THE CRIMINAL Court on Ratchadapisek today (Nov. 20) today ordered the execution of serial killer Ms. Sararat Rangsiwutthaporn, or Am, while her ex-husband was sentenced to one year and four months in jail and her lawyer was given two years in prison without probation for helping destroy evidence, TV Channel 7 and Amarin TV said.
Sararat has been linked to 14 cyanide killings with one victim having survived while her former husband, Pol. Lt. Col. Witoon Rangsiwutthaphon, with whom she continued living after their divorce, has been charged with accepting stolen goods, forging documents and using forged documents.
The suspect was found in possession of a bottle of cyanide and this linked her to the death of Ms. Siriporn (surname withheld), 32, who suddenly died while making merit by releasing fish with close friends at Mae Klong river pier in Ban Pong district of Ratchaburi province with her mother and older sister then having filed a complaint.
Investigation by Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police later linked her to a total of 14 cyanide killings with there being one survivor.
The suspect’s modus operandi was to win the victim’s trust before inviting them to go make merit or join her for a meal or drink coffee together, police said, and while there were many victims it was not necessary to have multiple accomplices.
The three defendants denied the charges and fought the case. The first defendant was detained in the Central Women’s Correctional Institution, while the second and third defendants were granted bail by the court, with this set at 100,000 baht each.
However the court found all three defendants guilty as charged sentencing Sararat to death while Pol. Lt. Col. Witoon, the second defendant, and Ms. Thanicha (surname withheld),or Lawyer Patch, the third defendant, were found guilty of helping the first defendant avoid punishment or be given reduced sentence by concealing or destroying evidence.
They were both sentenced to two years in prison but as Pol. Lt. Col. Witoon gave useful information his sentence was reduced by one-third to one year and four months in jail.
They were also ordered to pay 2,346,588 baht in damages to the co-plaintiffs.
The four judges, who spent more than three hours reading the verdict, said that from Jan. 1, 2020 to May 5, 2023 the first defendant had more than 95 million baht cash flow in her bank account with financial trails linking her to 10 other “mule” accounts linked to online gambling but had also piled up a lot of debts.
During 2021-2022 the first defendant lost a lot of money on online gambling and deaths were reported during this period. Later a victim who was drugged by the first defendant and survived emerged.
CAPTIONS:
Top:: File photo of Ms. Sararat Rangsiwutthaporn. Photo: Amarin TV
Insert: The mother of one of the victims, Siriporn, holds a poster showing her image outside the court and talks ot reporters. Photos: Amarin TV
Front Page: The suspect at the Crime Suppression Division headquarters. Photo: Naewna
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