THE half-naked body of a Swiss woman was found at Ton Ao Yon Waterfall in Phuket by some local people this afternoon (August 5) and police suspect that she had been raped and murdered, Siam Rath newspaper said.
Pol. Lt. Col. Wuttichai Chanfai, deputy chief for investigation at Wichit police station, quickly went to the spot where the 57-year-old woman’s body was found with this being 500 metres from the entrance to this waterfall.
There they saw that her body, which was floating face down in the stream, had been covered with a black plastic sheet with a large stone placed on her head and one leg emerging from the covering.
When they lifted the plastic sheet they found that the dead Swiss woman, who had short blond hair and was around 160-165 metres tall, was naked from waist down. On the upper half she was clad in a cream-coloured short-sleeved T-shirt. Around her chest was wrapped a black shirt and near her feet, in the stream, was a pair of blue trousers and underwear.
Her body was sent to Vachira Phuket Hospital for autopsy. However no visible injuries were found. Nearby was a backpack containing some clothes and a mobile phone and near it a pair of sneakers.
Police said the initial investigation of the scene indicated that the victim could have come to this waterfall with her killer, whose nationality is not yet known and it is uncertain whether he is a Thai or another foreigner.
The killer seemed to have tried to have sex with her but when she resisted he straggled and then raped her. After that he dragged her body to the stream and pushed it in, covering it with a plastic sheet with a stone put on top of her head so that the body does not emerge above the water, and then fled.
However the currents pushed the body up to the surface and that is how the local people found her.
Phuket police are expediting investigation and checking nearby CCTV camera footage to track down the criminal.
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The waterfall where the Swiss woman was found dead and likely to have been raped and murdered. Photo: Siam Rath
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