Daniel Sancho Continues Testimony in Thailand Over Suspicion of Premeditated Murder
Spanish youth Daniel Sancho continues his testimony on Wednesday in the Thai trial concerning the alleged premeditated murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta. He will respond to questions from the prosecution as the proceedings unfold in Samui, Thailand.
The session began in the Samui Provincial Court in the south of Thailand around 10:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. GMT). Sancho had spent the previous day answering questions for about three and a half hours in both Spanish and English, guided by his lawyer, Apirchat Srinual.
The start of the session was delayed due to air conditioning issues in the courtroom, which caused the trial to be postponed last week.
In the morning, Sancho will testify, and at least two witnesses are expected to speak in the afternoon, including a psychologist and a forensic doctor who traveled from Spain.
The prosecutor, Jeerawat Sawatdichai, will lead the questions directed at the accused. He may also face questions from lawyers representing Arrieta’s family, who act as co-prosecutors. A legal representative explained that today’s focus is on the prosecutor’s scrutiny of the narrative presented by the accused, questioning whether the facts described align with the evidence in hand.
The attorney noted that the questioning on this day will aim to conduct a careful examination of the alleged premeditation and any statements that seem to contradict the existing evidence. Any discrepancies will be highlighted before the court to assess the credibility of the accused’s statements.
During yesterday’s testimony, Sancho reiterated that Arrieta’s death on August 2 on the island of Phangan resulted from a fight carried out in self-defense, aligning with his latest statements.
Regarding defense witnesses, the forensic doctor Manuel Carrillo is expected to testify this afternoon, supporting a report on the victim’s death, specifically regarding an impact to the occipital region. Forensic psychologist Pedro Mateo will discuss the accused’s behavior and reactions in relation to the dismemberment of Arrieta’s body.
Sancho, aged 29, is transported daily to court in a police van from the nearby Samui jail, where he has been held in provisional custody since August 7. He is charged with premeditated murder, a crime that carries the death penalty in Thailand, though it is rarely carried out in practice.
The Samui public prosecutor’s office also accuses Sancho of two other offenses: body concealment and destruction of foreign documents.
At the first court appearance on April 9, Sancho again faced the charges and admitted the body concealment charge, but rejected the other two, including the most serious premeditated murder charge. He initially confessed to the crime to Thai police but later claimed it was an accident, insisting that Arrieta’s death occurred during a fight and that he acted in self-defense.