Matchbox helps police identify foreigner who hanged himself

CRIME TRACK

Amatchbox found in the clothing of the headless body of Italian Maurizio Tosadori gave few clues to police when they retrieved his body from the Chao Phraya river last Monday.

Jongrak

But within days, it was to play a crucial role in helping them establish his identity.

A similar matchbox was found in Tosadori's guest house room, days after his head was seen dangling from Rama VIII bridge.

At first, police focused their attention on how the head had been severed.

They searched for places he might have lived by sweeping hotels in tourist spots in the backpackers' hub of Khao San road.

Police investigation leader Jongrak Jutanont said there were difficulties as it was the first case of its kind in Thailand.

But his team managed to establish what had happened within four days.

Despite facing questions about the quick outcome of their investigation, police insist the death of Tosadori, 52, was suicide.

His head was spotted hanging from the bridge on Feb 22. Spots of blood were splattered on the surface of the bridge edge.

The head of a middle-aged man dangled five metres below, from a rope tied tightly to the bridge.

Fresh blood stains on the bridge led police to believe the man died at the scene.

His neck bones were torn apart, which probably resulted from the impact of the fall.

"He jumped off the bridge and his neck was yanked with such force that his head was torn from his body," Pol Gen Jongrak said.

"The wound didn't look like a cut [by a sharp object]."

Physicians at Siriraj hospital carried out an autopsy on Tosadori.

They found the man had hanged himself because the wound around his neck was not even, as it might have been if he was attacked with a sharp object.

No other injuries were found on his body. This finding marked the half-way point of the investigation.

The officers looked for ways to identify the man, whose head was found with a white bag carrying Italian words.

The words related to the name of a hotel in Italy, so officers focused on Italian tourists who were missing in Thailand.

On Feb 25, tourist police met Wimol Jaijong, owner of a guest house and restaurant on Khao San road in Phra Nakhon district.

The woman recognised pictures of the dead man who had stayed at her guest house. Mrs Wimol told police Tosadori was an architect who checked into the house two weeks before. She said the man had disappeared on Feb 21.

Mrs Wimol said Tosadori was a poor man who often fell ill. However, he left the house every day looking for work.

Police who inspected his room found a matchbox with a brand similar to that discovered on his body. The matchbox find, and Mrs Wimol's remarks, helped police to confirm his identity.