Police nab suspect for tot’s murder

A man suspected of killing a five-year-old girl and dumping her body in a septic tank in Kanchanaburi was arrested yesterday after a massive manhunt.

Anusorn “Benz” Saipin, 24, was caught in a wooded area behind a school in tambon Tha Kradan in Si Sawat district after police cordoned off the area.

They found a bloodstained knife on him, the suspected murder weapon.

Police said the suspect admitted during questioning to killing the five-year-old girl by slitting her throat in the kitchen of his house.

He then put the body in a fertiliser bag and threw it into the septic tank, police said.

During a crime re-enactment at the house, the suspect had to wear a crash helmet and bullet-proof vest as a precaution as hundreds of angry villagers had gathered to observe proceedings.

Pol Lt Gen Sutthipong Wongpin, head of Police Region 7, said the autopsy revealed no indication of sexual abuse and the cause of death was the wound to her throat.

He said although the suspect had confessed to killing the girl, he did not say why, and police would have to investigate further.

The suspect reportedly has a history of drug use.

The girl went missing around midday on Sunday.

Mr Anusorn came under suspicion when police checked surveillance camera footage which captured him holding what appeared to be construction equipment several hours before the girl’s body was found.

Tuenjai Boonsri, the suspect’s mother, told police she last saw her son on Sunday.

She also said her family were related to the victim and she often came to play at her house.

The manhunt was launched after police recovered the girl’s body from the septic tank about 40 metres from the girl’s house.

The victims throat had been slashed with a sharp object.

Mr Anusorn’s mobile phone records revealed that after the girl’s body was found, he had gone to ground close to the village.