An American man stranded by the pandemic in Krabi province was found dead at his hotel today.
After a tip led them at about noon to the man’s body lying facedown on a bed at the Krabi-Loma Hotel, police said they suspect the man drank himself to death. Police said the advanced state of decomposition suggested the 52-year-old had been dead for several days.
Coconuts Bangkok is withholding his name until his family can be notified.
There were no indications of foul play at the scene. His personal belongings including wallet, luggage and laptop were all present. They took his possessions as evidence and sent the man’s body to Krabi Hospital for an autopsy.
Hotel employee Wassana Wongwai, who contacted the police, said she was hit with a foul odor when she went to the man’s room to ask about payment as he had not been seen for some days. Thinking it was a dead mouse, she opened the door and saw his body. That’s when she called the cops.
Several phone calls to Krabi city police this afternoon went unanswered.
The 36-year-old woman told police that he was a retired American from Washington DC who was visiting Thailand when the kingdom sealed its borders in March due to the pandemic. She said he paid the hotel monthly and was often out as he had made friends in the neighborhood. She said he drank a lot.
Investigators speculated that he might have gone into shock and fainted from alcohol poisoning. However, they have to wait for the autopsy results and interview his associates before closing the case. They said they would reach out to the U.S. Embassy to notify his relatives.
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