PHRAE: Police unearthed the bodies of a British millionaire and his Thai wife buried on their own property Tuesday morning after the arrest of three men including the dead woman's brother, who confessed to the killings and paying friends 50,000 baht to help.
Police detained the three suspects including Warut Satchakit, the elder brother of the murdered woman.
After hours of interrogation, the three men admitted to colluding in the murder of Scotsman Alan Hogg, a 64-year-old retiree, and his wife Nod Suddaen, 61, at the couple's home in the central district of this northern province.
Happy couple. One of the last photos of Alan Hogg and his wife Nod is shown by a friend on a phone.
The suspects who allegedly confessed included Warut Satchakit, Nod's brother. All three reportedly agreed he had planned the killings. The other two men were local friends of Mr Warut, police said.
The three told officers they shot and killed Hogg in front of a duck pen on his property and then used a spanner to club and beat Nod to death in front of the garage. Warut reportedly killed her while one of the other men held the small woman.
They said Mr Warut subsequently took the bodies away to bury them in the victims' garden.
Mr Warut reportedly told investigators that the dead couple had repeatedly criticised him and "he got tired of it" and planned their deaths.
The corpses were found next to each other in a hole about 2 metres deep beside a creek running through their large property in Muang district, police said.
Police and rescue workers had previously dug there after a small backhoe was found parked next to freshly turned soil but had found nothing.
A deeper dig Tuesday turned up two pairs of shoes before the bodies were uncovered, police said.
The couple had been together for many years and had bought more than 100 rai of land in tambon Chor Hae, which they farmed. They had built a large and well-appointed house.
They were reported missing in Muang district last Thursday by a friend who said they had not replied to messages or phone calls since the previous Tuesday, when they were supposed to have met up in Chiang Mai. Investigators found their white pickup truck was also missing.
Police later arrested Mr Warut after CCTV footage showed him entering the couple's home and driving away in the pickup but he denied any involvement in their disappearance.
He was charged with theft of the vehicle and released on bail of 100,000 baht.
Police said on Monday the pickup had been located in Ayutthaya and was being sent for a forensic examination.
Investigators said the truck had been purchased last Friday from a Thai couple by a man from Laos, who contacted police as soon as news reports of the couple's disappearance emerged.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to account for the arrest of Mr Warut, brother of the dead woman and alleged mastermind of the murder plan.
- Earlier report: Police unearth bodies, 3 men confess