Pattaya suitcase murder victim suffocated, police say

A 17-year-old Thai girl whose body was found in a suitcase in Pattaya in June died of suffocation, police said Wednesday.

An Australian man, 45-year-old Simon Peter Carman, was charged with murder after the body was found near a railway track. Pattaya police chief Anek Srathongyoo said police had received autopsy reports and would add the cause of death to their investigation file.

Anek said police hoped to submit the case to state prosecutors by Friday. Carman remains in custody after being arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on June 26 as he prepared to board a flight to Australia.

Police said CCTV footage showed Carman entering a condominium in Pattaya with the girl in the early hours of June 25 and leaving that evening carrying a large black suitcase. Police said he loaded the suitcase onto a motorcycle and rode to a grassy area near a railway line, where it was found early on June 27 with the victim's body inside.