Police on Koh Pha Ngan are continuing their murder investigation as forensics officers confirm that human remains found at a landfill site belong to the suspect’s Colombian partner.
According to media reports, the suspect, named as 29 year old Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, is a famous Spanish chef. His father, Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre, is a well-known actor in Spain and understood to be on his way to Thailand.
The Phuket Express reports that DNA testing on body parts found at a Koh Pha Ngan landfill site has confirmed they belonged to 44 year old Edwin Miguel Arrieta Arteaga. Mr Arteaga was a gender reassignment surgeon from Colombia and the partner of Bronchalo.
After arriving on Koh Pha Ngan where he was due to meet up with Bronchalo, the Colombian lost contact with family members, who became concerned for his welfare.
Bronchalo, who is in police custody, has confessed to murdering and dismembering the surgeon’s body, saying the victim tried to force him to have sex. The suspect says this led to a fight in which he punched Mr Arteaga, causing the victim to fall and hit his head on a bathtub. Bronchalo says he decided to dispose of the body by dismembering it.
According to the Phuket Express report, police have their doubts about Bronchalo’s version of events, pointing out that the murder appears to have been pre-meditated. Bronchalo had allegedly purchased tools with which to dismember a body and is accused of inviting Mr Arteaga to the island with the intention of killing him.
Bronchalo faces charges of premeditated murder, concealing a body, and tampering with evidence. According to police, he also used the victim’s credit card to invest in a restaurant in Spain. They say they’re not ruling out that the motive for the murder may have been financial.
Meanwhile, a search for more human remains belonging to the victim is underway in the sea after police retrieved a black bag containing his head, hands, and arms on Sunday, August 6.
SOURCE: The Phuket Express
