Jealousy, drugs wreak havoc
A young man in Bangkok killed his girlfriend of nine years after succumbing to a drug-induced meltdown.
Wat Phraya Krai police in Bang Kholaem nabbed Rungrort, 24, after he attacked his girlfriend Minthira, or Ploy, also 24, over the head with a clothes iron, stabbed her with a sword knife, and smashed her in the face with a soda water bottle.
She died in the bedroom of his father's place where the couple had moved just two days before, following an earlier incident in which he attacked someone at a place he and his girlfriend were renting.
Rungrort, a food delivery rider, and Ploy, who worked in a restaurant, have a two-year-old son. His father, Pornchai, 64, said Ploy has stuck by him faithfully for nine years despite his problems with drinking, marijuana, and speed, which he believes fuelled the attack.
Rungrort, who admits taking marijuana and drinking kratom beforehand, says he attacked his girlfriend after she urged him to sleep. "I didn't want to sleep so kept watching the news," he said, as if that was provocation enough.
Family members say, however, that he actually succumbed to jealousy, after seeing Ploy return to their place with a messenger. Hallucinating under the influence of the drugs, he accused her of seeing the messenger on the sly, which led to an argument.
A friend of Ploy's knows the messenger, and asked him to take Ploy back home. She had been admitted to hospital two days before after taking a drug overdose and trying to end her own life.
"She was miserable living with Rungrort. She loved him but he kept abusing drugs," she said.
Ploy had her stomach pumped and was heading home when Rungrort, fatefully, saw the pair on the motorcycle together and in his drug-addled mind assumed they were secret lovers.
His father, Pornchai, said he was resting on the third storey of his home when he heard his son and Ploy arguing below, before everything fell silent. "I went downstairs and he told me he had killed her," he told reporters.
Ploy's body was slumped against the wall and bore five stab wounds to the face, neck, head and arms.
"My son was acting like a mad man and tried to flee. I told him that if he attacked me I would take his life. He tried to flee so I punched him in the face by the head of the stairs. Below, he grabbed his motorcycle but couldn't find the keys, so I kicked him and he fell to the ground. I called 911," he said.
Police say Rungrort spoke no sense when they arrested him.
The next morning, TV news footage shows police leading Rungrort out of a holding cell. He told reporters he did not know why he was there. When they told him incredulously that he killed his girlfriend, the slightly built Rungrort started to cry.
Slowly, the drugs started to wear off. Later, news footage shows him apologising at the feet of his father for what he had done.
His father was in tears as he contemplated his son's misdeeds. "Why did you do it to her? She was so good to you," Pornchai said.
Rungrort begged his father's forgiveness, saying that he was just 24 and didn't mean any harm.
Ploy's father visited the house where his daughter was killed for a ceremony to release her spirit, but was not game to go upstairs to suspect the crime scene.
TV news footage shows him outside the house, slamming his head and punching himself in grief against the metal sliding door. "I have worked hard all my life raising Ploy only for her to meet her fate at the hands of a person like that. I can't accept it and will be waiting for the killer when he gets out of jail," he said.
Her father, unnamed in news reports, said he had asked Ploy to quit with him as he drank, took drugs, did no work, and had her pay for everything.
Ploy's family said she had tried to book Rungrort into a drugs rehab clinic previously, but they had run out of beds. Police, who say a urine test of the suspect turned up no trace of hard drugs, charged him with murder.
They didn't make it in time
A Kalasin couple were slain by their own grandson as they tried to take him to see a psychiatrist about his decaying mental state.
Kiat was nabbed after he killed his grandma and grandad.
Muang police nabbed Kiat (assumed name), 18, for slaying his grandma, Suchada Nansathit, 58, and grandad, Wandee Nansathit, 63, at their two-storey home. He slashed both in the nape of the neck with a hooked grass-cutting blade.
Relatives had arrived and were crying as police turned up to arrest the culprit, Kiat, who police say has no history of trouble for taking drugs.
However, he does have psychiatric problems, and had sought medical help before. His grandparents, who lived with him alone in the house, were taking him back for another visit when Kiat, apparently feeling put out about it, attacked them.
Suksan Matprasong, 45, an assistant village head, says locals sought out his help, saying the couple had been attacked.
"I turned up with two other locals, found the killer there and noticed he was holding a knife. He rushed at me, but I ducked. The young man saw I had brought help and decided to flee on his motorcycle, but locals caught up with him in the village," he said.
Village head Patchara Suriyo, 50, said he was surprised by the attack, as Kiat had never run amok before or harmed anyone in the family. His mother, Kanokporn, 36, lives in another village.
When police arrested Kiat he was making no sense. Officers were giving him a urine test, but say he has no history of drug arrests.
Quickly outnumbered
A Nakhon Sawan man who came looking for trouble after exchanging dares with a friend-turned-foe on social media ended up dead in a frenzied attack outside his mate's home.
One of the weapons left at the scene.
Muang police nabbed brothers Nakaret "Bright" Saithong, 24, and Natthawut "Pep" Saithong, 22, for killing Polpee "Tao" Preechacharn, 28, in front of their home on Aug 27.
Officers seized a hoe and a long machete blade which the pair used to attack the victim.
When rescue workers arrived Polpee had bruises and knife wounds all over his body, and was covered in blood. They applied first-aid but he succumbed later in hospital.
Officers caught up with Nakaret, who following the attack fled to a house nearby. He told police on the way to the station that his younger brother was also involved.
Arriving at the station, police found Natthawut was already there, laying a complaint against the victim Polpee, whom he said turned up at their place with a knife.
Natthawut said he attacked the victim in self-defence. However, he did not know yet that he and his brother had actually killed the young man.
When police told him the victim had since died, he collapsed and had to be taken to hospital.
After the pair were arrested later, Natthawut said the fight was the result of a misunderstanding. Polpee thought mistakenly that Natthawut had abused his parents. They exchanged insults on social media before challenging each other.
Polpee turned up at the brothers' house with his knife but when Nakaret saw his younger sibling was being attacked, picked up the hoe and joined the fray.
Reporters went to Wat Sai for the victim's funeral, where they met his mother, Jenchira Preechachan, 46. She said the three were friends but fell out, and Polpee was her only son.
"I went to the hospital to see him, where doctors were trying in vain to save his life. I felt so sorry for him, as even his face was covered in stab wounds," she said.
Police charged the brothers with jointly attacking someone causing his death, and weapons charges.