BANG KHAE, BANGKOK, THAILAND – JANUARY 9, 2020 At the bottom of a pond, the dead body of a woman was found. She was wrapped in clothing and black plastic bags. The body was weighed down with metal weights and dumbbells to keep it submerged. The victim was identified fairly quickly thanks to a distinctive tattoo on her back. She was the 22-year-old Warinthorn Chaichet, missing for about six months.
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- Warinthorn Chaichet 1
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- Warinthorn Chaichet 2
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- Warinthorn Chaichet 3
Warinthorn disappeared in July 2019 shortly after she filed a police report for sexual harassment. At the time of her disappearance, she was in a relationship with a 40-year-old man named Apichai Ongwisit. He immediately became the main suspect.
Apichai Ongwisit
Apichai was notoriously known in Thailand as the son of the infamous murderer Chalermchai Onkvisit, who was convicted in the 1980s for killing and dismembering a 15-year-old girl. He was also extremely wealthy – he owned a large market in the Thai capital. Apichai inherited all his father’s assets.
During police interrogation, he admitted to being addicted to drugs and also to strangling her to death. It turned out he suffered from pathological jealousy and practically tortured her throughout their relationship. At night, he locked her in a metal coffin so she could not escape. This earned him the nickname “metal casket killer.”
Soon after, the public gave him a new nickname, “the Thai Ted Bundy.” During further searches of the pond, 298 bone fragments were found on the bottom, belonging to at least three other women (likely more). He became the main suspect in several disappearances of women from his circle, including friends, girlfriends, and prostitutes.
