A 17-year-old Thai girl named Tunchanok Donhomla was found dead naked in a suitcase near a railway track in Pattaya, Thailand, in late June 2026 [1, 2, 3]. Simon Peter Carman, an Australian man aged 45-46, was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 26 as he tried to flee the country about 150 km from Pattaya [1, 2, 3, 4]. Police charged Carman with murder, concealment of a corpse, moving or destroying a body, and taking a minor for sexual purposes [1, 3, 5, 6].
CCTV footage showed Carman entering a condominium in Pattaya early on June 25 with the girl and leaving alone hours later carrying a large suitcase, which he loaded onto a motorbike and later dumped near railway tracks [1, 2, 3, 5, 7]. The girl had been reported missing the afternoon of June 26 after last being seen walking with a foreign man [1, 8]. Police said Carman strangled the girl during an argument in the condo and caused her death [1, 5, 8]. Carman denies the murder charges, claiming he acted in self-defense during an altercation, and apologized to the victim’s family, saying the incident was out of his control [1, 5, 8]. "I feel bad for what happened to your daughter," Carman said. "Please tell other girls just to be careful." [1]
The victim’s family, including her father Thongchai Donhomla and stepmother Oradee Bussarakum, mourned publicly and demanded full punishment. Thongchai said, "My daughter had no mother… she always helped me too." Oradee said, "I just want him to face the full consequences… I want him executed." [3]
The girl left her home in Kalasin province on June 16 to go to Pattaya. She met Carman on Pattaya beach on June 24 and struck up a conversation [6, 9, 8]. Carman entered Thailand on a tourist visa in December 2025 and had no prior criminal record [7].
Police are investigating possible links between Carman and two other unsolved cases involving women’s bodies found in suitcases near Pattaya, though no direct evidence connects him yet [7]. Carman’s murder charge carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment or death, though the death penalty is rarely enforced in Thailand [5, 6].
Carman’s formal charges were filed on June 27 after his arrest [3, 10, 6]. Authorities continue to investigate while the victim’s family collected the body. [10]
