Police name Koh Tao murder suspects after crime reconstruction

Two Myanmar workers who have confessed to the murders of two British backpackers were taken to the scene of the crime at Sairee Beach on Friday. The semi-naked bodies of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found on the southern island of Koh Tao, near where they were staying, in the early hours of September 15. A blood-stained garden hoe, which is thought to be the murder weapon, was discovered nearby. Footage released shows the handcuffed suspects, wearing motorcycle helmets and police vests, surrounded by police as a reconstruction of the attacks is staged, watched on my hundreds of locals and tourists.

We have tested that the DNA of these two match the DNA found in the deceased.

Thai National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung

One suspect can be seen walking from the sea to the sandy beach, and wielding a large handled tool to apparently replicate a garden hoe while talking to officers. The reconstruction also saw a man and woman, depicting the victims, walking along the beach, their arms around each other. Thai police announced the pair - named as Win, 21, and Saw, 23, from Rakhine state in Myanmar - had been charged after admitting the killings. Thai National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung said: “The suspects saw them kissing and were aroused, so they attacked and got rid of the man and proceeded to rape the female victim. There was clear evidence: Forensic evidence, (testimony from) witnesses and other evidence, as well as closed-circuit television footage.” A third Burmese man remains in detention and is being questioned on suspicion of involvement.

There was also a mobile, a guitar and a motorcycle used to do the crime. The mobile phone was the mobile of the victim which the suspects took it to destroy.

Somyot Poompanmoung

Asia-Pacific