According to authorities, a Spanish chef has admitted to killing and dismembering his Colombian physician lover before throwing bits of his body in the sea and a landfill on Koh Phangan.
On Friday, 29-year-old Daniel Sancho Bronchalo was brought to the Koh Phangan police station for interrogation in relation to the disappearance of 44-year-old Colombian Edwin Arrieta Arteaga. According to a source familiar with the inquiry, he originally denied any involvement but ultimately admitted to the act following lengthy questioning by police.
The suspect is the son of Spanish actors Silvia Bronchalo and Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre. He has a YouTube account and is a well-known chef in his home country. The victim ran a prosperous plastic surgery practice in Colombia’s Monteria.
According to Pol Lt Gen Surapong Thanomjit, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, police searched a hotel room thought to be the scene of the killing and discovered further evidence thought to be human body parts.
From the room’s drain, forensic officers took samples of hair, fat, and tissue, and they sent them to Yala for forensic analysis. According to Pol Lt Gen Surapong, the results would be available on Sunday.
The suspect: Spanish chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29. (Photo: danisanchobanus Instagram)
The commander claimed that after a police investigation of security footage from numerous locations on the island famous for its Full Moon parties, Mr. Sancho was connected to the crime.
Prior to the discovery of the human body parts, the Spanish man was the last person to be seen with the victim. According to Pol Lt Gen Surapong, officers were gathering information in order to request a court warrant for Mr. Sancho’s arrest.
On Thursday night, Mr. Sancho went to the Koh Phangan police station to report that Mr. Arrieta was missing. After hearing that some human body parts had been discovered, something happened.
At a landfill in Moo 4 on Koh Phangan, trash collectors on Thursday found body parts inside a fertiliser bag, including a sawed-off pelvis and intestines weighing about five kilograms.
The victim: Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44. (Photo: dredwinarrietacirujanoplastico Instagram)
On Friday, additional body parts were discovered there in a black plastic bag. Two legs, a black T-shirt, some shorts, and some red boxer shorts were all within the bag.
According to Pol Lt Gen Surapong, Arrieta’s relatives told police that he had been seeing Mr. Sancho for more than a year.
They traveled together to Surat Thani’s Koh Phangan to attend a Full Moon party. When Arrieta’s family was unable to reach him, they got in touch with Mr. Sancho, who claimed to have not yet seen Arrieta.
After then, the families asked the tourist police to check the hotel room the victim had reserved, but they found no signs of him. Later, they discovered that Mr. Sancho had arrived at the hotel alone, checked in, and then left before the victim showed up.
“The reason for the murder is still unknown. According to Pol Lt Gen Surapong, “We initially think it might be the result of a jealousy-fueled rage.
“The inquiry revealed that Daniel Sancho had made thoughtful preparations by purchasing additional materials to hide the body. He exhibited obvious indications of stress after being jailed for immigration violations and having his visa canceled, yet he still wouldn’t confess.
I’ve told the cops to keep a careful eye on him out of concern that he would try to kill himself.
Following his arrest on Friday for questioning in relation to the disappearance of the Colombian individual, Mr. Sancho appeared anxious and lacked sleep, according to Pol Col Panya Nirattimanon, head of the Koh Phangan police station, who said this on Saturday.
According to a police source, Mr. Sancho admitted to taking Arrieta to his room when under interrogation. He claimed that despite his refusal, the man wanted to have sex with him.
He attacked his companion in a fit of rage, resulting in the victim falling and losing consciousness after banging his head on a bathtub. The body was then divided into 14 pieces, some of which Mr. Sancho placed in a luggage bag. Additionally, he bagged up other pieces and threw them in the trash.
At Salad Beach, next to his hotel, he took the travel bag and dumped it in the water. He went back to his hotel after that and checked out on Thursday at 9am.
With two women he knew, he later attended a Full Moon party at the hotel. When he got home from the party, he went to the police department and reported his Colombian friend missing as a missing person.
