When Somkuan Kaewkiew started referring to his dead wife as "darling dearest", police in Pathum Thani figured something was amiss.
Amnat: ‘A drama script’
The man's wife, Suree Yuwadamrong, 48, a provincial administration official and terminal cancer patient, was found murdered inside her Toyota Vios on Oct 15 in Lam Luk Ka district. She had been shot multiple times.
Police called Mr Somkuan, 47, in for questioning, believing him to be the person with the strongest links to the victim and hoping he might be able to offer some clues to investigators.
Pol Col Amnat Chancharoen, deputy superintendent of Pathum Thani police, said officers originally mulled over three possible motives for the murder _ adultery; financial debts; and an alleged graft offence at the administration office, for which Suree was facing a disciplinary inquiry at the time of her death.
Pol Col Amnat said that after witnesses and evidence were examined, investigators analysed video footage taken of the crime scene, but it proved inconclusive. The pillion-riding motorcycle gunman who shot Suree could not be seen clearly in the footage _ he and the driver were both wearing helmets.
Police then turned their attention to the testimony of Mr Somkuan, the victim's husband.
Mr Somkuan told police he and his wife were very much in love. He told them he would rise early to go to work and kiss his wife on her cheek while she was still asleep, before leaving home. When he arrived in his office, he would call Suree to wake her up, Mr Somkuan told police.
He told police that the moment he learned of his wife's murder, he fainted from distress.
"We knew this didn't add up. We thought it was like he was trying to write a drama script or something," Pol Col Amnat said.
Police began digging into Mr Somkuan's personal life and assets.
They ran checks on his mobile phone records around the time of his wife's death, and made a startling discovery.
Shortly before the murder, Mr Somkuan made frequent calls to two numbers which had not been saved in his mobile phone's contact list. After his wife was killed, he never called the numbers again.
Pol Col Amnat said investigators spent three days tracing the numbers, one of which was discovered to belong to Krit Polsakoo, 41, from Nakhon Pathom.
A search of Mr Krit's phone records showed he had been in contact with a suspected figure in the Phrong Madua hitman syndicate based in Nakhon Pathom. One of the numbers Mr Krit called belonged to a suspected gunman in the syndicate.
On Oct 1, police raided one of the gang's hideouts in the province, where they captured Pawin Kongmeng, 26, the alleged shooter, along with alleged syndicate leader Thammanoon Boonwai, 36, and Danai Matarat, 29, who allegedly drove the motorcycle in the shooting.
The three suspects were interrogated by Pathum Thani police, and allegedly admitted that Mr Somkuan had hired them to kill his wife, with Mr Krit acting as the broker.
Arrest warrants were issued for Mr Somkuan on charges of premeditated murder, and the other suspects for a variety of charges including colluding to murder and possessing firearms without permission.
Mr Krit has so far escaped arrest.
Pol Col Amnat said Mr Somkuan later confessed to the contract killing, saying he was fed up with his wife's temper and her erratic behaviour. Mr Somkuan and Suree often argued, Pol Col Amnat said, and she often called his previous wife and caused her trouble.
Mr Somkuan allegedly told police he paid Mr Krit 200,000 baht to find a gunman, who he then paid another 600,000 baht to carry out the killing.
"We worked our hardest to solve this case. The victim was brutally killed, even though she was suffering from cancer. She didn't have very long to live and her husband still did this to her," Pol Col Amnat said.
Contact Crime Track: crimetrack@bangkokpost.co.th