Transcript
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Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre for suggested phone numbers, for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. This episode was originally released on Casefile's Patreon, Apple Premium and Spotify Premium feeds as an early bonus for our paid subscribers. To receive these episodes early and ad free, you can support Casefile on your preferred platform. From a young age, Kirsty Jones was sure of one thing. She wanted to see as much of the world as possible. At 14, she decided that after finishing high school, she'd leave her family's 300 acre farm just outside the small Welsh village of Tridoman and spend a year travelling around Australia. In 1996, 18 year old Kirsty did just that. She met her travel companion through a classified ad in her local newspaper and off they went. While Kirsty's parents, Sue and Glyn Jones, were naturally worried, they supported their daughter's wanderlust. Kirsty was a vibrant, smart and independent young woman who craved adventure and new experiences. They knew there was no point trying to hold her back. The gap year in Australia was transformative for Kirstie. Her parents remarked that she left Wales as a child and came home an adult, her itch scratched. For the time being, Kirstie spent The next couple of years at Liverpool University, completing a double degree in English and Media Studies. But her next adventure was never far from her mind. While studying, Kirsty spent her spare time working two jobs to fund her next trip. This time she'd set her sights on something bigger. Kirsty planned to spend two years backpacking solo through Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America. She felt it was something she had to get out of her system. After that, she promised her parents she'd settle down. While sue and Glyn Jones had their reservations about Kirstie travelling alone, they weren't as worried this time around. 23 year old Kirstie was older, wiser and more experienced than when she'd left on her gap year and they were proud of her for following her dreams. They also knew she wouldn't be alone for long. Not only did she have plans to meet up with her best friend and boyfriend along the way, but people were naturally drawn to the confident and outgoing Kirstie. And it wouldn't be long before she'd connect with other backpackers. Technology had also come a long way since Kirstie's gap year travels. And this time she'd be able to keep in touch with her family via email and video calls. Kirstie set off for her trip in May 2000. She ventured through Singapore and Malaysia for several weeks before reaching Thailand. She'd been looking forward to this ever since she'd first visited the Land of Smiles on her way home from Australia a few years earlier. Kirstie spent some time in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok before heading north to Chiang Mai for a change of pace. Located 700 km north of Bangkok in the Thai highlands, Chiang Mai is a favorite among backpackers who are drawn by the laid back lifestyle, Buddhist temples, thriving nightlife and affordability of the mountain city. Following Thailand's economic collapse in 1997, Westerners could make their money stretch a long way in Chiang Mai with as little as three British pounds affording you an authentic Thai meal and beer at a restaurant with a view over the Ping River. Sue and Glyn Jones loved getting email updates from Kirstie. After a week in Chiang Mai, she regaled them with stories about her three day trek in the Maychem mountain region where she'd rode elephants and visited native hill tribes. Kirstie had only been gone for two months, but already it was shaping up to be the adventure of a lifetime. In August 2000, sue and Glyn travelled to Spain with two of their friends to celebrate their 25 year wedding anniversary. On the evening of Thursday, August 10th, they were getting ready for dinner when there was a knock at the door of their hotel room. Their friends were standing there looking devastated. They told sue and Glen they'd just seen something shocking on the news. It was around 4:30pm on the afternoon of Thursday, August 10, 2000, when police scanners around Chiang Mai buzzed with the grim announcement. A cleaner at a local hostel had just entered the room of 23 year old Kirsty Jones, only to discover a horrific scene. The young backpacker was lying face down on the bed, naked from the waist down. A sarong was tied tightly around her neck. Police rushed to the crime scene, a two story building called the Aree Guesthouse and Massage School. The Aree was typical of the area. Located on one of downtown Chiang Mai's many narrow laneways, it offered backpackers and budget travellers a no frills place to stay at the affordable rate of around one pound a night for a single room. Guests of the nine room lodging could mingle in the small shady garden and open air bar while the owners also ran a massage school from the second floor. Kirsty had chosen the Aree as her home base during her stay in Chiang Mai. Officers made their way down the hallway and into her bedroom on the first floor. It was a basic room containing nothing more than a rickety double bed with an old wooden dresser and a tabletop fan. A thin mattress adorned with a bright floral pattern sat atop the bed while cheap floral curtains hung haphazardly from the window that overlooked the hallway. By the time police entered the room, they were not the first ones there. Tipped off by the local police scanner, an entire television crew had already arrived and taken footage and photos of the scene while curious onlookers peered in. As police began assessing the room, they didn't stop to seal off the crime scene and reporters and photographers continued to trickle in. Local journalist Pim Kommasinki was among them, writing for Chiang Mai publication City Life. She later recalled that around 20 people had entered Kirsty's room before any forensic evidence had even been collected. Some reporters rummaged through Kirsty's clothes and toiletry bags, one of them tutting in judgement as he held up a packet of condoms. One camera operator even turned Kirsty's head from side to side to get the shot they wanted. None of the police officers present seemed even remotely concerned. Not only had the crime scene been severely compromised, another problem for the police was that they couldn't find a forensic pathologist who was available to come to the Oree Guest House to examine Kirstie's body instead. Her body was eventually taken to the Chiang Mai hospital, where an autopsy determined that she had died from asphyxiation. Severe internal bruising indicated she'd been violently raped. Semen found in her body gave the police the confidence that her killer would be promptly found and brought to justice. Straight off the bat, police were convinced that Kirsty had been killed by someone she knew. Her room was located inside the guest house and could be padlocked from both the inside and outside. There were no signs of forced entry, which led the police to believe that Kirsty might have invited the perpetrator inside. They were also convinced the killer had been a farong, the Thai word for a foreigner. Kirsty had been sodomised, which they reasoned was a sexual act that Thai men didn't engage in. The most obvious explanation for the police was that the killer had also been staying at the Oree Guesthouse. While the cheap rates of the hostel drew in backpackers from all over the world, it also attracted some dubious customers. Thailand has long been known as a destination for those looking to escape their lives back home. And despite the country's strict anti drug laws, illicit drugs were readily available in Chiang Mai. One French backpacker told the Guardian, you can get almost anything you want. The year before Kirsty Jones was murdered, the Oree Guest House had been closed down for six months after one of its guests died of a heroin overdose. Given this ill repute, police were certain that they'd find Kirsty's killer among the RE's clientele. One by one, each of the guests were taken to the city's main police station for questioning. 27 year old Nathan Foley was an Australian backpacker who had stopped over in Thailand on his way to visit relatives in the uk. He'd met Kirsty at the Re and the two had got chatting, both solo travellers. Nathan was thankful to have someone to talk to and the pair had explored the city together. Nathan told the police that on the evening of Wednesday, August 9, the night before Kirsty was killed, he'd gone out to dinner at a local restaurant with Kirstie and a British backpacker named Sarah Wiggett. Nathan claimed that he'd left Kirsty and Sarah at about 10pm and went back to the RE, where he'd taken a couple of sleeping pills and gone straight to sleep. Sarah Wiggett wasn't staying at the Re, but at a different hostel nearby. Police tracked her down and brought her in for questioning. Sarah was horrified to hear what had happened to Kirsty. The two had met on a three day trekking trip which had ended just two days prior and they'd bonded over their shared experiences as solo female travellers. Sarah told the police that after Nathan Foley left the previous evening, she and Kirsty visited the night markets which were about a 25 minute walk from the RE. They strolled around until about 11pm, by which point Sarah had had enough of shopping and was ready to go back to her hostel. Kirsty stayed on saying she had some more presents she wanted to buy. Another long term RE resident, Stephen Trigg, told the police that at around 1am he'd heard a commotion coming from Kirsty's room. It sounded like a woman was screaming get out, get out. Leave me alone. Stephen claimed he went to investigate but the screaming stopped so he went back to bed, assuming it had been nothing more than a lover's tiff. Stephen was a seasoned traveller who had been staying at the RE for several months. He said it was common to overhear these types of arguments and they didn't usually result in any problems. The RE's tyre manager, 47 year old Surin Chand Pranet, lived upstairs and also ran the massage school there. A known drug dealer, he had been arrested twice before for possession of heroin. Surein told the police that he too had heard the screams coming from Kirsty's room. Suren said he'd been in the shower at the time and had gone downstairs to Kirsty's room with Stephen Trigg to investigate. He pressed his ear to the door but heard nothing. Not wanting to invade a guest's privacy, he went back to bed and told Stephen to do the same. Kirsty's autopsy confirmed that she had been killed around the same time the screams were heard coming from her room with Sarah Wiggett being the last person to see her alive. At 11pm, police deduced that Kirsty had likely returned to the guest house at around midnight and was killed within an hour of returning. They didn't know if she had walked the 25 minute route home from the markets or caught a local taxi known as a tuktuk. A search of the RE's manager, Suren Champranet's room revealed cannabis and amphetamines and he was placed under arrest for possession. Suspicion that Surin could have been involved in Kirstie's murder was raised when a postcard was found in his room that featured a white woman tied up in bondage. But Surin's girlfriend Panteeper, who also lived at the Aree, supported Sourin's story. She said that he'd been in their room all night, except for when he heard the noise coming from Kirsty's room and went downstairs to see what was going on. Police were also highly suspicious of 28 year old Stuart Crichton, another Australian man who had also been staying at the Aure for several months. A known heroin user with a history of street fighting, Stewart claimed to have no knowledge of Kirsty Jones murder. Yet a search of his room turned up cannabis and heroin, prompting police to also place him under arrest for possession and hold him in custody. Another long term Aree resident also proved to be a dubious figure after he claimed to be a former Mormon elder and CIA spy who had come to Thailand to recover from a head injury. While none of the questioning resulted in an arrest for Kirsty Jones murder, the police remained convinced that she had known her killer. They considered the possibility that Kirstie could have invited the perpetrator into her room, where she'd then refused his sexual advances. Feeling rejected, he could have turned violent and launched an attack. The senior investigating officer put forward a controversial theory when he publicly suggested that Kirstie could have engaged in consensual sex and had been strangled to death by accident. This comment not only deeply upset Kirstie's already heartbroken family, but added further criticism to the investigation, which had been receiving widespread media attention from the moment reporters arrived at the crime scene. This theory led suspicion to fall on Nathan Foley, the Australian man Kirstie had dinner with the night before she died. Not only had they spent the most time together, but after Kirstie's body was found, it had taken police a few hours to track Nathan down, leading them to wonder if he was trying to hide. But Nathan Foley adamantly denied having anything to do with the crime or having any romantic interest in Kirstie. With no evidence or witnesses to suggest otherwise, he was free to leave the station. But the prospect of facing the overly zealous press was too daunting. The phone at the police station had been ringing non stop. Kirsty's travel buddy, Sarah Wiggett later recalled to Murder in Paradise that while she was waiting to be interviewed, one officer had handed her the phone and said, it's for you. It's the press office wanting to find out what happened. Sarah was stunned. She hadn't even given her account to law enforcement at that point, yet they were already encouraging her to speak to the media. Aware of the attention the case was receiving already, Nathan Foley opted to remain in police custody, where he requested protection. He, along with all of the Aree's other mayor residents, were required to provide DNA samples for testing. While investigators waited for the results, immigration authorities were alerted to stop any of the suspects from leaving the country. One investigator told the press that while they didn't know exactly what happened, they were certain one of the ARE guests or staff members were responsible. Kirstie knew her killer, he stated. We are confident we will make an arrest in seven to 10 days. There was one resident of the Aree guest house who was noticeably absent. 32 year old Andy Gill was a British man who had been living in Thailand on and off for the past 12 years. A well known character among Chiang Mai's expat community, Andy had once been married to a Thai woman and the two had a child together. Two years before Kirsty's murder, Andy had taken over ownership of the Re after its Thai owner moved overseas. Curiously, when Kirsty's body was discovered, Andy was nowhere to be found. It took the police two days before they finally tracked Andy Gill down at a local bar. He claimed that on the night of Kirstie's murder, he hadn't been at the guest house. He'd been out with a Thai friend who could vouch for his whereabouts. But a quick background check on Andy revealed that he was actually in Thailand illegally. Having overstayed his visa by two years for this offence, he was promptly placed under arrest and given a small fine. With three of the Ari residents under arrest for offences unrelated to Kirstie's murder, the story quickly became a media sensation both in Thailand and overseas. Not only did the case include a cast of colourful characters whose faces were splashed across the news, but it touched on the worst fears of every parent whose children were off backpacking in foreign lands. Dozens of journalists from major media outlets converged in Chiang Mai, speaking to anyone who was willing to talk. Back in Wales, Kirstie's family struggled to come to terms with it all. Her parents, sue and Glyn, returned from their wedding anniversary trip to Spain immediately after hearing the news. Utterly devastated, the pair remained under sedation at their family home. Kirsty's 21 year old brother Gareth had been out driving the tractor on the family farm when he heard the news about Kirstie's murder on the radio. He told British newspaper the Independent, I just cannot believe what has happened. At the moment, I'm just pretending. Kirsty is still away on holiday and will eventually come back. I just want to keep on working to take my mind off what has happened. I don't know what my parents will do. My mother will not be able to cope. Kirstie's murder put Chiang Mai under the global spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Like so much of Thailand, Chiang Mai's economy relied heavily on tourism, not just from backpackers, but from travellers of all ages and backgrounds. With the intense scrutiny of the international press highlighting every misstep of the investigation and criticising the offensive theories shared by the police chief, concerns were high about the negative impact the story would have on tourism. The pressure was on for the police to solve the case fast. A few days into the investigation, they got the breakthrough they'd been hoping for when the cleaner who'd discovered Kirstie's body came forward to change her story. The cleaner had originally claimed that she'd found Kirsty's body at around 4:30 on the afternoon of Thursday, August 10, but this had been a lie. She admitted that the discovery had actually been made at around 10:30am and not by her, but by the Aree's owner, Andy Gill. The cleaner told the police that Andy and the guest house manager, Surin Cham Pranat, had asked her to hold off making the report for almost five hours while they dealt with some other issues. When questioned about this allegation, Andy Gill admitted it was true. He claimed it was late on Thursday morning when sure and Champronette approached him to say that there had been some commotion coming from Kirsty's room the night before. Andy asked if anyone had seen Kirsty yet. Suren told him no, adding that her room was padlocked from the outside. According to Andy, his first thought was that Kirsty might have gotten in a fight with someone and had run away. He wasn't worried that something bad might have happened to her. He was more worried that she had run off without paying her bill. Andy had a spare key for the padlock, so he went and unlocked Kirsty's room, only to find her lying face down on the bed inside. He could tell straight away that she'd been raped. Andy claimed he got out of there as quickly as he could. He went upstairs to fetch Suren and brought him back down to see the scene for himself. Andy's first thought was to call the police, but he knew they'd discover he had overstayed his visa and this would put him in big trouble. Also, if word got out that someone had died in the guesthouse, he knew the bad publicity would be detrimental for his business. Instead, Andy took off trying to get hold of someone in immigration who could sort out a new visa for him before they alerted the police. Surin Chand Pranet supported Andy's story, but he also added something else. Soren claimed that after showing him Kirsty's body, Andy took the padlock from her door and washed it. When he was sure any fingerprint evidence had been destroyed, he put it back on its hinge. The police were very interested in this detail. It not only suggested that Andy had a level of knowledge about crime scene investigations, but but it also raised the question of why he would think to destroy this evidence. It also didn't explain why Suren Champranet hadn't alerted the authorities. If it was so he could get rid of any illicit drugs he had, the discovery of cannabis and amphetamines in his room suggested he hadn't done a very good job. Curiously, Suren had also been the one who told the other guests to go back to bed after hearing the commotion coming from Kurt Kirsty's room. For the police, all of this suspicious behaviour had them wondering what were these two men trying to hide? Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's Sponsors.
