No bail for tourist suspected of murder

No bail for tourist suspected of murder

Polish man accused of killing girlfriend

Filippow: Sought to flee to Cambodia
Filippow: Sought to flee to Cambodia

The Bangkok South Criminal Court has denied bail to the Polish man who allegedly murdered and dismembered his Ukrainian girlfriend.

Jan Jerzy Lagoda-Filippow, 25, was arrested on Monday in Sa Kaeo province’s Aranyaprathet district as he attempted to flee to Cambodia.

He was wanted for allegedly murdering and dismembering Alona Savchenko, 25, with a handsaw at a high-rise condominium in Bang Kholaem district in Bangkok after arriving as a tourist on April 29.

Wat Phaya Krai police in Bangkok later took him into custody and under Section 288 of the Criminal Code can detain him for 12 days.

The Bangkok South Criminal Court on Wednesday rejected Mr Lagoda-Filippow’s request for bail.

The court said the case is punishable by the maximum sentence, which could tempt the suspect to flee the country, a police source said. The suspect was arrested at the Immigration Office in the border town of Aranyaprathet, which he said showed his intention to flee.

The source said Wat Phraya Krai police found Savchenko’s body in a condominium unit on the 32nd floor. The body was covered with a blanket. They found a stab wound to her chest, and her left arm up from her wrist was dismembered.

Her head had been nearly severed. Police also found a 46-centimetre handsaw nearby.

According to the post-mortem, the victim might have been dead for 24 hours before her body was discovered.

According to investigators, Mr Lagoda-Filippow entered Thailand on a tourist visa on April 29. On Monday, he grabbed a taxi and asked the driver if he could find a store which sold deodorant.

He also told the driver he had just murdered his girlfriend and was seeking someone to help him to finish dismembering the body. The taxi driver later told the police that he initially believed the suspect was joking.

However, when the driver dropped him off at his condominium, the suspect kept talking about the murder. The driver also said a strong smell of blood came from the suspect while they were in the taxi. He said he told condo staff what the suspect said. Later they found the victim’s body.