The young Spaniard Daniel Sancho finished his statement this Wednesday after around three hours in the trial against him in Thailand for the alleged murder of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, who today focused on responding to the prosecution’s questions.
In the morning session, which began around 10:30 local time (03:30 GMT) and lasted more than three hours, Sancho’s testimony was concluded, which began yesterday, Tuesday, with questions from the defense. and ended today with that of the accusation.
Sancho testified mainly in Spanish, although also in English, with the help of a Thai interpreter.
The interrogation by the Prosecutor’s Office was incisive, as EFE learned, and the co-accusation also participated, representing Arrieta’s family, and whose lawyers were able to ask him questions.
Sancho’s defense lawyer, Apichart Srinual, was also allowed to ask questions of his client on Wednesday.
Prosecutor’s Office accuses Sancho of three crimes
The Prosecutor’s Office accuses Sancho of three crimes: premeditated murder, which Thailand punishes even with the death penalty, although it hardly applies it; concealment of the body, due to the dismemberment of Arrieta; and destruction of other people’s documentation, through the surgeon’s passport.
To date, Sancho has pleaded not guilty to both the murder and the crime of destroying other people’s documentation, and has only accepted the charge of hiding the body, whose remains were scattered in various places on the Thai island of Phangan, including the sea, after the alleged crime on August 2.
After Sancho’s statement, there was a recess in the hearing, after which the forensic doctor Manuel Carrillo will testify this afternoon, who will ratify a report he has made on the death of the victim, specifically about a blow to the occipital, and forensic psychologist Pedro Mateo, who will analyze the behavior and reactions of the accused in relation to the dismemberment.
A third defense witness, psychologist Iván Velasco, will also testify.
The accused initially confessed to the crime in front of the Thai Police last August, but then claimed that it was an accident, insisting that the death of the surgeon, whom he had known for a year and with whom he stayed in Phangan, It occurred during a fight and that he acted in self-defense.
The Spaniard has been in provisional prison in Samui, an island near Phangan, since last August 7, from where he travels to the court for each session, with the last scheduled in principle for May 3.
BY: Mian Saeed Ahmed Khan
