Thai policeman sacked over bungled murder investigation
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Your support makes all the difference.The Thai police officer in charge of the investigation into the murder of British backpacker Kirsty Jones was sacked yesterday as an inquest in her home town heard her strangled body lay undiscovered for 15 hours.
The Thai police officer in charge of the investigation into the murder of British backpacker Kirsty Jones was sacked yesterday as an inquest in her home town heard her strangled body lay undiscovered for 15 hours.
Police chiefs in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai where the 23-year-old graduate was found 13 days ago in a hostel said the officer had been removed amid increasing claims of incompetence.
The sidelining of Deputy Superintendent Panya Nirattimanont came a day after police said five foreign suspects had been cleared of the killing following DNA testing. Two Thais continue to be detained.
Yesterday, a coroner in Brecon, Powys, close to the farm where Ms Jones lived with her parents, ruled after a 15-minute hearing that the Liverpool University graduate had been unlawfully killed.
The coroner, John Hollis, concluded the young traveller had been strangled after hearing evidence that she was killed shortly after returning to the £1-a-night Aree House hostel from a night out.
The inquest was told Ms Jones, who left Wales in June at the start of a two-year trip around the world, was killed at around 1am shortly after her return but her body was not found until 4.30pm that day.
PC Mike Eckley, the coroner's officer, said: "She lay undiscovered for almost 15 hours. It would appear according to the information we have that she was attacked almost as soon as she returned home."
Ms Jones was found semi-naked on her bedroom floor after being raped and strangled. Guests heard screaming but assumed it was an argument between lovers.
Mr Hollis, closing formalities in Britain, said: "There is no reason why this sad story of Kirsty's tragic death should not be brought to a close. The only verdict I can make is that she was unlawfully killed."
Mike Gooding, a friend of Ms Jones's parents, Glyn and Sue, said they now want to bury their daughter. He added: "They also want Kirsty's killer found and dealt with accordingly."
The removal of the investigating officer in Thailand was an attempt by the authorities to protect the tourist trade as well as allay criticism of delays and inappropriate remarks.
One comment by an investigating officer that Ms Jones may have died as a result of an accident during consensual sex provoked particular outrage.
Lt-Gen Aram Chanpen, chief of police in Chiang Mai, said: "Police are working hard to speed the task and bring the murderer to justice soon, as this case has hurt tourism in the province."
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