They added: "Along with her bubbly and exciting personality Hannah was extremely intelligent and, after earning a degree with first-class honours from the University of East Anglia, was working towards a masters degree in speech and language therapy in Essex. Grief: Relatives of David Miller and Hanna Witheridge hug . Don't google the images either I just did bad idea. In 2019, the mothers of Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun filed a plea for clemency from the King of Thailand on Thursday, in a case tainted by allegations of wrongdoing, saying the couples confessions were obtained under duress. Thanks for that. 2023 BBC. Frenchman Dimitri Povse, 29, was found hanged in a bungalow on the island on New Year's Day 2015. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Critics, particularly those from the British media, have accused Thai authorities of bungling the investigation in the three weeks since the murders by chasing the wrong leads and failing to lock down the island in the hours following the killing. The two Myanmar men, in helmets and handcuffs, charged in the killings, were made to take part in a re-enactment of the crime.Credit:Reuters. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Scan this QR code to download the app now. Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, had been raped before being beaten to death while Miller, 24, from Jersey, had been violently attacked and abandoned to drown in the shallow waters of the island's. Network writers. She is an absolute nut job with an inexplicable vendetta against Tao, who has been exiled from Thailand due to defamation charges (not just from this story), and her and her partner are supporters of the English Defence League and known racists. Also, this may be controversial to say, but in reality we can never really take any sentiments shared by the family members (positive or negative) of the victims all that seriously (at least initially) because of how close they are to the cases. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. Speaking at the inquest, she said: 'Given the post-mortem findings it is very difficult indeed to come to any conclusion other than open and that is because no one knows quite why Laura died when she did. Thai authorities say IT manager Ben Harrington, 32, broke his neck when he crashed into an electricity pylon on a night-time moped ride on the island in August 2012. Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It is still unclear what prompted the killings. The names of the tourists were first announced in a Sky News tweet. The bodies of Miss Witheridge and 24-year-old David Miller, from Jersey, were found on the resort island of Koh Tao in 2014. When is Eurovision and how do you get tickets? However, their supporters had claimed the pair had been framed and the evidence mishandled. A few days later, staff checked her room to discover her mobile phone, passport and camera had all been left behind. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. Beach cleaners discovered the. The two were said to have been backpackers going through the tiny island of Koh Tao. They both decide to take a backpacking trip to Thailand before pursuing Master's Degrees in their respective fields. But far from attempting to address the issues of visitor safety, Thai army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the nations self-appointed Prime Minister following a May 22 military coup, has stoked outrage by pointing fingers at the victims. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Koh Tao is actually pronounced 'kaw? The investigation descended into the absurd when the Thai Prime Minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, commented on the killings by saying that only ugly women were safe wearing bikinis in Thailand. Sue Witheridge gave evidence at the inquest into the death of. They lost an appeal in 2017. We have to look into the behavior of the other party [Witheridge and Miller] too, he said. Wearing helmets, bullet-proof vests and handcuffs, and wielding a dust bin instead of a hoe, the men demonstrated how they had supposedly killed the tourists. Read about our approach to external linking. Although there were signs of sexual activity, investigators have not ascertained whether Witheridge was raped. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. To use auto build you need to . Ms Witheridge, who was doing a post-graduate speech and language therapy course at the University of Essex, was travelling with three female friends and had only arrived on Koh Tao, or Turtle Island, three before her death. Con Jovelle Balani, Byron Charnonneau, Alexandra Chubaty Boychuk, Daniel Cifuentes. I doubt we'll ever know the truth. Her mother, Mrs Witheridge previously wept at one point in the hearing and said: 'You lose one daughter, you don't expect to lose another.'. The men alleged that they had been tortured by the police, and legal teams claimed that the evidence was misused. Ms. Witheridge, a student at the University of Essex from Hemsby, Norfolk, was beaten to death in thailand. Thai police admitted to moving Mr Miller's body, ostensibly to prevent it from washing away. Maybe I missed it but I dont think the fate of the guitar was addressed? Press J to jump to the feed. The family said it had brought to a close a "lengthy and disturbing period" where activists on social media had attempted to influence justice in Thailand and public opinion elsewhere. Bystanders, including a TV reporter, were roped in to play the parts of the victims. Hannah & David: Dirigido por John Barnard. Ms Witheridge was found with her face smashed in, her skirt wrenched up and her body showing signs of rape. Police revealed that the two Thais had been interviewed but were released after refusing to provide DNA samples. Nor did his department fully test the alleged murder weapon. In March 2015 Russian touristValentina Novozhyonova, 23,vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao in mid-February - sparking a police search. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. Killed in Thailand: British tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. Exact date yellow weather warning for snow and ice forecast to hit UK - will you be affected? In case they (tourists) get drunk and fall asleep on the beach we can bring them back to their hotels, Apichai Ti-armataya, commander of the Tourist Police told AFP. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were killed in 2014 By Stephanie Cockroft 15 August 2020 A pair of migrant workers convicted of murdering two young British tourists on a Thai holiday island. Forensic examiners in Bangkok found water in his lungs and revealed that Miss. On Sept. 15, one of the occupants of that same room A5, Hannah Witheridge, was found bludgeoned to death in their midst alongside fellow British tourist David Miller, just a short stumble. "They said they didn't do it, that the Thai police beat them until they confessed to something they didn't do. Burmese bar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty of murder in 2015. For more information, please see our POLICE have finally made a breakthrough in investigating the shocking murders of two British backpackers whose battered bodies were found last month on a beach in southern Thailand, but mystery still surrounds the horrific discovery. 2 min read. David Miller was her handsome friend from the Channel Islands. It only emerged in recent days that Witheridge, a speech therapy student from England, was brutally raped before her death. 1.1M views 1 year ago True Crime: In September of 2014, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Koh Tao's famous Sairee beach, dead. A cruise employee has had his contract terminated after he was allegedly seen filming women from a female bathroom. Both had been in Thailand since August and had met just hours before their deaths. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. "DNA and forensics evidence relied on to convict Zaw Law and Wai Phyo, and sentence them to death in the Koh Tao murder case was fundamentally flawed and unreliable in terms of international standards.". The pair did not know each other before their holiday, but CCTV footage shows them leaving a bar together just hours before their battered bodies were discovered. On 15 September, the bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Sairee Beach on the island of Koh Tao, between 4 and 5 am, a few hours after their deaths. Privacy Policy. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. The spotlight fell on British tourist Christopher Alan Ware, who shared a room with Miller, with police hinting at a crime of passion. Ware was arrested at Bangkoks main airport with his brother James. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller are perfect strangers who hail from coastal towns in the UK. David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, didn't know each other before they met on holiday in Thailand in September. Miss Witheridge, a University of Essex student from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, a civil and structural engineering graduate, from Jersey, were bludgeoned to death. with a blow to the head and water in his lungs, a British friend of hers as a person of interest, initially saying that it was lost or "used up". The two Myanmar men, in helmets and handcuffs, charged in the killings, were made to take part in a re-enactment of the crime. 18:37 GMT 11 Aug 2021. Yeh I made the same mistake and I feel a bit sick now. The thing that struck me about this episode was the guitar. In a statement, Miss Witheridge's family said their daughter had been "taken from us in the most horrific way possible" and learning of her death had been an "indescribably impossible time". And even Sairee was mispronounced. Police initially named a British friend of hers as a person of interest, then began taking DNA samples from hundreds of suspects. Magazines, Digital Or, for the IPA-inclined, '/k/ /taw/'. She really is a truly awful and unreliable person. Mr Miller's family said their "daily thoughts" were still with their son a year after his death, adding he was "a unique and wonderful man". The two Myanmar nationals are charged with murder (of both tourists), gang rape (of Witheridge) and stealing, Prachum Ruangthong, police chief of neighbouring Koh Phangan island, told AFP. Witheridge and Miller are the two British tourists who were found dead after being chopped up on a Thailand beach. They still maintain their innocence, as they did throughout the trial. By If you have already listened to the episode, you can submit your rating at the Casefile Ratings Form. He didnt mention the fact that eight days after the killing of Witheridge and Miller, not a single suspect has been identified or remains in custody. His death was ruled as suicide but police could not explain why his hands were tied behind his back. Hannah Witheridge, from Hemsby, and David Miller, from Jersey, were found dead last September, David Miller's family released a new photograph of their son one year after his death in Thailand, Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin deny the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Chris Rock talks Oscars slap in live Netflix show, Everything Everywhere wins big ahead of Oscars, PM to end asylum claims from small boat arrivals, Mbappe breaks PSG goal record in win over Nantes, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court. Both families have revealed their struggle to come to terms with their tragic losses, and have remained hopeful throughout the investigation. Not sure how I feel about the guilt of the 2 people charged. . McAnna, a busker well known on Koh Tao as Guitarman, took a photo of the Thais and uploaded it to the Internet, after which he began receiving death threats. Seriously though, all I can hear is kachow. It means Myanmar people suffer a lot of discrimination and are generally treated as work chattel, and so it seems very easy for Thai authorities to pin crimes on them. 'Hannah was gripping blond hair before she died' - claim (but perhaps not as dramatic as it sounds) Murder victim David Miller likely struggled with his attacker in the sea off the Thai holiday island of Koh Tao before being hacked to death. Mr Miller's family said they were "grateful" to the Thai king. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Since then, the case has perplexed police, devastated their families, and damaged the countrys tourism industry. Coming just four months after a coup had installed a military junta in power, the case quickly became a litmus test of the new government's commitment to fighting crime. The main suspect in the crime is a fellow British backpacker, according to The Guardian. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered on a Thai island in 2014 The murders of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, occurred in the early hours of the morning after they left AC Bar. When the bodies of British tourists 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge and 24-year-old David Miller were found brutally murdered on the remote Thai island of Koh Tao, the police immediately concluded that the killer had to be a foreigner, as a Thai person couldn't be capable of such brutality. A UK autopsy later discovered Ben died of a transected aorta a rupture of the bodys largest artery rather than a broken neck. We are not going into their personal information its just the details they have to fill out on the immigration form already, he said. We are saying that by giving them the death penalty, they will lose the opportunity to do something good with their lives, lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman said at the time. The problem is all the distractions, Quaglia tells TIME. Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin had denied killing Mr Miller and raping and killing Miss Witheridge. The police are getting a lot of not only domestic media coverage but also international, and are under pressure to make statements about progress.. A post-mortem examination was unable to determine a cause of death for Mrs Daniels, a paediatric nurse who lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Specially how their entire investigation depended entirely on their DNA evidence, which honestly, sounded like it either was completely made up or staged. Their bodies were found semi-naked and severely battered, and both had severe head wounds. Powered by. Burmese bar workers Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun were found guilty of murder in 2015. All in all, this case made me reconsider ever going to Thailand, if I ever thought of doing that. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, The bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on Koh Tao, Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo - seen at court today - now face execution, Supporters of the pair have always maintained their innocence, Tourists take pictures on the island of Koh Tao, Thailand, The pair were forced to do a re-enactment of the murders after confessing, Ms Witheridge, 23, had been raped and bludgeoned to death, The Brits were killed as they walked back to their hotel, Forensics team search for clues after the shocking murders in 2014, Murderers of Brit backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller to be EXECUTED after losing last-ditch appeal in Thai court, Putin's thugs close in on ravaged Ukrainian city with thousands fleeing as intense fighting rages, Partygate buster Sue Gray's son 'boasting about mum on campaign trail as he tries to unseat Boris Johnson', Suella Braverman vows to stop the boats with new law to crack down on migrants using human rights laws to stay in UK, Runaway mum Constance Marten was 'groomed' by evil Nigerian sect leader, Man 'naked and covered in blood' arrested before mum found 'murdered' at home as neighbours reveal hearing screams, Rishi Sunaks new bill to end the Channel migrant crisis is crucial for the Tories, Leicester 'explosion': Listen to massive 'sonic' boom that shook homes and rattled windows. The Daily Telegraph reports that the two were seen leaving a bar at around 1 a.m. Sky News reports that Witheridge had been traveling with three friends. Copy and paste it. I mean, I do understand why they provide what the relatives say about the victims because it is kind of important to know what they think, but it would certainly be good to have a disclaimer at the beginning of episodes sometimes to remind listeners that any opinions and sentiments expressed by the people involved in the case do not reflect the opinions and sentiments of the podcast. All Rights Reserved. Mrs Witheridge who is separated from Miss Witheridge's father Tony Witheridge, 59, said . Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 22, initially confessed to the killings but later retracted their statements, saying they had been tortured. Under the scheme hotels will distribute the wristbands to new arrivals. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller are perfect strangers who hail from coastal towns in the UK. Credit: British Foreign Office That's when the killers pounced. Basically, Myanmar shares a border with Thailand and is considerably lower on the economic development index so a lot of labour, both legal and illegal, is done by Myanmar people inside Thailand. The pain of this loss is indescribable and our family needs a lot of time and privacy during this excruciating time.. He said he simply did not believe the killer would have taken the boat. Ms Witheridge, from Hemsby in Norfolk, and Mr Miller, from Jersey, were murdered on the popular holiday island on September 15. Lin and Phyo initially confessed to the killings but then retracted their statements saying they were tortured. He made it seem important then it was dropped. The men alleged that they had been tortured by the police, and legal teams claimed that the evidence was . "This tree was another tower of Jersey strength brought crashing down before its time," they said. He may have been protecting fellow victim Hannah Witheridge. They will also have the opportunity to further reduce their sentences for good behavior. , updated The two workers, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, were sentenced to death for the murder of David Miller and the murder and rape of Hannah Witheridge, whose bodies were discovered on a beach on the popular tourist island of Koh Tao in September 2014. "The second roti seller has been on the stand and it's become very clear that he does not have much of grasp of Thai at all so we don't understand how he could have translated for police," Andy Hall, a British migrant rights advocate who is assisting the defence, told the newspaper. If you would like to rate cases 1-199, please do so at this Casefile Ratings Form (1-199). The names of the tourists were first announced in a Sky News tweet. The police commissioner for the island of Koh Tao, Lieutenant General Panya Mamen, told the Bangkok Post: Two of the suspects raped and killed Witheridge, the other witnessed the murder. The two workers from Myanmar, wearing helmets and handcuffs, during a re-enactment of the alleged crime. All Rights Reserved. One of the things I like most about Casefile fans is the respect given to the victims and their families, which is not always the case with true crime fans. The brutal murder of British tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, on the Thai resort island of Koh Tao, has reverberated around the world. Prosecutors have claimed the men are linked to the killings by DNA evidence collected from cigarette butts, a condom and the bodies of the victims. Mrs. Daniels had been seriously ill, said the family statement confirming that she passed away on Sept. 16. Beach cleaners discovered the Britons naked bodies 20 m apart by rocks on idyllic Sairee Beach on Sept. 15. These two kindred spirits meet for the first time on the . Autopsies showed that Witheridge died from head wounds while Miller suffered severe blows to the head and drowned in the surf. But given all the other weird deaths and rumours of coverups etc. Historic ocean treaty agreed after decade of talks, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, 'The nurses wanted me to feel guilty about my abortion, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor. The area plays host to a weekly beach party on Sunday nights. A rusty hoe, its blade broken and caked in gore, lay nearby. Ms Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, hadbeen raped and bludgeoned to death while Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, suffered shocking head injuries, according to police. The University of Essex student and her male compatriot David Miller, formerly of University of Leeds, were subsequently murdered. 2022 - Wiki and Biography world. and our Mr Miller was found four metres away, face up, with a blow to the head and water in his lungs. A royal commutation does not require an admission of guilt, says the BBC's Jonathan Head in Bangkok. They had arrived in Thailand separately and met at the hotel where they were staying. Hannah & David: Directed by John Barnard. Post-mortems found that Hannah had died from head wounds, while engineering student Mr Miller suffered severe blows to his head and drowned. Prosecutors said DNA evidence collected from cigarette butts, condoms, and the bodies of the victims linked Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun to deaths. October 9, 2014 - 8:57AM. But Thailand's Supreme Court upheld the convictions. Would love your thoughts, please comment. But nobody familiar with Thailands feeble justice system is surprised by that. The family of a British backpacker killed in Thailand have welcomed a decision to commute his murderers' death sentences to life in prison. Hannah Witheridge was a beautiful blonde from eastern England. Sexual assault and rape, much of it unreported, bedevil Koh Phangans world famous full-moon parties. I wish true crime media would stop using this reasoning altogether. There is other evidence that points to these deaths being murders, but family members saying that the victims weren't suicidal is not it. Thailand on Tuesday announced plans to give tourists wristbands carrying their personal details and install more surveillance cameras and better lighting in major tourist areas.

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