Baby’s broadcast murder pressures social media
THE distraught Thai mother of a baby girl killed by her boyfriend in a murder he broadcast on Facebook Live has described the moment she stumbled across the video and rushed to alert police.
Monday’s killing caused revulsion in Thailand and around the world, sparking renewed debate about what can be done by social media giants to more quickly remove live broadcasts of violent crimes, suicides and murders.
Jiranuch Trirat, 22, from Phuket, was devastated after her boyfriend Wuttisan Wongtalay hanged their 11-monthold daughter Natalie from the side of an abandoned building before taking his own life.
He broadcast the murder on Facebook Live.
“I was with my older brother and he was logging on to his Facebook,” Jiranuch said yesterday, from a temple where daily prayers were being held for Natalie ahead of her cremation.
“He was scrolling down and suddenly we saw the live broadcast.
“I turned to take a look and saw him (Wuttisan) drop my daughter with the rope.”
The video sparked a desperate search by relatives and police, with the bodies of Wuttisan and Natalie found a few hours later.
What prompted Wuttisan to take such a horrifying step remains a mystery.