Thai police are investigating whether an Australian man charged with murdering a 17-year-old girl could be connected to two unsolved deaths involving women whose bodies were also found in suitcases.
Police stress there is currently no evidence linking 45-year-old Simon Peter Carman to the earlier cases, but say similarities in the crime scenes have prompted investigators to examine the possibility.
Carman was charged over the weekend with the alleged murder of 17-year-old Thunchanok Donhomla, whose body was discovered inside a suitcase near railway tracks in Pattaya in the early hours of Saturday.
Pattaya City Police Superintendent Colonel Anek Srathongyoo told The Guardian that detectives were looking into the two unsolved cases in neighbouring districts.
“Although there was no evidence linking Simon Peter Carman to the cases in neighboring regions, they were investigating the possibility given the similarities between the cases,” he said.
Investigators say the two unsolved cases occurred within the past two years and involved women whose bodies were also discovered inside suitcases.
Those investigations proved more difficult because more time had elapsed between the victims’ deaths and the discovery of their bodies.
Police believe both women worked in the region’s adult entertainment industry.
Their bodies were found in the Huay Yai district, within the same province as Pattaya, and the Ban Chang district in the neighbouring province.
Col Srathongyoo said he is working with police in both districts as the investigations fall outside his jurisdiction.
Investigators have also established that Carman rented a condominium in Jomtien Beach for one year.
Police say he entered Thailand on a tourist visa in December before later extending his stay.
According to Col Srathongyoo, there is no record of Carman overstaying his visa or having a criminal history in Thailand.
Wong condemns ‘horrific’ case, confirms consular assistance
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong has revealed the government is prepared to offer Carman consular support.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Senator Wong labelled the case “horrific” but refused to go into details about such assistance.
“This is horrific, and I think we’ve all been horrified by what has been reported and extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends who have lost someone they love dearly,” she said.
“In relation to consular matters, we provide consular assistance to people,” she added.
“I’m not able to provide details of that because I’m bound by privacy requirements.
“But all Australians have access to consular support around the world when necessary.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs says it provides consular assistance in the event an Australian is jailed overseas through welfare support, recommendations for local lawyers, and ensuring basic needs are met.
It warns that it cannot help Australians out of local laws and penalties, including the death penalty.
The government can, however, provide financial help to cover the cost of legal fees if the accused is facing the death penalty.
Police allege that Tunchanok Donhomla, 17, was strangled to death by Carman following a dispute over payment for her company.
Thai police discovered Donhomla’s body in a black suitcase dumped by a railway line near Carman’s apartment block 15 minutes after he was arrested.
She was found partially covered in similar-looking clothes to those she was seen wearing on CCTV footage outside Carman’s apartment block.
Teens text to friends moments before murder
Slain Thai teenager Thunchanok Donhomla reportedly texted her friends once she arrived at alleged killer Simon Peter Carman’s apartment.
It would be one of the last things she’d ever do.
Pattaya City Police Colonel Anek Srathongyoo said Donhomla messaged her friends through the Line messaging app that she was going to stay with Carman that night.
“I’ve arrived at [his] apartment. The room is so messy,” Srathongyoo said, the message read in an interview with SBS Thai.
Colonel Srathongyoo said it was sent so her friends knew “she had arrived so they didn’t have to worry”.
The message is one of several new details emerging about the case that has rocked two nations.
In the months leading up to Donhomla’s death, Carman was observed engaging in bizarre internet interactions with young Asian women.
Carman had used Threads to contact women, frequently striking up conversations with messages such as “Hello Gorgeous, how are you doing?” and “Where are you located?”
Dozens of public replies dating back to January 2025, seen by news.com.au, show Carman introducing himself underneath intimate selfies and videos before attempting to move conversations off-platform.
On June 4 this year, one woman posted a selfie asking: “Am I your type of girl?”
Carman, who is believed to have been on a weight-loss journey, responded, bluntly telling the woman: “Too fat.”
Three months earlier, on March 28, another woman asked: “I think I like you, do you like Asians?”, to which Carman replied “yes”.
In numerous other public interactions, he told women he lived in the outer-Perth suburb of Rockingham. In October, he said that he had relocated to Thailand.
Carman ‘did chores’ while body lay in suitcase
Police allege Carman spent the day shopping, eating, and doing his laundry while the body of the 17-year-old girl remained inside a suitcase in his room.
Thai investigators allege CCTV footage captured the 45-year-old going about seemingly ordinary daily activities for hours before later disposing of the suitcase containing Donhomla’s body.
Police say the footage became a crucial part of the investigation that ultimately led to Carman’s arrest at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, where he was stopped just minutes before boarding a flight to Australia.
“When he was being detained by immigration officers at the airport, they noticed the [apparent scratch] injuries,” the police boss told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“He explained that he’d been out for the night and had gotten into a fight with a friend, which was why he had those marks.
“It wasn’t until he was with us and we showed him the evidence, starting with the footage of him dragging the suitcase, loading it on the back of his motorbike, and riding away for around 10 to 20 minutes – and then returning without the suitcase – that he began to admit what had happened.”
Police allege Donhomla may already have been dead for several hours when neighbors saw Carman having breakfast at the apartment complex.
Investigators say CCTV cameras recorded his movements throughout the day, showing him speaking with people in the foyer, buying food, shopping, and using the communal laundry.
“From around 3:30 a.m. until about 9 p.m., when he disposed of the body, he appeared to go about his daily routine as usual. We watched every single clip,” Col Srathongyoo alleged.
“He went downstairs to buy food, bought some groceries, did his laundry – everything seemed completely normal.”
Police allege the footage then showed Carman leaving the building with the suitcase.
“Then we came to the part of the footage where he’s with the suitcase … but instead of leaving through the front entrance, he exited through the back door,” Col Srathongyoo said.
New images emerge
New footage obtained by The Australian revealed the moment Donhomla was picked up by Carman shortly before she died.
The video of Donhomla walking hand-in-hand with Carman was filmed by a friend shortly before she vanished.
The friend later handed the footage to police after reporting Donhomla missing, helping investigators piece together her final movements.
Thai police say he told investigators during an interview that he did not intend to hurt the teenager.
Police suspect the cause of death was strangulation, with officers saying there were no other significant bruises found on the teenager’s body.
Thai police found Donhomla’s body in a black suitcase dumped by a railway line near Carman’s apartment block 15 minutes after he was arrested.
Forensic specialists are examining skin recovered from beneath Donhomla’s fingernails as part of the investigation.
Asked about scratches on his neck by police, Carman allegedly said they happened during an argument with a friend, before changing his story to say they were from a spider.
Carman has been charged with murder, disposing of and moving a body, and procuring a minor for sex.
He denies the charges.
An autopsy was expected to be carried out this week, although police say the final results have not yet been returned.
Police Colonel Anek Srathongyoo said he ordered an immediate investigation after receiving the missing person report.
The footage provided by Donhomla’s friend proved instrumental, allowing officers to trace Carman through CCTV footage across Pattaya.
Police then contacted Thai immigration authorities, who stopped Carman before he was able to board a flight to Perth.
Police alleged he killed Donhomla last week after picking her up for sex on the street near Jomtien Beach.
Carman is believed to have been living in the Jomtien Condominium apartment blocks in Pattaya, where he reportedly paid $100 a week in rent.
Sources told the National Network News that Carman had been working as a handyman and picking up “odd” jobs around the apartment complex.
“The young girl did have an ID card that said she was 22; all of the girls here have ID cards that say they are older, because if they’re underage, you’re in trouble,” a source told the outlet.
“We used to call him simple, like ‘Simple Simon,’ because he was a bit slow.
“He had quite a few run-ins with people. He was six foot one, he was a big guy, just look at the size of him compared with that young girl.”
Rooms in the Jomtien Condominiums rent out for $100 a week, or $400 a month, before water and electricity charges of around $60 a month.
According to the complex, it boasts “nice facilities” of two swimming pools, two fitness centres, a table tennis room, free bike hire, a wheelchair service, CCTV, and a 24-hour security service.
“The condo is only 100 metres from the beach, easy transportation, clean, safe, quiet, and convenient,” they wrote online.
Simon Carman’s home life
Carman was born in Ballarat in Victoria before moving to Jerramungup, a small agricultural town about 450km southeast of Perth, according to The West Australian.
He briefly worked in the agricultural sector, where he operated as a sole trader.
“He worked on a farm when he was younger,” a neighbour told news.com.au.
He later moved to Albany with his family before settling down in Rockingham, where he reportedly worked as a mechanic and truck driver.
For around a decade leading up to his departure for Thailand, he had been living on and off in a unit inside an industrial estate in Rockingham.
He reportedly lived off a disability pension and workers’ compensation payments linked to injuries he suffered as a truck driver.
Those who knew Carman described him as a medicine-riddled loner who was prone to aggressive outbursts.
“He lived like a pig,” one neighbour told The Australian.
“He was on a lot of meds, so when you spoke to him, he was always as dopey as f**k.”
Another resident of the complex said he often drove Carman to medical appointments at a nearby hospital.
‘Creepy’
His wife and daughter, however, found him “creepy” and told him not to have any more contact with them.
Carman had reportedly once shown him his collection of guns – a .22 calibre Hornet rifle and a shotgun – which he said were stored in a box along with ammunition, in a breach of gun storage laws.
Police took Carman’s guns from him around a year before he left for Thailand. His driver’s licence was also revoked around the same time.
“It was scary when he had guns,” one man told The Australian.
“He had lots of guns and all that, and I was a bit concerned in case he snapped. It was good that the police took them off him.”
The investigation is still ongoing.