The 27-year-old boyfriend of a young woman found dead with her family reportedly has confessed to shooting and killing all three in their Chiang Rai home.
After being detained by police late last night, Chiang Rai native Nawaratorn Khunsangkam admitted to shooting his girlfriend Sawaros Kimsee, said to be in her later 20s, during an argument and then shooting her parents to keep them quiet.
Family of 3 found dead at home in Chiang Rai, police stumped
“The perpetrator confessed to the crime, admitting that he shot and killed all three family members out of jealousy,” Deputy Police Commander Suchart Teerasawat announced just before noon today.
Gen. Suchart characterized it as a crime of passion.
“It seemed like he didn’t think and that he was acting purely out of emotion,” he said, adding that Nawaratorn had a volatile history and liked playing with guns.
After killing Sawaros Kimsee, Udom Kimsee and Natcha Kimsee on Thursday night, Suchart said Nawaratorn then reportedly fled to Chiang Mai. Though they believe he committed the crimes alone, they suspect others may have been involved in helping him escape and have called some suspects in for questioning.
“We have to investigate whether the people who helped Nawaratorn escape knew what he did and whether they knew they were helping him flee,” he said.
Police will also test to see if Nawaratorn has any traces of drugs or alcohol in his system today.
Police found Nawaratorn in a car parked at a 7-Eleven in Chiang Mai city. Nawaratorn’s mother was with him inside the vehicle, where officers also a gun they believe was used in the massacre. He was taken for interrogation where he reportedly confessed to the crimes.
Nawaratorn’s argument with Sawaros began over a Line message she had received from an ex-boyfriend, investigator Maj. Gen. Weerachon Bunthawee told Thairath. Weerachon could not be reached for comment Tuesday morning.
Nawaratorn will be prosecuted according to the law.
The bodies were discovered Monday morning after Udom, a local administrator, failed to show up to work.
He was found in a hallway near the entrance. Natcha was in the master bedroom while Sawaros was found in an adjacent bedroom.
They had been dead several days, and their advanced states of decomposition made it difficult to quickly determine what had happened.
Update: This story has been updated with additional details.
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Family of 3 found dead at home in Chiang Rai, police stumped
