An Australian man accused of killing a Thai teenager and hiding her body in a suitcase had his guns taken away by police before moving overseas, it has been revealed.
Background of the accused
Until eight months ago, Simon Peter Carman, 45, had been living in an unsuspecting industrial unit in Rockingham, in Perth’s south. Neighbours told 7NEWS he had survived in Western Australia on a disability pension after suffering a neck injury while driving trucks. They said he told them he was leaving Perth for Thailand to have surgery and “sold all his stuff and just disappeared”.
7NEWS was told he openly spoke about owning guns, and had been in trouble with the law before. Police suspended his firearms licence a year before he headed overseas, and he lost an appeal to get them back. He had also been fined for driving without a licence in August last year.
The crime and arrest
Carman was charged by Thai authorities after the body of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla was found inside a suitcase dumped beside railway tracks in Pattaya on Friday. Police allege Carman attempted to flee by boarding a Jetstar flight to Perth from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Carman is believed to have been born in Ballarat, Victoria, before growing up in Jerramungup, about 450km southeast of Perth. His family later moved to Albany. “It’s horrific,” one former neighbour in WA said. Carman was described as quiet and someone who kept to himself, not working but staying busy running errands for people, including walking a neighbour’s dog.
Details of the case
After moving overseas he reportedly lived alone in a rented condominium in Jomtien. Thai police allege Carman met the teenager in Pattaya, about two hours south of Bangkok. CCTV footage allegedly showed the pair entering an apartment building in the early hours of Thursday but showed only Carman leaving while pulling a large suitcase.
He is now facing multiple charges, including murder, concealing and moving a body, and abducting a minor for indecent purposes. If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty. Carman denies murdering the teenager and has told police he acted in self-defence.
