Spanish Daniel Sancho He was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday after being found guilty by a judge Thailand of the premeditated murder of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta and the other two crimes of which he was accused.
The judge of the Samui Provincial Court (southern Thailand, which began reading the ruling at 10:55 a.m. local time (03:55 GMT), about an hour after the session began, said that The sentence had been reduced from the death penalty to life imprisonment. for the accused’s cooperation with the investigation.
The Thai Prosecution had accused Sancho of the premeditated murder of Arrieta on August 2, 2023 on the island of Phanganof his dismemberment and of the theft of the Colombian’s passport, crimes of which the judge today found the Spaniard guilty.
The prosecutor of the case, Jeerawat Sawatdichaitold EFE upon leaving the court that he was “satisfied“because Sancho had been convicted on the three charges he brought during the trial, held last April in the same court.
The judge also ordered Sancho, who was present in the courtroom, to pay compensation to Arrieta’s family of 4 million baht (almost 119,000 dollars or around 107,000 euros).
During the reading, in which the lawyers and the accused had to remain standing, the judge explained the possibility of filing two appeals, one before the Court of Appeal and another after the Supreme Court.
Sancho, 30, attended the hearing accompanied by his father and mother, the Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho and the investment analyst Silvia Bronchaloas well as the Thai public defender who represents him in the Asian country, Apichart Srinual.
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Among others, the lawyer also attended the session Nattha “Lak” Jongratwanin by the co-accusation, which represents the victim’s family in Thailand.
Arrieta’s parents, Leovaldo Jose Arrieta and Ana Marcela Arteagadid not travel to Thailand.
Security measures and access to the courtroom were much more restrictive today than during the trial, held between April 9 and May 2, in which Sancho had argued that Arrieta’s death was due to an accident during a fight.
