Thailand: Spanish actor’s son jailed for murdering surgeon

After killing and dismembering a gentleman last year on the island of Koh Phangan in southern Thailand, the brother of a well-known Spanish actor was imprisoned for life.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, the son of television star Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre, claimed he killed Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga in self-defence. He pleaded guilty to the murder in August 2023.

At the time, Sancho, then 30, told Spanish news organization EFE he had been a “hostage” to Arrieta, who he said was obsessed with him.

Numerous Spanish investigators flew to Thailand for the trial in order to capture the circumstance, which has piqued a great deal of interest in the case.

Sancho was found guilty of deliberate crime, concealing a body, and destruction of property.

Initial sentences for death were immediately commuted to life in prison, but the case was heard by a court on the nearby island Koh Samui, where the sentence was commuted to life in prison.

Sancho, a chef who has his own YouTube channel, was also ordered to pay 4 million baht ($118,000; £89,000) in damages to Arrieta’s family.

Bussakorn Kaewleeled, a prosecutor for the victim’s home, said they were satisfied with the outcome.

” The plaintiff is satisfied with the sentence because he ( Sancho ) will be put in prison for life and they ( the plaintiff ) receive some financial compensation”, Bussakorn told reporters outside the court on the island of Koh Samui, AFP news agency reported.

In earlier August of last year, officers in Koh Phangan discovered Arrieta’s system at a waste.

Around the same time, Sancho went to the police to document that Arrieta, next 44, was missing.

Sancho admitted to killing Arrieta upon more doubting.

According to a report from Thai internet last year, Sancho was able to come to terms with the murder’s deliberate motive after investigations had revealed that he had purchased, among other things, a razor, rubber boots, and a bottle of cleaning agent.

Eventually, Sancho led authorities to seven locations around the area where he dumped Arrieta’s dismembered figure in plastic bags.

According to reports, Sancho and Arrieta had agreed to meet after getting to know one another online.

Sancho allegedly acted in self-defense after Arrieta attempted to coerce him into having gender, according to the defense. In a statement released by the Spanish paper El Mundo, Sancho claimed that the plastic doctor” tried to rape]him.”

Sancho hails from a community of stars. His father, the late actor Félix ngel Sancho Gracia, and his mother, Silvia Bronchalo, is a performer.

Ryn Jirenuwat provided further reporting in Bangkok.