Karon Police confirmed the deceased was a New Zealand national, who was found unresponsive in her room at a hotel near Kata Beach at about 2:45pm.
Pol Lt Phirawat Yodtor of the Karon Police said officers were notified by the hotel’s radio centre that a tourist had died in one of the rooms. Forensic officers and a doctor were immediately called to the scene.
The woman was found lying dead on her bed with no signs of injury or evidence of a struggle, Lt Phirawat said. Several prescription medications, including antidepressants, were found in the room, along with three opened cans of alcoholic beverages and two cocktail glasses.
Police were alerted by a hotel employee after staff were called for help by a friend of the deceased who discovered that the woman was not breathing.
Hotel staff attempted CPR and called emergency medical services, but were unable to revive her. A doctor later pronounced her dead, police confirmed.
Police questioned a 49-year-old German man, who was a friend of the deceased. The German man told officers that he and the New Zealand woman had been drinking together at a bar in Kata before returning to the hotel at about 1am.
“She had consumed a large amount of alcohol,” the German man said. “We had another drink in the room... sex and went to sleep. Around noon I woke up when cleaning staff knocked on the door. When I went to wake her, she wasn’t breathing.”
The German man immediately called hotel staff for assistance. He was later taken in for questioning and underwent a drug test and physical examination, both of which were negative, police noted in their report.
CCTV footage and electronic room-entry records corroborated his account, police confirmed. Investigators also spoke with staff at the bar where the pair had been drinking, who confirmed there were no disputes or unusual incidents before they left together.
Further checks with hotel staff revealed no reports of loud noises or disturbances from nearby rooms during the night.
A preliminary forensic examination suggested that the combination of prescribed medication and excessive alcohol may have led to respiratory failure, police said.
Officers noted that the New Zealand woman had likely been dead for eight to 10 hours before her body was discovered, placing the estimated time of death between 6:30am and 8:30am.
Photographs and a scene map were recorded as evidence, and the woman’s body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for further medical examination in the hope of determining the exact cause of death.
Karon Police noted that the case remains under investigation.