Ratsami Mulichan, a 51-year-old hotel maid, is believed to be the latest victim of Somkid Pumpuang, convicted of killing five women in 2005 and dubbed "Thailand's Jack the Ripper".
Ratsami's half-naked body was found inside a house in Khon Kaen's Kranuan district on Sunday night, only about a week after she began dating him.
Somkid had been released on parole on May 17 after serving around 14 years in prison for the 2005 killings. Pol Col Naras Savestanan, director-general of the Corrections Department, said Somkid had been granted parole due to good behaviour.
The first killing was on Jan 30, 2005, when the body of nightclub singer Waruni Pimpabutr was found in a hotel bathtub in Mukdahan's Muang district. She had been tied up and drowned while her valuables were stolen.
Later, on Jun 4 the same year, another dead body was found in a hotel room in Lampang's Muang district. The body was identified as that of Phongphan Sapchai, a Thai traditional masseuse. She had been strangled to death and her valuables had been stolen.
On June 11, the body of Phatchari Amataniran, another nightclub singer, was found in a hotel room in Trang's Muang district. She had apparently been strangled to death.
A week after that, Phontawan Pangkabutr, another masseur, was found dead in a hotel bathtub in Udon Thani's Muang district.
On Jun 21, the body of a fifth victim was found in a rental apartment in Buri Ram's Muang district. She was identified as Sompong Pimpornpirom, a 25-year-old masseuse, who was also strangled and her valuables stolen.
Police managed to track down Somkid and arrested him on Jun 29, 2005 in Chaiyaphum province.
Despite claims that he had killed the women out of anger over how much he would pay them for sex, police investigators were not convinced. They believed the murders were premeditated and that Somkid had wanted to steal the victims' valuables.
In the latest case, after all evidence proved to be pointing to Somkid, the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) published photos and personal information of the suspect, CSD chief Pol Maj Gen Chiraphop Phuridet said.
Pol Col Bunlue Phadungthin, chief of CSD Sub-Division 3, said the suspect is believed to have not gone very far. Investigators are focusing on Somkid's relatives and close associates in the Northeast and South, he said, though records show that nobody visited him during his 14 years in prison.
When he was arrested in 2005, he told investigators he had no family. However, police found he was actually living with his wife in Chaiyaphum at the time of his arrest. The unnamed wife told police her husband was a decent man and had shown no signs of a bad temper nor any unusual sexual behaviour.
In 2005, Somkid did not have any money and could be easily tracked down because he rode trains for free and talked owners of motels into giving him a free room by claiming to be a representative of some important figures, Pol Col Bunlue said.
This time, however, he may be difficult to catch because he seems to have gained experience in escaping the long arm of the law.