Unofficial DNA test results show the human skull fragments found in a deserted area in Nakhon Sawan and bloodstains in a vehicle belonged to the older brother of a senior judge, a source in the police team investigating the case said on Thursday.
If the official DNA results, expected next week, are the same, former deputy commerce minister Pol Lt Col Banyin Tangpakorn, key suspect in the case, will be charged with premeditated murder, illegal detention, concealing a corpse and fatal abduction. Pol Lt Col Banyin is believed to have masterminded the kidnapping and subsequent killing of Wirachai Sakuntaprasoet.
Wirachai was the older brother of Bangkok South Criminal Court judge Phanida Sakuntaprasoet, who is hearing a case in which Pol Lt Col Banyin is accused of forging documents to transfer 300 million baht worth of shares owned by his friend, businessman Chuwong Sae Tang. Chuwong was killed in a 2015 road accident, in a car driven by Pol Lt Col Banyin, who is also being tried for murder.
Security camera footage showed Wirachai, 70, being pushed into a car by four men outside a court on Feb 4. He was later allegedly killed, his body burned and remains dumped into the Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan.
Meanwhile, the police source also said the Toyota sedan seized for inspection was regularly used by Pol Lt Col Banyin. A maid at the ex-minister's home also said the SIM cards used by the suspects were the same as those she had bought for Pol Lt Col Banyin's wife.
Separately, Court of Justice secretary-general Sarawut Benjakul said the Chuwong case has been taken away from Judge Panida to ensure the verdict is unbiased.