Australian detained in Thailand after teen found dead in suitcase

Thai police have arrested an Australian man after a 17-year-old girl was found dead inside a suitcase near Pattaya, AFP reported. The case has drawn attention in Thailand as authorities investigate how the teenager died and why her body was left near a railway line.

Police identified the suspect as Simon Carman, 46, according to AFP. Officers detained him on Friday evening at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Perth, police and local media told AFP.

Investigators said security camera footage showed the girl entering a condominium with Carman in the early hours of Thursday, AFP reported. Several hours later, separate footage showed him leaving the building with a large black suitcase, putting it on the back of a motorbike and riding away, according to investigators cited by AFP.

The girl’s body was later discovered inside the suitcase near a railway line a short distance from where she was last seen, AFP reported. Police said she was naked and had suffered a severe assault, including heavy bruising to her face.

AFP reported that the teenager’s friends alerted authorities on Friday afternoon after she went missing. Officers then traced her last known movements to the room she had entered with Carman and notified immigration officials, who stopped him at the airport.

Police question suspect

Carman has denied killing the girl, AFP reported. Police Colonel Anek Sarathongyu, head of Pattaya City Police Station, said officers believed Carman was responsible and were questioning him on suspicion of murder.

Anek said Carman had fingernail scratches that appeared consistent with a struggle, according to AFP. In a video recorded after his arrest, Carman was asked about marks on his neck and said they were caused by a spider, AFP reported.

Police said Carman faces several charges, including murder, concealing a body and taking a minor for an indecent purpose, according to AFP. The report did not give further details about the girl’s identity.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance, AFP reported. The department said it could not comment further.

The arrest comes weeks after Thailand reduced the period tourists can stay in the country without a visa, AFP reported. The change followed several cases involving foreigners accused of drug offences, trafficking and operating illegal businesses, according to the news agency.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.