- Author, Editorial Team
- Author’s title, BBC News Mundo
Chef Daniel Sancho, son of renowned Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, was found guilty of premeditated murder, dismemberment, and concealment of the body of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta, in the tourist island of Koh Phangan, southern Thailand, in August 2023.
Sancho, 30 years old, pleaded guilty to concealing the victim’s body but denied premeditated murder.
He claimed that he acted in self-defense after an alleged sexual assault.
In statements to the Spanish news agency EFE last year, Sancho had asserted that he had been a “hostage” of Arrieta and accused him of being obsessed with him.
“He kept me like a hostage. It was a glass cage. He made me destroy my relationship with my girlfriend, he forced me to do things I would never have done,” he said at that time.
However, during the trial, the prosecution provided evidence that Sancho had purchased knives and plastic bags that were found in the room where the murder took place, confirming the premeditation of the crime.
The criminal court of Samui Island also ordered him to pay $119,000 as compensation to Arrieta’s family.
“Justice has been done”
Initially, the court had handed down the death penalty, but it was commuted to life imprisonment considering Sancho’s cooperation during the investigation.
After the judicial decision was announced, lawyers for both families spoke out.
“The plaintiff is satisfied with the sentence because he (Sancho) will be imprisoned for life, and they (the plaintiffs) will receive financial compensation,” said Bussakorn Kaewleeled, legal representative in Thailand for the victim’s family, according to AFP news agency.
In Spain, Juan Gonzalo Ospina, another lawyer for the Arrieta family, indicated that the victim’s relatives never wanted the death penalty and consider that “justice has been done.”
“This life sentence also corresponds with the family’s wish that Daniel spend as much time as possible of his days in prison, especially since up to now, there has not been a sincere, human apology for the harm done to parents who could not say goodbye to their son and a sister who could not say goodbye to her brother.”
Image source, Sitthipong Charoenjai/EPA
Bussakorn explained that, according to Thai law, both parties have the right to appeal the judicial decision.
“We will appeal the sentence,” said Sancho’s lawyer, Carmen Balfagón, who stated that they did not expect life imprisonment, but “we have to accept what the Thai justice system has said; we have always respected it.”
“It would be bold to assess a sentence we do not know. Now we have to translate it, see the reasoning, and then we will express our reasons for the appeal, but we will definitely appeal, without a doubt,” added another lawyer, Marcos García-Montes.
Crime Timeline
The macabre story began on July 31, 2023, when Arrieta—44 years old—arrived at the Thai island to spend a few days with his Spanish friend Daniel Sancho.
According to information provided to the court, they had met online and arranged to meet on the island.
After the two shared several days together enjoying the cuisine and tourist attractions of Koh Phangan, the Colombian suddenly disappeared.
Image source, Instagram
It was Daniel Sancho himself who reported to Thai authorities the mysterious disappearance of his friend.
According to the Bangkok Post, the two dined at a restaurant on the island on August 1. Shortly thereafter, the Spaniard was captured by security cameras buying knives, rubber gloves, garbage bags, and cleaning utensils in a store.
On Thursday, August 3, local media reported that a garbage collector had found a severed pelvis and human intestines hidden in a bag around 12:30 p.m. at a landfill on the island.
On Friday, more human remains were found stuffed in a plastic bag at the same landfill, along with several pieces of clothing.
The new findings led investigators to interrogate Sancho that same day as a suspect.
Sancho was arrested on August 8 of last year on the Thai island and pleaded guilty in the country’s justice system.
Later, the Spaniard led police to seven locations on the island where he disposed of Arrieta’s dismembered body in plastic bags.
Shock in Colombia
Edwin Arrieta Arteaga was born and raised in Lorica, a municipality in the Córdoba department, in the Colombian Caribbean.
He lived in the neighborhood of El Recreo in Montería, the department’s capital.
According to Colombian media, he was raised by a working-class family. His father, Leobaldo Arrieta, repaired radios and televisions, while his mother, Marcela Arteaga, was a teacher.
In his hometown, there was shock at his murder.
As a surgeon, he was a member of the Colombian Society of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery (SCCP).
His sister described him as a kind person with a generous heart, in statements to local network Caracol.
“He was an excellent son, an excellent brother, uncle, friend. A person who liked to do charity work,” said Darling Arrieta, who added that it tortured her to think about what happened to her brother and the fact that he would never be able to defend himself against Sancho’s accusations.
“His dream was to see the whole world, that’s why Edwin was always traveling. My mom was always worried and told him: ‘Edwin, stop flying so much’.”
Arrieta studied Medicine in Barranquilla before continuing his studies in Buenos Aires, where he became a plastic surgeon.
After finishing his studies, he returned to his native Colombia and settled in Montería, a city not far from his parents’ home.
According to his website, he treated patients “generally healthy who are not comfortable with their body.”
Due to his career, primarily operating on women in Colombia and Chile, Arrieta gained tens of thousands of followers on social media.
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