A Thai mother found the body of her daughter while picking mushrooms in a forest in the Seka district of Bueng Kan province yesterday, June 24.
Officers from Seka Police Station were called to the scene at around 11am after the child’s body was found in a forest near a residential area.
Officers found the young girl lying face up, her lower body exposed. Her black sweatpants were found nearby. Police said the body was sent to Srinagarind Hospital in Khon Kaen for a detailed autopsy.
Initial findings led investigators to suspect sexual assault and homicide. It is anticipated that a suspect used the sweatpants to strangle her.
The body was discovered by the girl’s mother, 31 year old Phetcharee. She told police that she had last seen her daughter at around 9am on June 23.
The following day, while collecting mushrooms in the forest, she came across the body and alerted nearby residents. It was only when she was looking at the body with others that she realised it was her daughter.
Phetcharee’s 27 year old husband and stepfather, Nirun, told the police and media that he could not identify the suspicious person in this case because he had only just moved in with Phetcharee during the Songkran festival in April, so he was not familiar with the local people.
He stated that the girl was cheerful and had not displayed any suspicious behaviour previously. She went to school as usual the day before she died.
He added that he knew only that the husband of the girl’s aunt had driven her to an area near Ban Nong Thum School at around 8pm on June 23.
The girl’s 22 year old aunt, Wasinee, reported that the girl had asked her to drive her to a friend’s house near the school. Wasinee was busy taking care of her child, so she asked her husband to take the girl to the location instead.
Wasinee stated that her husband returned shortly after dropping the girl off. He even told her that the girl’s friend’s family would take her home.
She was confident that her husband would not hurt the girl, as he had been living with her since the girl was young. Reports say he also displayed no suspicious behaviour.
Wasinee’s husband had not yet given a statement to the police. The woman stated that he was busy helping his friends at a rubber plantation.
Bueng Kan Provincial Police have joined Seka Police Station in the investigation. Officers said people considered relevant to the case will be called in for questioning as the investigation continues.
The story Discovery of girl’s body in Bueng Kan forest prompts murder probe as seen on Thaiger News.
