Phanuchaya Niamthong ("Ariya")
Age 382 Dec 2023
Mueang Kanchanaburi District (Thailand)
Shot
Ariya was shot in the bedroom of her home. A gold ring, cash, two phones and her motorcycle were also stolen.
A brutal murder has shocked the local community in Kanchanaburi province, where a 38-year-old transgender woman was found dead in her bedroom, shot through the head. Her missing assets suggest a robbery, with the victim’s father pleading for assistance to find the ruthless murderer, who is believed to be an acquaintance.
Police captain Mana Samranwong, along with investigation officers from Kanchanaburi province and Mueang Kanchanaburi Police Station, arrived at a residence in Nong Bua, Mueang district, Kanchanaburi province. They were there to investigate the murder of Phanuchaya (surname withheld for privacy), a 38 year old employee at a local department store and a transgender woman.
Phanuchaya was found face-down on her bed, a pillow covering the back of her head which bore the evidence of a bullet fired through it. The victim was lying in a pool of blood, having been dead for at least 14 hours, according to the medical examiner. A .38 calibre shell casing was found beside the bed, indicating the likely weapon used in the killing.
Upon inspection, several personal items were missing from Phanuchaya’s residence. These included a gold ring, two mobile phones, and 5,000 baht in coins. Additionally, her motorcycle and house keys disappeared. The perpetrator had locked the house from the inside and used a master key to secure the front gate from the outside before fleeing the scene.
Ariya worked in a department store.
After her murder the killer (presumably using one of her stolen phones) taunted police via her Facebook account.
Adding to the horror, a colleague of the deceased discovered an eerie status update on Phanuchaya’s Facebook account shortly after news of her death broke.
The status, which was not there before, asked, “Do you know who killed Ariya?” A smiling emoji featured alongside it. Ariya was an alternate name Phanuchaya used on one of her Facebook profiles. This led to the speculation that the suspect used the stolen phone to mock law enforcement and taunt them about their inability to catch him.
