Police have arrested a transgender woman accused of stabbing a university student to death and setting his body on fire in an apartment in Nonthaburi, reportedly following a dispute over money.
The suspect, 21-year-old Natthawut “Jae Nat” Ontor, was apprehended at a house in Phayuha Khiri district, Nakhon Sawan province, on Thursday evening. She was taken to the Ratthanathibet police station in Nonthaburi for detention.
The arrest followed the discovery of a young man’s body in a fire-damaged apartment in Muang district, Nonthaburi, on Wednesday afternoon. The victim, Wissawa Taemprasit, a first-year student at Dhurakij Pundit University, was found with severe burns and three stab wounds on his forehead, chin, and chest. Clumps of scalp hair were found in his hand, according to the Central Institute of Forensic Science.
Security camera footage showed Wissawa returning to his room with the suspect, who was wearing a white shirt, at 2:18 PM on Wednesday. The suspect was later seen riding a red motorcycle, which was reported stolen, towards Prachachuen Road.
Police tracked the suspect to her home province of Nakhon Sawan, where she was arrested on Thursday.
On Friday, police took Natthawut back to the apartment for a re-enactment of the crime. She refused to answer questions from reporters.
Pol Col Pisut Chanthasuwan, chief of the Ratthanathibet station, stated that the suspect admitted to covering the victim’s body with a quilt before setting it on fire. The motive for the killing was related to money, though Pol Col Pisut did not provide further details.
During questioning, the suspect reportedly claimed that the victim had initially asked for 2,000 baht, which later increased to 5,000 baht, leading to a quarrel. Matichon Online reported that the suspect had contacted the victim to buy sex for 2,000 baht. After the encounter, when the victim requested an additional 1,000 baht, the suspect refused to pay, which escalated into the fatal altercation.
The suspect admitted to stabbing the victim with a knife she found in the room and then threw it into the fire before fleeing on a stolen motorcycle. She had known the victim through Facebook since the beginning of the year but had not met him in person until the day of the incident.
After the killing, the suspect reportedly fled with the victim’s mobile phone, selling it for 7,000 baht. She then went to Phu Thap Boek mountain in Phetchabun before heading to her grandparents’ house in Nakhon Sawan, where she was arrested.
Natthawut has been charged with murder, arson, concealment of a body, and theft. Police have taken her to the Nonthaburi Provincial Court to seek approval for her detention.
