Headless horror was suicide, say detectives

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Headless horror was suicide, say detectives

Investigators closer to finding man's identity

Published: 25/02/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

Police believe a man whose severed head was found hanging from the Rama VIII bridge had committed suicide.

All evidence points to self-harm, Deputy National Police chief Jongrak Jutanont said yesterday.

Speaking after a meeting with the team working on the case, Pol Gen Jongrak said specialists from Siriraj Hospital had confirmed a match between a male body found in the Chao Phraya river and the head. However, his identity is still not known.

Police and rescuers examine body after it was found in the river

The head was found suspended about 5 metres below the railing of the bridge on Sunday. A Puma-brand white polyester bag was also found attached to the rope. There were some Italian words printed on one side of the bag.

His body was found in the water near the bridge the following day.

The body was clad in a white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black trousers and a pair of sneakers. A box of matches was found on the body.

Pol Gen Jongrak said specialists said the head was not severed by a sharp object as the neck had rough and uneven edges.

If the head was severed by a sharp object, the wound around the neck would have even edges, he said.

"The head was probably severed when the man dropped from the bridge with a rope tied around his neck. It looks like the head was not chopped off [with a sharp object]," Pol Gen Jongrak said.

He also said the body of the man had no injuries or bruises.

He said all the evidence suggested it was suicide, not a murder nor transnational crime, Pol Gen Jongrak said.

He said if no new evidence was found within 30 days to suggest the man was murdered, police would conclude he had committed suicide. Police have been searching for clues in areas frequented by foreign travellers, including Khao San and Nana, to identify the man.

Crime Suppression Division police checked with the Italian embassy when it was discovered the bag found with the head bore Italian words.

Pol Gen Jongrak said a picture recorded by the Immigration Bureau at Suvarnabhumi airport showed an Italian man, Giovanni Gaeta, 49, who seemed to fit the man's description.

He arrived in Thailand on Feb 8 and checked in at the Rex Hotel on Sukhumvit road.

Police are trying to track him down.

Pol Col Pornsak Surasit, commander of the CSD's Division 1, said police were stepping up efforts to identify the dead man.

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Writer: WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

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Report objectionable comments click here. Include: discussion #, commenter name, comment date / time as it looks on the page. Example: discussion 15: 09/01/2009 at 10:00 AM.

Harold

Discussion 21 : 27/02/2009 at 04:25 AM21
Tourism Authority of Thailand to Thai Police: "Please rule this as a suicide. We can't take another hit to the tourism industry in Thailand". Hmmm......?
Wombat

Discussion 20 : 26/02/2009 at 09:29 PM20
Suicide eh?
And did anyone else notice that the alleged note written by the victim to the owner of his free room was of a very different style from the crude message left on the bridge railing?
Hmmm
Wombat

Discussion 19 : 26/02/2009 at 09:26 PM19
Suicide eh?
Did anyone else notice the style of English used in the alleged note the victim allegedly wrote to the owner of his room was of a much different style from the crude English written on the bridge railing?
Hmmm.
obs

Discussion 18 : 25/02/2009 at 01:33 PM18
Is this the same Jongrak that "investigated" the Sanitka fire too? Good gracious, I am sure that we will find out the truth then...

Logic for a second, if you wrap a rope around your neck and jump off a tall structure, if it separates your body from the head...wouldn't the head also drop?
Tiina

Discussion 17 : 25/02/2009 at 01:28 PM17
How can a person commit suicide by decapitating himself? I think a head can not be severed from the body by a rope except when it is sharp metal like a piano chord. Or otherwise, the person has to be extremely heavy.
Tim

Discussion 16 : 25/02/2009 at 01:14 PM16
How utterly ridiculous, to suggest this man committed suicide. If the head had been severed by the rope, it too would have fallen into the water and only the rope would have remained hanging from the bridge. A 10 year-old could work that out. Have the police been bribed by the real perpetrator to announce this ridiculous conclusion?
MikeSims

Discussion 15 : 25/02/2009 at 12:55 PM15
The man has not even been fully identified and the police are already making conclusory announcements? They have established a time limit of 30 days and they will "finish" the investigation at that time? This is a disastrous event and I think it should be handled with the greatest amount of care. I live in a neighboring country with Thailand and travel regularly so I feel this includes me and foreigners in general. Just within the last week two other foreigners were killed in other parts of Thailand.

I think that (1) every detail about the incident needs to be released publicly and (2) answers or most likely answers for each detail need to be made.

Why was the head still attached to the main rope? How was the head still attached? Doesn't it seem at least odd? Can I see close pictures of that? Why was there a duffle bag attached to both the head and rope? Can someone explain the logic of that, with close pictures? Who is to explain the odd message written on the bridge railing? Is this person named on the railing going to come forward, or be found? Is hotel lobby video footage ("Rex Hotel") going to be analyzed and are hotel workers going to be questioned to find out if he made any enemies or persons of suspicion?
Samuel Beckett

Discussion 14 : 25/02/2009 at 12:47 PM14
Dear Wassayos Ngamkham,

Are you aware how much power it would need to loose your head when you jump off a bridge? Referring to some fundamental things in physics, this whole story is more than questionable.

Also, if someone committs suicide, he/she will certainly not having a bag with 'italian words' on it.

In addition, what does that mean if Police don't find any new evidence within 30 days? Oh, wait, I believe someone who reads this article may start yelling "I did it!" in order to ease Police investigations.

What happens next? Everyone who dies under mysterious circumstances will get a "Investigation expired" stamp?
Benito Camelas

Discussion 13 : 25/02/2009 at 12:32 PM13
"Police believe a man whose severed head was found hanging from the Rama VIII bridge had committed suicide."

WTF?!?
jack

Discussion 12 : 25/02/2009 at 11:51 AM12
You have got to be kidding!!! In over 2000 years of written history, no human has EVER lost his/her head by hanging. Talk about being LAZY. With a little dectective work Im sure that pol gen jonkrat & co. could find his identity and preps.

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Headless horror was suicide, say detectives