The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence for Spanish national Artur Segarra Princep, 40, for the premeditated murder of compatriot David Bernat, 41, in 2016.
Segarra was taken from Bang Kwang Central Prison to hear the ruling at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road yesterday. He greeted several Spanish journalists waiting there as he entered the court building.
The Spaniard was found guilty of offences including premeditated murder, concealing a body, illegal detention and theft.
Public prosecutors earlier told the court that human parts were found in the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces on the morning of Jan 30, 2016. They later proved to be those of Bernat. The court based its ruling on circumstantial evidence and surveillance camera recordings, testimony from witnesses including a maid and Segarra's girlfriend, as well as DNA samples of Segarra and the victim collected from a freezer and an electric grinder.
The court was told Segarra took his business friend Bernat to a room at PG Condominium Rama IX in Huay Kwang district on Jan 19, 2016. There, Segarra murdered him, froze his body, dismembered it with the grinder and then dropped bags containing body parts into the river at several locations.
Segarra fled and was arrested in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on Feb 7, 2016, sent back to Thailand and held in custody without bail. He denied all charges. In addition to the death sentence, he was ordered to repay 734,940 baht to Bernat's family in restitution for money he withdrew using the victim's cash card.
Segarra's lawyer said yesterday his client would exercise his right to seek a pardon and to be held in a prison in Spain.