The bodies of the six people found dead in a luxury hotel in Bangkok, Thailandon Tuesday, had traces of cyanide in their blood, authorities reported on Wednesday after receiving the first results of the autopsies, while the police maintain that one of the deceased poisoned the others and then committed suicide.
At a press conference at Chulalornkong University’s medical school, officials said tests showed all six people had died from poisoning, and toxicology tests on blood samples had tested positive for cyanide.
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Doctors are also looking into whether the bodies were poisoned with other substances, but they will have to wait until Friday when the full report of the tests is expected to be known, while they said they had not detected any signs of violence.
The six corpses, three men and three womenwere found Tuesday by housekeeping staff in room 502 of the upmarket centrally located Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel, where untouched plates of food and empty teacups were found.
A journalist uses his mobile phone to photograph surveillance images of one of the victims, during a press conference on the investigation after six people were found dead at the Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok. (Photo: EFE/EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT)
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Dr Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin of the university’s Department of Forensic Medicine said the victims’ lips and nails had turned dark purple, indicating a lack of oxygen, while their internal organs were bright red, another sign of cyanide poisoning.
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Police earlier said they found traces of cyanide in glasses and cups near the six victims, four Vietnamese and two Vietnamese-Americans.
According to preliminary investigations, police suspect that one of the deceased poisoned the others with cyanide and then committed suicide with the poison due to financial problems.
The prime suspect is a Vietnamese-American identified as Chong Sherine56 years old, while the rest of the deceased were between 55 and 37 years old.
Sherine ordered some food and tea from room service around noon on Monday, which she prepared herself before the rest of the guests arrived, according to the hotel staff’s account collected by investigators.
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The bodies were found the next day when cleaning staff went to the room after guests, who had booked multiple rooms, failed to complete check-out.
Officers believe the victims, who had their bags packed to leave the hotel, had been dead for around 24 hours and are investigating how the prime suspect was able to gain access to the “highly deadly” colourless, odourless and tasteless substance.
A seventh person was traveling with the victims – the younger sister of one of them – but investigators say she left the country on July 10.
Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who visited the scene of the alleged crime in person last night, announced today that the US FBI will participate in the investigation of the incident, having Two American victims.
Speaking to reporters, Srettha reiterated that preliminary investigations indicate that the motive for the alleged crime is a personal matter and ruled out the possibility of a case that puts public safety at risk.
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The five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel with over 300 rooms is located at a popular Bangkok intersection next to the famous Erawan Shrine and shopping malls such as Central World.
