PATTAYA, Thailand – A woman was killed by her former lover in a hotel room on Tuesday night, before he took his own life by leaping from a bridge, police said.
The victim was identified as Jirapa Wongputkham, 25, from Nan Province. She was found dead on the bed of a hotel room in downtown Pattaya, with a shoelace around her neck.
Her aunt, Parawatee Saetan, who discovered the body, told the police that Jirapa had broken up with her ex-boyfriend, Narendra Soni, 37, an Indian national, because he was abusive and controlling. She said Jirapa had a new Chinese boyfriend and wanted to move on with her life.
Soni had lured Jirapa to the hotel on Tuesday evening, claiming he wanted to talk and settle things peacefully. However, he ended up strangling her in a fit of rage. He then called Parawatee and other relatives of Jirapa and admitted to the murder, saying he was going to kill himself as well.
The police tracked his phone call to the Bang Pakong River Bridge, about 100 kilometers from Pattaya, where they found his motorcycle abandoned on the roadside. His body was later retrieved from the river, confirming that he had jumped to his death.
The police are probing the case and collecting evidence from the hotel and the bridge. The hotel staff and the security personnel are being interviewed as witnesses. The bodies of Jirapa and Soni have been sent to the forensic institute for autopsy.
