Duo win appeal in model death case
The Appeal Court yesterday acquitted two of six defendants sentenced by a lower court to between five and eight years in prison in connection with the death of a model who died after she was hired to entertain party guests in Nonthaburi in 2019.
The court accepted the argument by Kritsada Lohitdi, 28, and Koset Ritnithiroek, 36, that they were party guests and weren’t aware how model Thitima “Lunlabelle” Noraphanpiphat was removed from the party while heavily intoxicated.
However, male model, Rachadech “Nam Oun” Wongtabutr, who was caught on a security camera escorting Thitima, who appeared unconscious, to his sixth-floor room at a condominium on the night of Sept 16, still faces eight years in prison.
Hours later, he was seen on the same security camera carrying her limp body back into the lobby and placing her on a sofa, where she was found dead in the morning.
According to an autopsy report, Thitima died from alcohol poisoning. Her blood/alcohol level was 418 milligrammes per 100 millilitres, enough to render an individual
unconscious and cause death.
Thitima’s family requested a second autopsy after questioning the original findings. The results confirmed alcohol poisoning as the cause of death, with no trace of other toxic substances nor confirmation of sexual assault.
The other three convicted by the lower court still face five years and four months for conspiring with Mr Rachadech, who was guilty of unlawful detention, which led to the death of the detained person, according to yesterday’s ruling.
The three are Chaiyaphon Phanna, 30, the host of the party; Nathi Sathitphongsathaphon, 34; and Phikunthong Bunpha, 25, Mr Chaiyaphon’s girlfriend.