Thai police on Thursday charged a woman in her 30s accused of a series of cyanide poisoning murders after the death toll reached 13. This young woman, wife of a police officer, was arrested Tuesday in Bangkok for these murders which took place over several years. Officers are now investigating at least 13 suspicious deaths dating back to 2020, Deputy National Police Chief Surachate Hakparn said Thursday.
Money was believed to be the motive for the murders, according to police, who also said the young woman – who is four months pregnant – had already been diagnosed with psychiatric problems. “She was charged with premeditated murder,” he told reporters in Bangkok. On Wednesday, the suspect was seen being taken into custody at a Bangkok police station.
The number of victims not communicated
Police have not said how many murders she is charged with, but say they deny all allegations against her. Officers found a substance in the woman’s home that authorities believe to be cyanide, and they suspect she poisoned the victims’ food and drink. “The autopsy revealed the presence of cyanide in the bodies,” Surachate Hakparn told reporters. “This means that the victims absorbed the poison through their mouths.”
Following routine health checks in prison, the prison service confirmed on Thursday that the suspect was four months pregnant and was suffering from stress, visual disturbances and headaches. Police initially suspected the woman of murdering a friend in Ratchaburi province, west of Bangkok, about two weeks ago. It was after questioning her that the investigators established a link with other cases of cyanide poisoning in the provinces of Kanchanaburi (west) and Nakhon Pathom, near Bangkok.