Phuket 'Body Parts' Found in Expat's Luxury Mansion

 

Police have found what they believe are human remains at the Phuket mansion of a wealthy Scandinavian man - and they say he may have murdered his Thai girlfriend. Thirty police raided the man's seven-bedroom 15 million-baht home in the west coast holiday destination of Kata and discovered suspicious bones in plastic bags in a basement bin. The man, who studied medicine for two years, has denied murdering his girlfriend. Aged 50, the man was being held at Chalong Police Station today on a charge of illegal possession of al firearm - a gun that was registered in the name of the missing woman. In what is one of Phuket's most sensational missing persons cases, perseverance by the family of the Thai girlfriend, who disappeared in 2009, may yet produce a remarkable conclusion. The raid on the man's luxury Phuket mansion took place early yesterday evening and an intense search of the premises followed until early today. ID cards, a watch and other items belonging to the missing woman were found. After officers discovered the plastic bin in the basement and opened its contents, a shocking smell filled the room. Police believe decomposed human remains may be in the remnants of a plastic bag in the green council wheelie rubbish bin. Colonel Atip Tannin, of the Bangkok-based Crime Suppression Division, led the raid. ''The remains have been sent already to facilities at Surat Thani where their DNA will be determined,'' he said. In the house with the Norwegian man last night was a Thai woman, his current girlfriend, who told officers she had been staying there for six months and knew nothing about her partner's previous relationships. His partner of 10 years, Rungnapa Ratchasombut, 30 at the time of her disappearance, was reported missing on July 19, 2009. She had two children from a previous marriage to a policeman. Her anxious family, from Surat Thani, pressed Phuket police and officers at Region 8 HQ for information and eventually went to Bangkok and conveyed their suspicions to the Crime Suppression Division. In last night's raid, police found a handgun registered to Khun Rungnapa, with 58 bullets, and charged the man with illegal possession of the weapon. The man denied any knowledge of the items found in the bin or of having any connection with the disappearance of his former partner.

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