BANGKOK — Police on Tuesday said a 20-year-old student killed his own mother before carving up her body parts and hiding them in a fridge. The perpetrator later committed suicide, police said.
Citing an eyewitness account, the authorities said Sira Somdej shot himself with a handgun just as the remains of Yuree Taowan, 42, were discovered stuffed inside the fridge at their home, though the news was met with widespread skepticism on social media.
Maj. Gen. Chokechai Ngamwong, commander of the 9th Bangkok region police, said Sira had been living with Yuree for three years after his parents divorced. Chokechai also said Sira appeared to have mental condition prior to the incident.
A neighbor, Woranuch Wongchai, identified herself to the police and media as the first to find the body.
Woranuch said she noticed Yuree was missing for nearly a day and so went over to her home to investigate. According to Woranuch, Sira was behaving suspiciously when he opened the door to let her in.
“Once he opened the door, he shouted and cried,” Woranuch told the media. “He cried like someone who’s lost his mind, and not being himself. He said, ‘I have depression, do you know that?’”
Woranuch said she then searched for her friend Yuree throughout the house. She said she eventually opened the refridgerator in the kitchen and was shocked to see Yuree’s remains inside – just as Sira shot himself in the head with a revolver.
“As soon as I saw it, I screamed and ran out,” Woranuch said. Sira later died at hospital.
Although police said the matter remains under investigation, netizens were quick to point at details they believe to be suspicious in the case.
Many comments on news threads questioned what prompted Woranuch to open the fridge when she was searching for Yuree.
“Next time I look for my friend, I’m gonna check the fridge,” one comment said.
