Thai murderer is sentenced to death for killing a German
backpacker, 26, by smashing her face with a brick after raping her on a popular
island
·
Ronnakorn
Romruen attacked Miriam Beelte on the island of Koh Si Chang
·
Locals
found her body concealed by leaves on a secluded hillside
·
A
Thai court said 'crime was so severe a reduced sentence was not possible'
A
Thai man who raped and murdered a German backpacker has been sentenced to death.
Ronnakorn
Romruen, 24, attacked Miriam Beelte, 26, as she
visited a historic stone monument on the island of Koh Si Chang, eastern Thailand, on April 7.
He
then raped her before battering her head with a rock to kill her and stop her
reporting the attack.
Ronnakorn
then concealed her body below leaves on a secluded hillside.
Locals
found her body that same day.
Later
that evening police arrested the local beach cleaner and he subsequently
admitted to raping and killing the woman from Hildesheim, Germany.
Miriam Beelte, pictured, had been on holiday in
Thailand when she travelled alone to the island of Koh Si Chang where she was
raped and murdered on April 7
|
Ronnakorn
has been in custody since the murder took place three months ago.
He
pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to death on Wednesday because
the 'crime was so severe a reduced sentence was not possible'.
The
judgment released from Chonburi Provincial Court read: 'Ronnakorn Romruen was
guilty of raping (14 years in jail), murdering to conceal the crime (death
penalty), drug taking and driving (eight months in jail), concealing the death
of a person (one year in jail).
It said because he confessed during the arrest, the
court would mitigate the penalty by half for the charges related to rape,
taking of methamphetamine, drunk driving and concealing the death of a
person.
'But the overall crime is so severe that
the defendant deserves to die and the punishment of the death penalty will stay
in place for the charge of murdering to conceal a crime for which there is no
mitigation.'
Ronnakorn Romruen pleaded guilty to the rape
and murder of the German tourist after his arrest on April 7, 2019.
|
CCTV showed how Ronnakorn had followed Ms Beelte up
the hill of the ancient stone monument while pestering her to sleep with him.
When she rejected his advances, the drug-crazed
killer pinned her to the ground and raped her.
He later told police that after she struggled free,
he chased after her and battered her face with a rock until she was dead
because he didn't want her to report the attack.
Ronnakorn then hid her body behind rocks and
covered it with leaves.
(l-r) German backpacker Miriam Beelte, 26, left
and Ronnakorn Romruen, 24
|
Officers said that Ronnakorn confessed to murder
after four hours of interrogation and he was taken back to his shabby wooden
home in the early hours of the morning to re-enact parts of the crime.
After killing the single holidaymaker, he calmly
watched TV while smoking cigarettes and drinking beer.
Miriam
Beelte
(29
November 1992 to 7 April 2019)
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://forum.loohan.com/viewtopic.php?id=635&p=47]
|
Ronnakorn's mother, Nongluck Phosang, 43, had
previously called on prosecutors to hand down the death penalty to her son.
She said: 'My son and I
didn't live together, so I didn't know much about what he usually did in the
day. I only knew that he worked on a boat and collected rubbish from the
beaches.
'He is a quiet guy who doesn't talk much.
He likes to stay alone at home watching TV and listening to music, just like
most of the guys.
'I deeply apologise to the girl's family
on behalf of my son. I never thought that he could do anything like this.
'He deserves the full lawful punishment
and I am willing to accept the judge's decision.'
Ronnakorn has one month in which to appeal the
sentence before he is put on death row.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7236929/Thai-murderer-sentenced-death-killing-German-backpacker-raping-her.html
Miriam Beelte had been on holiday in Thailand
when she travelled alone to the island of Koh Si Chang to visit a historic
stone monument on the island
|
OTHER
LINKS:
Mother of
murdered Danish student urges death sentences in Morocco trial
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