Thai police have arrested a Polish man on suspicion of murder after the mutilated body of his Ukrainian girlfriend was found in a Bangkok condo. Nation Thailand reports that 25 year old ‘Lagoda Filippow’ was arrested at a border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province, as he was trying to flee to Cambodia.
The arrest followed the gruesome discovery of the body of 27 year old Alona Savchenko in a condo on floor 32 of The Key Sathorn-Charoenrat building in Bangkok’s Bang Khlo Laem district. The victim had been stabbed multiple times and her left arm and neck had been nearly severed. A foot-long hacksaw was found at the scene.
Police say they believe Ms Savchenko had been dead at least 24 hours before her body was found. An investigation showed her belongings, including her luggage, had been ransacked. Management at the condo building say Fillipow and Ms Savchenko checked in on April 29, after arriving on tourist visas.
Officers at Wat Phrayakrai Police Station were alerted to Ms Savchenko’s murder at around 1.00pm on Monday, May 15, when a taxi driver claimed the suspect had asked for his help in disposing of the body. Footage from the condo building’s security camera shows Filippow getting into a taxi at around noon on Monday.
The taxi driver told police his passenger said something that sounded like a request to visit a gambling den. However, when the driver took him to two different places he believed were used for gambling, the suspect used a translation app on his phone to tell the driver he wanted to hire someone who would help him get rid of a body.
According to the Nation Thailand report, the driver became alarmed and took Filippow back to his condo building, where he then alerted the building management. The management then searched Filippow’s condo, where they found Ms Savchenko’s body and notified the police.
It’s not clear how the suspect managed to get as far as the border province of Sa Kaeo before he was finally apprehended. Following his arrest, Filippow was taken to Wat Phrayakrai Police Station at around 4.00am yesterday, May 16.
According to officers, he appeared calm and even took a nap in the detention room. He ate breakfast and had coffee, without seeming under any stress, then asked police to notify his embassy. Officers say they have contacted the Polish Embassy and asked them to send an official interpreter and witness to the interrogation.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
