A heartbreaking video of Tunchanok Donhomla’s final moments with her parents has been released before she was allegedly murdered by an Australian man.
The 17-year-old, who was visiting the coastal town of Pattaya from Bangkok, was allegedly strangled to death at the hands of Perth man Simon Peter Carman following a dispute over payment for her services.
Carman allegedly stuffed Donhomla’s body into a suitcase with CCTV footage showing the 45-year-old wheeling it out from his apartment complex on Saturday, before dumping it at a nearby railway line.
He was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport just minutes before boarding a flight to Australia, where officers noticed apparent scratch injuries on his body, with police alleging he only began to confess after being shown surveillance footage of him dragging the suitcase away on a motorbike.
The newly released footage of Donhomla, who has been described as a “loving, fun young girl” by her devastated father, Thongchai, 46, shows her smiling and laughing with her dad and stepmother, Oradee.
Oradee is seen holding a slice of cake as they celebrated Thongchai’s birthday at their family home in Kalasin, northeast Thailand.
“She didn’t have a lot of money, but she bought me a cake,” Thongchai told Viral Press.
“We were all so happy.
“Now that is the last birthday that she will share with me. I feel so sorry for her, the way she died.”
Just a few months after the video was taken, she had moved to Bangkok before taking a trip to Pattaya, where she was allegedly killed by Carman.
Donhomla was laid to rest in her hometown on Tuesday. She was cremated at a temple in accordance with Buddhist traditions.
Her heartbroken father has called for Carman to receive the death penalty following his arrest for the murder of his daughter if the case against him is proven.
Carman is currently held in custody on remand for a court appearance, accused of ‘intentional homicide.’
“The death penalty would be acceptable for him. He (allegedly) took my daughter’s life away, so he does not deserve to continue living,” Thongchai said.
CCTV footage allegedly captured Carman spending the day shopping, eating, and doing laundry before disposing of the suitcase containing Donhomla’s body through a back exit of his apartment complex. Images of inside his squalid apartment have since been released.
Donhomla was found partially covered in similar-looking clothes to what she was seen wearing on the CCTV footage.
Police claim the teen may have already been dead for hours while Carman went about his routine.
“I feel the deepest sorrow over this,” her father said.
“Even though I am poor, regardless of how society views it, no father would want their child to do what people are speaking of.
“Before she left, my daughter said she wanted to see the sea because she had never seen it before. That was her dream, and I just wanted her to be happy.”
Thongchai said she was a “very loving, fun young girl.”
“She was innocent and only saw the good things in the world and in people. She loved to laugh and have fun with her family and friends,” he said about his daughter.
“As her father, I always told her to take good care of herself whenever she left home because I could not be by her side all the time. She promised she would.”
He said he first learned of what had happened when he saw footage of the suitcase being dragged.
“I thought my daughter must have been lured away to be killed or raped,” he explained.
“Perhaps we are simply unfortunate. I never imagined that I would have to bring my daughter’s body home. The person who killed my child is utterly heartless.”
He praised the efforts of Thai police and thanked everyone who cared about his daughter and assisted the investigation, including those who helped obtain CCTV footage.
“During the journey home with my daughter’s body, it felt as though she was sitting beside me in the car,” the shattered father said.
“Before she passed away, a friend said they heard the sound of her shoes walking inside the house.
“At the time, I said, ‘Are you crazy? She is in Bangkok’. I never imagined that she would die that day.
“I do not blame anyone on social media for criticising the situation. However, from the perspective of a parent, no one wants their child to die.
“If we must be poor, let us be poor at home. If we must die, let us die at home.”