GUILTY Thailand - David Miller, 24, & Hannah Witheridge, 23, Koh Tao, 15 Sep 2014

[ellie b]

I don't believe nobody has taken DNA to compare with the UK autopsy results. It could be taken from the parents/siblings of the Burmese men. Could a private investigator do this?

Not sure that there would've been any usable DNA left to take...although to be honest I have no idea how these things work, but I wouldn't be surprised if the body was somehow cleaned before it left Thailand. I would think the only way to get a DNA comparison, if there is any, would be as you said...a private investigator..(MOO).

 

[IslandLover]

Some good news today

Thailand orders DNA in British backpacker murders to be verified

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ker-murders-burmese-suspects?CMP=share_btn_fb

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32531168?SThisFB&fb_ref=Default

 

[ellie b]

Some good news today

Thailand orders DNA in British backpacker murders to be verified

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ker-murders-burmese-suspects?CMP=share_btn_fb

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-32531168?SThisFB&fb_ref=Default

Well well....good news indeed, wasn't expecting that !

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Well well....good news indeed, wasn't expecting that !

Me neither, fantastic news and about time too!

 

[IslandLover]

Me neither, fantastic news and about time too!

Yes, it is unexpected good news. Also, the trial will be open to the public AND the media, which is not normally the case in Thailand, at least as far as the media is concerned.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Another Brit death in Thailand, thread here:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...achel-Turner-dies-in-Thai-hotel-pool-May-2015

 

[ellie b]

Yes, it is unexpected good news. Also, the trial will be open to the public AND the media, which is not normally the case in Thailand, at least as far as the media is concerned.

I'm not sure that the media will actually be able to report on proceedings though....

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Another Thai tourist attack. Wonder if the 2 arrested are locals this time.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...d-gang-raped-biker-gang-holiday-Thailand.html

Meanwhile, any update on H & D's case?

 

[Thyme]

No discovery process in Thailand!

The first hearing is on July 8/15, one each for five witnesses from both the prosecution and the defence. The hearings are scheduled for July 8, 9, 10, 22, 28, then on August 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28 and on September 1, 2, 22, 24, 25, 26.

All Eyes On!!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32948790

 

[IslandLover]

No discovery process in Thailand!

The first hearing is on July 8/15, one each for five witnesses from both the prosecution and the defence. The hearings are scheduled for July 8, 9, 10, 22, 28, then on August 18, 19, 20, 21, 27, 28 and on September 1, 2, 22, 24, 25, 26.

All Eyes On!!

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32948790

The judge has actually gone back on the agreement made with the defence team at the trial hearing on 30 April which was to allow them to have the DNA evidence independently examined. The judge may (or may not) grant them access to the evidence on the first day of the trial - 8 July - by which time it will be too late to do anything. This is an extremely worrying development and one possible reason for it is that the defence team has reportedly engaged the services of a well-known British CSI expert who has worked for the U.K. police and the UN. Just what are the Thai authorities hiding?

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/w...der-suspects-still-waiting-on-evidence-review

 

[Thyme]

This from the Migrant Workers Rights Network - UK Sunday Times advance story today on Koh Tao murder trial, to commence 8th July 2015 at Koh Samui Court. - https://www.facebook.com/youy5958941/posts/847712735321029

At times I have thought that Hannah could have been shot and the damage inflicted to hide the fact...if so....perhaps whoever did this retrieved the bullet. Then I think...someone would have heard the gunshot...or why didn't they shoot David?

 

[IslandLover]

The Koh Tao murder trial starts tomorrow, July 8, 2015:

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/07/07/koh-tao-murders-trial-starts-tomorrow

Prosecutors in the Koh Tao murders trial will present their witnesses for 12 days when the long-awaited trial begins tomorrow.

Ten months after the brutal murders of two Britons on Koh Tao, the trial will get underway at the Koh Samui Court with hearings and cross-examination of witnesses for the prosecution, according to a trial brief prepared by the defense.

In the trial’s beginning hours, the court is expected to finally address an April motion from the defense team asking for an independent review of physical evidence to be presented against Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, the two Myanmar men accused of murdering tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller this past September.

 

[IslandLover]

Further reading:

Burmese men to face trial for murder of British backpackers in Thailand

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...nnah-witheridge-david-miller?CMP=share_btn_tw

Defence lawyers say important evidence has recently been provided by UK over death of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao

 

[ellie b]

The Koh Tao murder trial starts tomorrow, July 8, 2015:

http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/07/07/koh-tao-murders-trial-starts-tomorrow

Prosecutors in the Koh Tao murders trial will present their witnesses for 12 days when the long-awaited trial begins tomorrow.

Ten months after the brutal murders of two Britons on Koh Tao, the trial will get underway at the Koh Samui Court with hearings and cross-examination of witnesses for the prosecution, according to a trial brief prepared by the defense.

In the trial’s beginning hours, the court is expected to finally address an April motion from the defense team asking for an independent review of physical evidence to be presented against Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, the two Myanmar men accused of murdering tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller this past September.

Thanks IslandLover,

Will be watching proceedings very closely on this one, do you know how the media is going to cover this ?

 

[ellie b]

Further reading:

Burmese men to face trial for murder of British backpackers in Thailand

http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...nnah-witheridge-david-miller?CMP=share_btn_tw

Defence lawyers say important evidence has recently been provided by UK over death of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao

I am pleased that UK foreign office has provided advance disclosure to the defence, though who knows what it is, I have to say that I have been disappointed in the foreign office up until then, though of course I don't know what they know.
What's the betting that court will go back on their order to have the DNA evidence independently tested ?.......... I think they've made it quite obvious that's what they intend to do (IMO).....We'll see tomorrow.....bet there's large amounts of cash being flung in the direction of some court officials......(MOO IMO)

 

[ellie b]

Not sure that we will be able to know what is being said in court........

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2015/07/koh-tao-murder-trial-to-start-today.html

 

[IslandLover]

Thanks IslandLover,

Will be watching proceedings very closely on this one, do you know how the media is going to cover this ?

Not sure yet. It depends on the judge and we will know more when the trial starts.

 

[IslandLover]

This from the Migrant Workers Rights Network - UK Sunday Times advance story today on Koh Tao murder trial, to commence 8th July 2015 at Koh Samui Court. - https://www.facebook.com/youy5958941/posts/847712735321029

At times I have thought that Hannah could have been shot and the damage inflicted to hide the fact...if so....perhaps whoever did this retrieved the bullet. Then I think...someone would have heard the gunshot...or why didn't they shoot David?

Someone may have heard it but they are too afraid to speak out, or they may have thought it was firecrackers. BTW guns are freely available on Koh Tao and there are plenty of pictures on social media of the local would-be gangsters posing with them. One theory is that the gun may have gone off by accident.

However, you would have thought that the British autopsy would have detected gunshot wounds but so far the British authorities have remained silent and the Coroner's inquest has been postponed until after the trial concludes.

 

[IslandLover]

Controversial trial of alleged killers of British backpackers to start in Thailand

Two Burmese men accused of killing Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao last September go on trial on Wednesday, amid controversy over their treatment by Thai police

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...British-backpackers-to-start-in-Thailand.html


The parents of two British backpackers murdered in Thailand last September flew into the island of Koh Samui on Tuesday morning for the trial of the alleged killers.


But while the families of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller are hoping to see justice done, the start of the court case on Wednesday seems likely to generate more controversy, as doubts continue to swirl over whether the right people are on trial for the horrific crime.

AND

“They slapped me first, then they put three plastic bags over my head. They started punching me in the face and chest, shouting that we had killed them,” Zaw Lin told the Telegraph at the Samui District Prison, where he and Wai Phyo are being held because Koh Tao is too small to have either a jail or a court.

“I was so hot and I couldn’t breathe well. I was very afraid, so I said, ‘Yes, I did it’. I only said it because I was so scared.”

 

[IslandLover]

Families of murdered Brit backpackers to attend Thai trial

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/tropical-thai-island-set-brit-murder-trial-201140810.html#AtxunwS

The families of both victims released statements early Wednesday confirming their attendance at an imposing courthouse perched on a hill overlooking Samui’s lush palm trees and white beaches.

“Just hours before he died David was talking to us with his usual enthusiasm, describing the beauty of Koh Tao and the friendliness of the Thai people,” Miller’s family said in their statement, adding that they hoped to “gain a better understanding” of how the young Brit died.

– ‘Bright future ended’ –

“Hannah was a beautiful person, inside and out, she brought a room alive just being there,” the Witheridge family wrote in their statement.

“Her bright future was brutally ended leaving those who loved her broken with no answers.”

Both families appealed for privacy from the press for the duration of the trial, which is expected to take place over 18 staggered days between now and September with a verdict due in October.