PATTAYA, Thailand – An Australian man accused of murdering a 17-year-old girl whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase beside a railway line in Pattaya has changed his plea, admitting to concealing the body while denying intentional murder and claiming he acted in self-defense.
Simon Peter Carman appeared at Pattaya Provincial Court on October 12, where the charges were read and explained to him again as the case entered the rights-protection process. Carman changed his earlier plea of not guilty to all charges, admitting the offence of concealing, moving or destroying a body to hide the death or its cause. He continued to deny intentional murder, claiming the girl died during a physical struggle and that he had acted to defend himself. He also denied a charge relating to taking a minor for an indecent purpose, claiming he did not know the girl was under 18. These remain the defendant’s claims and have yet to be tested at trial.
The case concerns Thanchanok Donhomla, 17, from Kalasin province, whose body was discovered inside a black suitcase in overgrown vegetation beside a railway line in Pattaya in June. Condominium CCTV footage reportedly showed the teenager entering a building on Jomtien Second Road in Bang Lamung district with Carman at about 3.34am on June 25. They went to an apartment on the 15th floor, and she was not seen leaving the building.
Later that evening, cameras recorded a foreign man believed to be Carman dragging a large black suitcase out of the condominium and loading it onto a red Yamaha Aerox motorcycle. He rode towards Soi Chaiyapruek 2 and the railway road before returning without the suitcase. After the girl’s friend reported her missing, Pattaya police examined CCTV footage and searched the apartment, where signs of a struggle were reportedly found. Carman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 26 as he prepared to leave Thailand.
Investigators traced the route and found a 26-inch black suitcase in vegetation beside the railway line, about 4.2 kilometres from the condominium. The girl’s body was inside, with injuries to her face. Forensic evidence was collected as part of the investigation.
Prosecutors filed charges against Carman on September 17 for intentional murder, concealing a body and taking a minor for an indecent purpose. He initially denied all charges and sought bail the following day, but the court refused release over concerns he might flee. Following an evidence review on October 12, the court scheduled prosecution witness hearings for December 8–9 and defense witness hearings for December 11.
