News Digest

Thai police focus on migrant worker link in British tourist murder probe

Police investigating the “gruesome” killing of two British tourists in Thailand say they are looking at whether someone from the migrant worker community could be involved. The bodies of 24-year-old David Miller, from Jersey, and 23-year-old Hannah Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, were discovered semi-naked on a beach in Koh Tao on Monday. A bloodstained hoe, believed to be the murder weapon, was found nearby. The manhunt originally centred on an apparently British backpacker, but Thai police now appear to have changed tack.

My best friend and the love of my life. We were meant to have so much more time together but I’ll continue loving you everyday forever.

Mr Miller’s girlfriend Jessy Howorth

Police have released CCTV stills in the area, one of which reportedly shows the two victims, who had met on the island, walking hand-in-hand. A suspect, believed to be Asian, appears in a later image, but police say they are following a number of leads. Some 70 officers are now on the island and defence minister Prawit Wongsuwan said police hoped “to make an arrest as soon as possible”. Ms Witheridge’s father Tony said his family was “distraught” at receiving “the most devastating news”.

We are aware of the death of two British nationals on 15 September on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. The Embassy are urgently seeking information from the local authorities and Consular staff stand ready to provide assistance to friends and family at this tragic time.

UK Foreign Office spokesman