New details about Aussie accused of murdering Thai teen and stuffing her body in a suitcase – as footage emerges of moment he left hotel with luggage
An Australian accused of murdering a Thai teenager and stuffing her body in a suitcase is a truck driver who has had previous brushes with the law back home.
Simon Carman, 46, has been charged with murder after the naked body of Tunchanok ‘Nong Cake’ Donhomla, 17, was found in the suitcase near railway tracks at Pattaya, south Thailand, late on Friday night.
The pair met on Beach Road, known as ‘Coconut Bar’, on Thursday, when they went back to Carman’s hotel and an argument allegedly broke out about money.
CCTV allegedly captured Carman later leaving the hotel with a black suitcase in tow, with footage of the moment emerging online.
Carman, dressed in a singlet and shorts, was seen wheeling the suitcase out of the entrance before casually walking on.
He is accused of strapping it to his Yamaha motorbike and then dumping it at the side of the road – just ten minutes from his hotel.
Daily Mail can reveal that Carman is a British-born tradie who runs a mobile refuelling service between Perth and regional Victoria.
He has a lengthy history with Western Australian Police, having been charged with disorderly behaviour in a public place, driving while disqualified and demanding property with threats.
An Australian accused of murdering a Thai teenager and stuffing her body in a suitcase is a truck driver with a lengthy rap sheet who frequently visited Thailand
Simon Carman, 46, has been charged with murder after the naked body of Tunchanok ‘Nong Cake’ Donhomla, 17, was found in the 73cm piece of luggage near railway tracks at Pattaya, south Thailand, on Friday night
Inside the suitcase with Ms Donhomla were the white Onitsuka trainers she wore in the video with Carman, jeans, underwear, a mobile phone case, a wallet, her gold bracelet and necklace.
Carman is reported to live in the national park region on Western Australia’s Southern Ocean Coast.
He appears to have a long connection with Thailand, based on his social media profile.
Carman met Ms Donhomla at the so-called ‘Coconut Bar’, a notorious strip of night-time food trucks, bars and girls.
The pair could be seen walking beneath palm trees and then entering through the foyer of his hotel block at around 3.30am on Thursday.
Carman allegedly told authorities they had agreed he would pay the teen 1,000 baht (AU$43.45), but the pair had an argument when he offered 500 baht (AU$21.72).
After Ms Donhomla’s friends reported her missing, police searched the condo and seized the motorcycle, took DNA and fingerprint samples but found no sign of Carman.
On Friday, Thai authorities issued an urgent alert through the Immigration Bureau system while Pattaya investigators sought an arrest warrant.
Police arrested Carman at Suvarnabhumi Airport just minutes before his Jetstar Flight JQ76 to Perth was due to depart.
CCTV allegedly captured Carman later leaving the hotel with a black suitcase in tow, with footage of the moment emerging online
Carman is accused of strapping it to his Yamaha motorbike and then dumping it off the side of the road – just ten minutes away from his hotel
Police later located the suitcase in long grass with Ms Donhomla stuffed inside, with blood and visible wounds to her face and body.
Inside the suitcase with her were the white Onitsuka trainers she wore in the video with Carman, jeans, underwear, a mobile phone case, a wallet, her gold bracelet and necklace.
The tattoos on her back, arms, chest and left leg matched those in her social media images.
Pattaya detectives have charged Carman with four offences: murder, concealment of a body, moving or destroying a body, and taking a minor aged between 15 and 18 for sexual purposes.
In taped interviews police have released online, Carman addressed Ms Donhomla’s family.
‘I feel bad for what happened to your daughter,’ he said.
‘It was out of my control’.
He allegedly told investigators that Ms Donhomla had attacked him with a knife, and that he acted in self-defence.
Carman, 46, towers over the 17-year-old as they walk hand-in-hand into his rented condo in the early hours of Thursday
Carman wheeling a black suitcase allegedly with the teenage girl’s body stuffed inside can be seen leaving the condo Thursday evening
The 17-year-old known as ‘Nong Cake’ was allegedly stuffed into the suitcase naked and the bag then wheeled from the condo, put on the back of a motorbike and then pitched from the vehicle onto a railway line siding
Asked by an officer if he killed the girl, Carman said, ‘No’.
He was asked about the visible scratches and bruises on his neck and arms.
On camera, Carman said the marks were due to ‘the spiders’ which he said were ‘always’ coming out at the condominium where he stayed.
Ms Donhomla came from Kalasin Province in northern Thailand near the Laos border and may have been operating with a fake ID.
Thai child protection laws prohibit the sexual exploitation of people under 18.
Carman remains in the custody of Pattaya City Police and is undergoing further questioning as investigators continue collecting evidence.
A murder conviction in Thailand can result in a life sentence or the death penalty.
