PUBLISHED : 6 Aug 2023 at 12:07
SURAT THANI: A kayak, believed to have been used by a Spanish chef to dump the body parts of his Colombian surgeon lover into the sea off Koh Phangan after killing him, was found on Saturday, police said.
The Spanish chef, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, is alleged to have killed Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44, a Colombian national, and dismembered the body at a hotel on Tuesday.
Trash collectors on Thursday discovered body parts, including a sawed-off pelvis and intestines weighing around five kilogrammes, inside a fertiliser sack at a garbage dump in Moo 4 of Koh Phangan.
The Spaniard was taken to the Koh Phangan police station on Friday for questioning in connection with the disappearance of the Colombian.
He initially denied any involvement but eventually admitted to killing the Colombian and dismembering the body in a hotel room.
He allegedly said he put parts of the body into a fertiliser sack and left it at a garbage dump on the island. He stuffed other parts into a suitcase, took it out to sea in a kayak and dumped it overboard.
On Saturday, police found a kayak left on Salat beach, about 300 metres from the hotel where the murder took place. It was believed to be the boat used by the Spaniard to dispose of the suitcase.
Two women identified as Tuk and Kanda, the owners of the kayak, were taken by police for questioning. They told them that at about 9pm on Tuesday the Spanish man came to their shop and asked to rent a boat. They initially turned down the request as it might not be safe for the tourist to use it at night. The man became frustrated and insisted on taking the boat.
He offered to buy it for 1,000 US dollars and they agreed, said the women.
The suspect is the son of the Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and actress Silvia Bronchalo. A well-known chef in his home country, he also had a YouTube channel.
The victim operated a successful cosmetic surgery business in Monteria, Colombia, a large city in the northwest of the South American country.
The two were believed to have been involved in a relationship.