Police say the suspect was stopped at Bangkok’s main airport after surveillance video led investigators from a Pattaya hotel to railway tracks.
PATTAYA, THAILAND — Thai police arrested an Australian man Friday after the body of a 17-year-old Thai girl was found stuffed inside a suitcase near railway tracks in the beach resort city of Pattaya.
The case has drawn attention in Thailand and Australia because police say the suspect was detained at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport while trying to leave the country. Investigators have identified the girl as Tunchanok Donhomla and the suspect as Simon Carman, an Australian man reported by authorities and media as being in his mid-40s. Police said the investigation is focused on the girl’s death, how her body was moved and what happened inside a Pattaya condominium room.
Police said the girl was last traced to a condominium on Jomtien Second Road in the early hours of Thursday. Security video reviewed by investigators showed her entering the building at about 3:34 a.m. with an Australian man, according to police accounts. The two went to a room on the 15th floor, and police said the girl was not seen leaving the building. Later that night, at about 9:34 p.m., cameras showed the man leaving with a black suitcase, loading it onto a red Yamaha Aerox motorcycle and riding toward Sukhumvit Road and railway tracks. Police Colonel Anek Sarathongyu, superintendent of Pattaya City Police Station, said investigators believe the suspect killed her, while noting that he denied killing her.
The missing-person report came after Tunchanok’s friends lost contact with her and became worried, police said. Officers searched the condominium room and said they found signs of a struggle but did not find the girl or the Australian man there. Police later located Carman at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday evening, after Pattaya officers alerted immigration authorities. Police said he had scratches on his neck and arms that appeared consistent with fingernail marks. During questioning, Carman denied involvement and said the girl left the room while he was asleep. Investigators said they did not accept that account. Police then traced the motorcycle route shown on camera and found a black 26-inch suitcase in grass beside railway tracks about 4.2 kilometers from the condominium.
Rescue workers and forensic officers opened the suitcase late Friday and found the body of a young woman inside, police said. Investigators said the body had severe facial injuries and signs of a violent assault. Police said tattoos and physical features matched the missing 17-year-old, while formal identification and a full medical finding were still being handled through forensic procedures. The body was sent to the Police General Hospital’s Institute of Forensic Medicine to determine the exact cause of death. Police said the suitcase was found near railway tracks behind the Pattaya Floating Market area, about a short drive from the place where the girl had last been seen. Officials have not publicly released a full timeline of what they believe happened inside the room.
Pattaya, on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast, is one of the country’s best-known tourist cities and has a large nightlife district as well as beach hotels, condominiums and markets. Police allege Carman met or picked up Tunchanok from the Beach Road area before the two went to the condominium. The case is being handled by Pattaya police with help from immigration officers and forensic teams. Australian officials said consular help is being provided to an Australian detained in Thailand, but they did not give more details because of privacy rules. Police have not said whether Carman has a lawyer or whether any plea has been entered in court.
The Pattaya Provincial Court approved an arrest warrant on a charge tied to removing a minor under 18 from the custody of a parent or guardian for indecent purposes, according to Thai police accounts. Other reports, citing police, said Carman also faces or is being investigated for charges that may include murder and concealing, moving or destroying a body to hide a death or cause of death. Anek said police were gathering forensic results and other evidence. Lieutenant Colonel Kanoknun Sooksri, the investigator in charge of the case, said Carman denied the allegations. The next key steps include the postmortem findings, formal charging decisions and further review of security footage from the condominium, roadways and airport.
Police described the investigation as heavily based on video records from Pattaya and Bangkok. The footage showed the girl entering the building, the man leaving with a suitcase, and the motorcycle moving near the railway line before returning without the luggage, investigators said. Officers also said the suspect disappeared from camera view for several minutes near the area where the suitcase was later found. After his airport detention, Carman was taken back toward Pattaya for questioning. Video recorded after the arrest showed him being asked about scratches on his neck. He responded that he thought it was from a spider. Police said the marks and the condition of the room would be compared with forensic findings.
Carman remained in Thai custody Saturday as police awaited forensic results and prepared more evidence for prosecutors. The next public milestone is expected to be the medical examiner’s finding on the cause and timing of Tunchanok’s death.
Author note: Last updated June 27, 2026.