CHONBURI — Police are investigating disturbing parallels between two gruesome murders after the body of an unidentified woman was discovered stuffed inside a weighted suitcase at a Chonburi golf course, mirroring a nearly identical killing that remains unsolved seven months later in neighboring Rayong province.
Authorities have not yet determined whether the woman is Thai or foreign, similar to the ongoing identification challenges in the Rayong case.
The latest victim was found September 3 by a Thai national rowing team member training at the Bang Lamung facility, floating in a water reservoir inside a King Safari suitcase weighed down with 15.75 kilograms of dumbbell plates. Authorities believe the woman had been dead for approximately five days and have yet to determine her nationality.
The suitcase contained 9 dumbbell plates weighing a total of 15.75 kg that were used to weigh it down. Also found inside were a padlock branded “FRI-CYCOD 202” manufactured in China, two iron chains measuring 163 cm and 53 cm in length, electrical zip ties, and cream-colored three-piece drawstring pants.
On September 4, authorities sent the body for autopsy and detailed identification procedures at Police Hospital in Bangkok. Police Colonel Atthaphon Itthiyophasakul, chief of Huai Yai Police Station, has deployed investigation teams throughout Chonburi province to trace the source of the dumbbell equipment found in the suitcase.
Police are coordinating with Ban Chang Police Station in Rayong province, which is investigating a similar case involving a red-haired woman who was murdered and stuffed in an identical brand suitcase before being dumped in a pond behind a golf course. That body was discovered on February 7, 2025. Police plan to cross-reference information about three male suspects from that case to assist in this investigation.
An officer guarding the evidence, including the suitcase used to conceal the body, reported a strange incident last night around 2 a.m. when a stray dog appeared behind the evidence storage facility and howled continuously for over half an hour—something he found very unsettling.
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