of Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, and Miller, 24, from Jersey, were found together on a beach on Koh Tao, a popular destination with young foreign tourists, on 15 September. |
| Both had suffered serious head injuries, which killed Witheridge, while Miller died from a combination of head injuries and drowning, a postmortem found. | Both had suffered serious head injuries, which killed Witheridge, while Miller died from a combination of head injuries and drowning, a postmortem found. |
| Jaktip said the man who had confessed was being detained, but had not been arrested. “We still have to wait for DNA test results, which we expect to have in 14 hours from now, in order to confirm this,” he said. | Jaktip said the man who had confessed was being detained, but had not been arrested. “We still have to wait for DNA test results, which we expect to have in 14 hours from now, in order to confirm this,” he said. |
| Other reports inside Thailand said the three Burmese men had been arrested, and that DNA samples had been taken from all of them. One report, cited by the Bangkok Post, said the man who had confessed was a Thai national, and the other two were Burmese. | Other reports inside Thailand said the three Burmese men had been arrested, and that DNA samples had been taken from all of them. One report, cited by the Bangkok Post, said the man who had confessed was a Thai national, and the other two were Burmese. |
| Somyot Pumpanmuang, Thailand’s national police chief, was reported to be on his way to Surat Thani. | |
| The double murder attracted worldwide coverage and prompted a concentrated, if seemingly chaotic, police investigation. Thailand is heavily reliant on tourism and there were fears that the killings could scare foreigners away, especially if the case remained unsolved. | |
| Initial efforts focused on Burmese migrant workers, of whom there are many in Thailand. Two British brothers who were travelling with Miller were also questioned, but swiftly eliminated as possible suspects. | Initial efforts focused on Burmese migrant workers, of whom there are many in Thailand. Two British brothers who were travelling with Miller were also questioned, but swiftly eliminated as possible suspects. |
| Later, police said they believed the crime might have been motivated by sexual jealousy and were looking into reports that Witheridge and Miller had had a confrontation in a bar with a Thai man before they were killed. | Later, police said they believed the crime might have been motivated by sexual jealousy and were looking into reports that Witheridge and Miller had had a confrontation in a bar with a Thai man before they were killed. |
| Chaijinda had only just been appointed to head the murder inquiry, following concerns that more than two weeks had gone without a definite breakthrough in the case. | Chaijinda had only just been appointed to head the murder inquiry, following concerns that more than two weeks had gone without a definite breakthrough in the case. |
| According to the Bankok Post, Pumpanmuang had talks on Thursday with the British ambassador to Thailand, Mark Kent, and was planning to hold a press conference on Friday. |