Wichit Police had begun investigating after relatives reported that Orathai ‘Guide Klang’ Aryupong, 56, had failed to return home last Friday (Nov 7).
Ms Orathai typically parked her own car at Lotus’s Phuket on the bypass road before travelling to work in a company vehicle, returning to the mall each evening.
CCTV footage later showed that at about 4:47pm on Nov 7, after she returned from work and walked towards her Nissan sedan, she was followed by a man later identified as Jirasak Yodbamrung, 43.
As Ms Orathai opened the driver’s door, Mr Jirasak entered the car via the rear left door. He remained inside for about two hours before driving away in her vehicle, police said.
Investigators tracked the suspect to the bypass road, where officers signalled for him to stop. Police said Jirasak confessed to strangling Ms Orathai with a rope and assaulting her, resulting in her death.
He admitted to stealing a gold necklace, a mobile phone, two gold-framed Buddha images and a red handbag, later selling the necklace for B48,420 at a gold shop inside Lotus’s Phuket.
The victim’s Nissan sedan was found at about 7:30pm last night, abandoned beside an empty house under a mango tree in Soi Sri Suchat Grand View 2. Her body had been concealed on the front passenger side using a floor mat.
Senior Phuket Police, including Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Sinlert Sukhum and Phuket City Police Station officers, attended the scene with forensic investigators and a forensic pathologist from Vachira Phuket Hospital. The body was later transported to Vachira Phuket Hospital for further examination.
Pol Maj Gen Sinlert confirmed that CCTV analysis, witness interviews and vehicle tracking all led to the suspect. He was arrested near the Bang Khu intersection in Koh Kaew and brought in for questioning, during which he admitted to the killing, police said.
Police are continuing to gather evidence as the investigation proceeds, Pol Maj Gen Sinlert added.