In September 2014, two European backpackers, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found murdered on Sairee Beach on Thailand’s island of Koh Tao. They had been brutally beaten to death just a few feet away from their hotel rooms. From the beginning, the Thai police had difficulty securing the crime scene. While collecting forensic evidence, tourists and locals were allowed to walk on the beach. A mistake that many forensic experts say jeopardized the entire investigation.
Throughout the investigation and criminal trial, the Thai government and police were heavily criticized by human rights organizations, legal experts, and the media. Allegations about police brutality rocked the country’s economy that almost solely relies on tourism.
Episode Sources:
Channel 4 Murder in Paradise
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/dark-side-koh-tao-seven-10708561
https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/true-crime-in-the-outdoors/tag/Cases+on+the+Death+Island+of+Koh+Tao
https://www.nist.gov/feature-stories/dna-mixtures-forensic-science-explainer
1 comment on “Koh Tao Murders”
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Hi Courtney
I just listened to your full podcast about Koh Tao with considerable interest.
I am a legal practitioner in Perth, Western Australia who has been following events on Koh Tao very closely since the time of the murders of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on 15 September 2014. However, at that time I was already aware of other tourist deaths on the island.
An English human rights activist by the name of Andy Hall asked me to put him in touch with the Melbourne forensic expert, Jane Taupin which I did. Andy was assisting the defence lawyers. Unfortunately, the Thai defence lawyers did not call Ms Taupin to give evidence even though she was available.
Ms Taupin did note however that the document that the prosecution relied upon was an Unendorsed Report in that it had no seal or stamp certifying that it had been produced by an accredited laboratory and in accordance with international standards. The relevant standard in this case was ISO 17025.
The “evidence” in the form of this Unendorsed Report would have been ruled as inadmissible in US courts and other Western courts.
The trial provided an obvious example of Scientific Fraud being used to convict two scapegoats.
I should add that I was not representing the accused men so I am not presenting arguments on their behalf in any lawyer/client relationship.
I have created a Facebook page and a YouTube channel dedicated to looking into tourist deaths on Koh Tao.
Most mainstream media provide only superficial accounts of what has been happening on the island and their published information is often inaccurate and understated the seriousness of the situation.
Here are the names of some of the other outsiders who died on Koh Tao:
Ian Jacobs 2000;
Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban) 2002;
Hiroshi 2002;
Yoshie Sazawa (Sharlyn) 2004;
Ben Harrington 2012;
Anthony Cardullo 2013 (USA);
Nick Pearson 2014;
Hannah Witheridge 2014;
David Miller 2014;
Hanspeter Suter 2014;
Silje Mathisen 2014;
Dimitri Povse 2015;
Christina Annesley 2015;
Luke Miller 2016;
Shelley Bot 2017;
Valentina Novozhenova 2017;
Elise Dallemagne 2017;
Bernd Grotsch 2017;
Rocio Gomez;
Samyak Choudhary; and
A Thai/Indian couple circa June 2021.
If you are interested, I have further information on my social media accounts. I shall post a link to your podcast on my Facebook page.
My Facebook page is called KOH TAO DEATH ISLAND.
My YouTube channel is called KOH TAO MURDERS DEATH ISLAND.
Cheers
Ian Yarwood