0:00 Who could have known that a neighborhood so quiet and peaceful could be home to such a horrific murder? Dasmarinas is a 0:07 lively growing community nestled just south of Manila in the Philippines. It's the kind of place where neighborhoods 0:12 are incredibly close-knit, where children play in narrow streets, and the smell of home-cooked meals drifts 0:18 through open windows. Das Marinyas is known for its blend of rural charm and urban sprawl. a city in transition where 0:26 traditional markets sit beside modern malls and new housing developments are slowly replacing rice fields. However, 0:33 beneath its warm family values, Das Marinas, much like any other place, has its shadows. And in today's case, we 0:40 won't be looking at a distant, dangerous city or dark alleyway. But instead, we'll be stepping inside a modest family 0:47 home in a seemingly safe neighborhood. A home where secrets were quite literally 0:52 buried. And this is where the story of Evelyn Seos 0:58 begins. Welcome, or welcome back to Coffee House Crime, folks. My name is Adrian, and today we're looking at two 1:04 cases out of Southeast Asia, both of which you've probably never heard of before. We'll first be looking at the 1:09 case of Evelyn Seos, which happened over in the Philippines over a period of around 4 years. Now, this one is a story 1:16 of a mother's love betrayed in the most horrific of ways. a cover up which lasted almost half a decade and left 1:22 everyone wondering why. Honestly, this is the sort of story that will leave you haunted. All right, let's jump straight 1:28 in with this one today, folks. Before we begin, please do subscribe if you like true crime, strange or chilling stories. 1:34 And now, with that said, please grab yourself a coffee and let's caffeinate while we investigate. 1:49 Refocusing on the city of Das Marinas, Evelyn was a 54 year old woman who had spent most of her life here. Through 1:56 tragedy, she unfortunately was a widowed single mother of two children named Joanna and John and had been raising 2:02 them on her own ever since her husband passed away when both of them were still very young. But despite her loss, Evelyn 2:09 kept going. Her friends saw her as kind, strict, deeply loving, and always worked 2:14 very hard to support her kids. Moving through their teenage years, it was quite evident that she had put them 2:20 through good schools, made sure that they had food on the table, and always provided a stable home. Of course, there 2:27 were many inevitable difficulties, especially as a single parent. But Evelyn, she really did try to make it 2:33 work. Now, despite the family not being rich, she did inherit a house in Singapore from her late husband. A house 2:40 that eventually became a symbol of escape and a place that she would occasionally visit whenever she needed a 2:46 break. But, of course, being a single parent, she rarely had that luxury. People who knew Evelyn described her as 2:52 resilient and the type of mother who would never give up on her children. Now, you could say that she was likely damaged in her own kind of way. Of 2:59 course, the death of her husband would have caused immeasurable pain, and she likely placed all of that extra love 3:04 onto her children. And unfortunately, this would cause problems between the three of them, especially with her 3:10 daughter, Joanna. You see, where Jon was more mature and reserved, Joanna was more the rebellious type of teenager. 3:16 Joanna was the kind of person who would party often, drink heavily, and sleep around. In fact, by the age of 16, she 3:23 was pregnant by her boyfriend, Ronald Ruby. And this left her mother Evelyn both furious and deeply embarrassed. You 3:29 see, she believed that her daughter deserved so much more in life before she became a mother. However, despite her 3:35 concerns, both Ronald and Joanna were rather determined to keep this baby. And when the baby was finally born, well, 3:41 Joanna and Ronald did not want to get married either. And this left Evelyn and her rather traditional beliefs 3:46 absolutely furious. There were clearly problems in the household, but Evelyn decided that she would still continue to 3:52 support her daughter no matter what. In response, she would often look after the baby, help raise the child, buy formula 3:59 and everything else required, and even pay the bills. But there is no denying that the emotional strain between the 4:04 two was not only growing, but becoming a big issue. Joanna was still quite the immature and reckless kid, even after 4:11 giving birth. And whenever Evelyn stepped in to try to help her, well, she wasn't having any of it. And this would 4:16 often lead into huge arguments between the two. Now, Evelyn, she still loved her daughter to immeasurable lengths, 4:22 and there was no question about that. However, what she didn't know is that things were slowly starting to unravel 4:29 beneath her feet. A darkness was growing inside her home, and soon enough, she 4:35 would vanish without a trace. August the 20th, 2016. What began 4:42 as a regular workday eventually bore some strange and unfamiliar news to Evelyn's circle. After one of her 4:48 friends had reached out to ask her if she would like to meet for coffee, Joanna responded for her mother by 4:54 saying that she had left for Singapore to quote relax and clear her head. As 4:59 the day progressed, this news was shared amongst the rest of her family and friends. And although it was rather 5:05 unexpected, nobody questioned it at first. Although money was tight, Evelyn did have the means to go. I mean, she 5:11 owned a house there already and had even talked about needing some time away from the family. Of course, the main reason 5:18 behind this was with what was going on with her daughter Joanna. It wasn't news to anyone that the relationship between 5:24 them was strained, and Evelyn had been spending most of her time juggling between work and also looking after her 5:30 granddaughter. You see, in order to save money, Joanna still lived at home with her mother, the baby, and Ronald. And 5:36 being the rather reckless and carefree person that she was, she would sometimes leave the property in the evenings, 5:42 which in turn would leave her baby with her mother. It is no surprise that Evelyn felt quite hard done by with 5:48 this. She had just spent the last 20 years raising her children as a single mother. And now when it was finally time 5:55 for her to have her own life, well, it kind of felt like her daughter was just making her repeat the entire cycle all 6:02 over again. And so, who was anyone to judge Evelyn for needing some time away to find herself again? But as the days 6:09 turned into weeks, something began to feel off. And when one month became two, her friends concluded that this was 6:15 wildly out of character. Even stranger, although Evelyn was active on Facebook and occasionally posted updates on her 6:22 timeline, she seemed to refuse all other forms of communication. There were no phone calls, no video chats, no selfies 6:30 from the airport or any updates from Singapore, which is odd because historically she would always share this 6:36 with friends. It was around this time that 6:42 her friends noticed that her posts were short, impersonal, and out of character. Not only was she not using emojis 6:49 anymore, but her whole kind of way of interacting seemed to be extremely stiff and not the usual Evelyn. And whenever 6:56 her family members tried to call her, well, she wouldn't pick up the phone. She would only reply to text messages, 7:02 and even that was rare. As the weeks slowly turned into months, a lot of her family and friends became suspicious. 7:08 And even the ones who were actually in Singapore, whenever they asked Evelyn if they could meet up, she would either say 7:13 that she was busy, out of town, or just sick. And naturally, many people began to wonder, how could a mother who cared 7:20 about her children so much just suddenly disappear and barely message them? Well, unfortunately, these questions would 7:27 remain unanswered for a very long period of time, and everyone would just have to sit in that uncomfortability. For two 7:33 whole years, Evelyn remained invisible. And this experience was the most painful for her son, John, who had no idea what 7:41 was going on with his mother. But in the year 2018, he had finally had enough. And after moving to another city for 7:48 work, he decided that he could no longer ignore the feeling in his gut. And that is when he filed a missing person's 7:54 report. But unfortunately, the police shrugged him off. They pointed out that not only was her Facebook account 8:01 active, but her passport and all of her clothes seemed to be missing, too. And so maybe Evelyn just wanted space. After 8:08 all, adults are allowed to disappear, even if it feels unorthodox. Of course, 8:13 this might have been an excuse for people outside of the family. But John, he knew that something was wrong and 8:19 tragically he would have to sit in this anxiety for several 8:25 years. Fast forward to July of 2020, and it had now been almost 4 years since 8:30 Evelyn had allegedly left for Singapore. The pain and anxiety felt by her friends and her family had now shifted into a 8:37 gentle grief that would never leave them. With June marking the beginning of the rainy season in the Philippines, Jon 8:44 returned to the family home to begin some new renovations. You see, over time, the house had fallen into 8:50 disrepair and now needed some refurbishment to keep his sister and niece dry. Still living there with her 8:56 child, Jon thought it was finally time to freshen things up, especially the kitchen, which seemed to have not been 9:02 touched for years. And so with that in mind, he hired a construction crew to renovate the area, hoping that his 9:08 mother would be happy to see her newly finished kitchen whenever she decided to come back from Singapore. So the 9:15 construction began as planned, but then all of a sudden, something happened. What would ultimately begin as a rather 9:21 minor inconvenience would soon turn into the most morbid of problems. It was shortly after construction started 9:27 taking place that crew members reported a foul smell coming from the kitchen. Now, at first it was quite faint and 9:34 smelled like rotting food or sewage. Many believed that it could possibly be the septic tank which is found 9:39 underneath the kitchen floor. Nothing unusual. And that is when they started digging. As they slowly started to make 9:46 their way down towards the septic tank, they found something rather ominous. It was shortly after breaking through the 9:52 first layer of concrete that they found Evelyn's passport and ID. Now, John was stunned by the discovery. Why was his 9:59 mother's documents found underneath the kitchen floor? And if this included her passport, then how did she fly to 10:05 Singapore? As a result, he rushed to the police station and then demanded an investigation. And what they found was 10:11 quite terrifying. Evelyn had never left the country. Not in 2016 and not any 10:17 year after. So, what did this mean and where would they find her? Investigators 10:22 arrived at the home the following morning and by now the smell had definitely worsened. The morbid thing on 10:29 everyone's mind was what they may find beneath. Of course, it is true that even in death, a human wants you to know 10:36 exactly where they are. Detectives began to break through the floor where they would then find a layer of cracked 10:42 cement with the smell growing even worse from those cracks. When they finally got beneath the cement, they caught sight of 10:49 the property's septic tank. And after breaking into that tank, they found a body curled up, decomposed, and 10:56 unrecognizable. It was in that moment that Jon realized that the remaining parts of his family, including his 11:02 sister's baby, had all been living above a corpse for all these years. And although forensic analysis was required 11:09 to determine who the body belonged to, everyone knew precisely who it would be. 11:14 And soon enough, DNA testing confirmed what Jon had feared all along. It was his mother, Evelyn. The autopsy was 11:21 quite grizzly. It appeared that Evelyn had suffered multiple skull fractures, which were all determined to be likely 11:28 caused from a hammer. She had also been stabbed twice in the neck, five times in the chest, and had a very deep gash 11:35 across her right arm. It was due to this brutality that the forensic team concluded that it looked like a crime of 11:41 passion and hatred, a killing filled with rage. But who would want to murder 11:46 Evelyn? And why with so much anger and 11:51 violence? With Evelyn being found beneath the kitchen floor, suspicion immediately turned to all of those 11:56 living inside the property at the time. That of course being Joanna and her boyfriend Ronald. But of course, these 12:02 allegations were extremely heavy. I mean, how could a daughter decide to murder her mother like that? And what 12:10 about all the active Facebook posts coming from Evelyn's profile? Well, as the investigators began to look deeper 12:15 into this case, they would realize there was a huge backstory and a rather elaborate cover up. When initially 12:22 questioned, both of them denied having anything to do with Evelyn's death. However, this was a story that they 12:28 could not hold on to for long. Unsurprisingly, the police pushed hard for a confession because quite simply, 12:33 there was no way that Joanna would not know where her mother was, and she had no idea what to say in replacement. 12:40 Eventually, she cracked right in front of the officers. a full-fledged confession behind waves of tears and 12:45 apologies. And for the next hour, detectives would learn and hear about Joanna's most evil moments. As the 12:52 months of heated arguments and troubling threats turned into years, the relationship between Evelyn and Joanna 12:58 had started to sour. It is obvious that Evelyn had always loved her daughter and that she would never waver on that. But 13:05 it's also clear that she was growing increasingly frustrated with Joanna's behavior. Not only had she turned into 13:11 the rebellious teenager that she became, but her thoughtless actions would end in her becoming pregnant, too. And to 13:18 compound to this problem, her marriageless birth seemed to oppose Evelyn's more traditional beliefs. From 13:24 that point onwards, a passive war would take place within the family home. Evelyn was nurturing, caring, and 13:30 thoughtful, but she was stubbornly traditional, too. While, on the other hand, Joanna was thoughtless, selfish, 13:36 and had no idea what she was doing. Although the two lived together, they were constantly bickering. And while 13:42 Evelyn could handle this emotional strain, the more selfish and stupid of the two couldn't. And so, it was in that 13:49 moment of desperation and anger that Joanna and Ronald began to hatch a 13:55 plan. It was on August the 20th, 2016 that Joanna told her mother that she had 14:01 a surprise for her in the basement. And Evelyn, being kind, trusting, and hopeful, followed her daughter 14:07 downstairs. However, lurking in the shadows was Ronald, waiting for what would be Evelyn's final moments. After 14:14 making her way downstairs, Evelyn was then struck from behind multiple times with the hammer. She collapsed in 14:20 response, but at the time was still alive. It was in that moment that Ronald then told Joanna to finish the job 14:26 herself. He asked her to grab a knife, and only a few seconds later, Joanna 14:31 stabbed her own mother to death, striking her repeatedly until she moved no more. A few minutes later, they 14:38 dragged Evelyn's body upstairs, opened up the lid to the septic tank, and then dumped her inside. Ronald then rushed 14:45 out of the property to buy cement, gravel, and sand from a nearby hardware store. And once he returned, they sealed 14:51 that tank shut. However, they would make one fatal mistake here, and that is that neither of them decided to install a gas 14:57 release vent. Throughout the next 2 years, gases from Evelyn's body would slowly build up, cracking the kitchen 15:03 floor beneath them over and over again. It's kind of morbid to think about, but in a way, Evelyn became the home's ghost 15:10 because that kitchen floor would crack several times, and each time Ronald had to patch that floor back up, completely 15:17 unaware that eventually it would end them. Funnily enough, but in hindsight, several of the neighbors had even seen 15:23 Ronald mixing cement over those years, with some of them even reporting that they could smell a rather bad odor 15:29 coming from the property. Of course, now they know where the smell was coming from, but at the time, they were 15:34 completely unaware. Meanwhile, Joanna pretended to be her mother online, posting fake status updates and 15:40 commenting on friends posts as if she was still there but in Singapore. She would even write fake birthday messages 15:46 to herself from Evelyn's account merely to keep up the illusion. And to make matters even worse, Joanna acted like 15:53 the picture perfect daughter on social media, posting morning prayers and gratitude messages, all while her own 16:00 mother was rotting beneath her feet. After her confession, both Janna and Ronald were charged with the murder of 16:06 Evelyn Seos. Now, understandably, this case shocked the nation for quite obvious reasons. I mean, sheer morbidity 16:13 aside, whenever a teenager decides to murder her parent, it will always make national news. As far as we know, both 16:20 of them are now being held in a highsecurity prison somewhere in the Philippines. But interestingly enough, 16:25 we don't actually know the status of their case or how long they are being held for, which personally I find quite 16:31 frustrating because I've wanted to cover this case for around 2 years now. But for whatever reason, Ronald's and 16:37 Joanna's trials are yet to be made public. Now, there is a small possibility that both of their trials 16:43 are yet to happen, but with their arrests taking place more than 4 years ago, I don't see that being likely. This 16:49 case was hard to stomach for obvious reasons. Evelyn was loving, caring, and 16:54 not afraid to hold her traditional values. But she would ultimately lose her life at the hands of someone she 17:00 loved the most. All because of resentment, pride, and love that was ultimately taken for granted. It reminds 17:07 us that evil does not always wear a mask. Sometimes it lives right in the 17:12 same house. It borrows your phone, eats your food, smiles at the neighbors, and then hides a body under the floor. The 17:19 nature of this case is so horrifying when you think about it, and I have no idea how either of them could have lived 17:25 there, knowing that there was a body right beneath their feet. What is even worse is that baby will now grow up 17:31 without a mother, father, or grandmother. I often think about this in my stories, but there really are no 17:36 winners here, only losers. We're now leaving the Philippines to travel to Thailand for our next case, to look at a 17:42 horrible story that happened in 2021. It's safe to say that 2021 was a very 17:47 unusual year for all of us with thanks to a certain pandemic. We all lost touch of our day-to-day lives and had to 17:54 follow some rather strange processes. This was very much the case for a woman named Nicole Suve Viceov who at the time 18:01 was practicing a new tourist program in Phuket, Thailand. And what would happen next was truly horrific. With that said, 18:09 let me start from the beginning. This is the case of Nicole Sane Viceov. Case 2 18:23 Welcome to Thailand, folks. Tucked away in the heart of Southeast Asia lies a land of golden temples, ancient legends, 18:30 and eclectic street markets. Imagine a place where saffron robed monks walk quietly through bustling cities at dawn, 18:37 where the scent of sizzling street food floats through alleyways, and where jungle covered mountains meet sugar 18:43 white beaches. Thailand is not just a country. It's an experience, a colorful 18:48 tapestry of tradition, adventure, and heart stirring beauty, and a place that I am proud to have visited numerous 18:55 times before. But for those of you who have watched my videos for a couple of years now, you will know how ropey 19:01 Thailand's judicial system can be. Although it's a predominantly Buddhist country, making it a safe place to be, 19:06 Thailand's economy is not only overly dependent on tourism, but also has a relatively corrupt police force. So, 19:14 while it's unlikely that you will ever run into trouble here, just be aware that if [ __ ] does hit the fan, it really 19:20 does hit it hard. Thailand's corruption is deeply rooted in the police force's ranks and operations, where bribes, 19:26 abuse of power, and selective law enforcement are widely reported. Promotions within the police force are 19:32 frequently tied to money or connections rather than merit. And as for the wealthy or influential, well, it is 19:39 reported that they can quite literally get away with murder. From roadside shakeddowns targeting tourists to the 19:46 mishandling of high-profile cases, public trust in the system remains at an all-time low. And despite periodic 19:53 crackdowns and reforms, corruption remains a persistent shadow over the country. And change, many believe, is 20:00 long overdue. Today, we're traveling to the western coast of Phuket, where turquoise waters lapping against golden 20:06 shores, are merely just a common experience. Phuket is one of Thailand's most traveled hot spots. Imagine tuk tuk 20:13 zipping past beach bars, waterfalls, hillside temples, and sunsets that set 20:19 the sky ablaze. That is the sort of environment that Phuket is well known for. But with parties, corruption, and 20:25 even violence sometimes occurring here, it is just another city with a prominent dark underbelly. And sadly, this story 20:33 does nothing but contribute to that morbid theory. 20:38 It was on July the 3rd, 2021 that a Swiss woman named Nicole Sane Vice was 20:44 exploring the Witchard area of Phuket. At 11:33 a.m., a surveillance camera captured her walking alone near Aion 20:51 Beach. It is worth saying here that news reports say it was Aon's main beach, but they are actually wrong. Here is the 20:58 surveillance camera that captured Nicole's movements before she wandered up the Aon waterfall. And this is the 21:03 path that she is likely to have taken to get there. Nicole fell silent after that, leaving her children and husband, 21:09 who were all half the world away, gripped with anxiety and fear. And as the hours turned into days, they knew 21:16 that something terrible must have happened. What precisely occurred or why she wasn't replying to her messages or 21:22 phone calls at the time was quite honestly anybody's guess. But for those back home waiting for her, her silence 21:28 was absolutely agonizing. So, who was Nicole and why was she alone in Thailand? 21:35 Living in Germany with her husband and children, Nicole was now 57 years old and was a deputy protocol chief at the 21:41 Federal Assembly of Switzerland in Germany. Of course, this means that she was a political big shot and as part of 21:48 the Federal Council, she helped lead the Federal Administration of Switzerland, which often took her across the globe. 21:54 As we know, the pandemic severely disrupted the world through 2021, leading to all sorts of weird protocols 22:01 and processes. And of course, Nicole would find herself caught up in one of them. At the time, almost nobody was 22:07 allowed to travel between countries. And as you may already know, this was a massive problem for Thailand. I've said 22:14 this before in previous videos, but Thailand massively depends on tourism. In fact, in 2019 alone, Bangkok was 22:22 officially ranked to be the most visited city globally with a staggering 22.8 22:27 million visitors that year. Going one step further, Phuket was ranked 14th internationally with a total of 9.9 22:35 million visitors that year, which truly is astronomical for such a small place. 22:40 However, COVID 19 was sure to decimate the industry, wiping out about 90 22:45 billion US from the economy in the year 2020 alone. And these stats right here 22:50 show how badly the pandemic affected their numbers. To combat this problem, the country introduced a new scheme 22:57 called the Phuket Sandbox Program, aiming to attract tourists into the country with a few strings attached. No 23:03 arrivals needed to be quarantined, but the caveat was that they could not travel to the mainland within 14 days of 23:10 arrival. It is unclear if Nicole was triing this for work or purely was a tourist, but what we do know is that she 23:17 was part of this program and landed in Phuket on July the 13th, 2021. The next 23:23 two weeks were glorious for her where she spent most of her time soaking up the sun on sandy beaches, checking out 23:29 the local temples and eating delicious food at the local markets. Those who interacted with Nicole described her as 23:36 calm and relaxed and despite being half the world away from home and in the middle of co appeared to be quite 23:45 content. Except almost 3 weeks after arriving, Nicole suddenly disappeared. 23:51 Her family were confident that something was up as soon as she stopped responding to messages. And when she failed to call 23:57 them at the time that she promised she would, they knew that this situation was highly unusual for her. Clearly worried 24:03 that something was wrong, they called the Thai police to officially report Nicole is missing. And given the nature 24:08 of the case, they responded quite quickly. Stop at the hotel would soon confirm that not only was she not in her 24:14 room, but she hadn't been seen all day either. Not only that, but things like her mobile phone, wallet, and keys were 24:20 all missing, too. But with everything else left behind, like her suitcase, clothes, and toiletries, it did appear 24:26 that Nicole had plans to return to the hotel at some stage. So, with that in 24:31 mind, where was she? That is when officers investigating her disappearance found this surveillance footage, 24:37 confirming that Nicole was last seen alive and well at 11:33 a.m. that morning. She seemed to be traveling 24:43 along Aon Kala road towards Aon waterfall or KCAD viewpoint. However, 24:49 after walking past the surveillance camera, Nicole suddenly disappeared. And that is not the only thing detectives 24:56 would find because after reviewing other surveillance cameras in the area, they found an image of this man driving 25:02 around the forest. Officials were not sure who he was or what he was doing. But given the time that he was seen, 25:09 they were curious to know if he had seen or had any contact with Nicole. As the hours turned into days, word got around 25:16 town. Nobody had seen or heard from her, and anxiety soon turned into quiet 25:21 panic. It was at that stage that residents and tourists alike all joined in on police search efforts, scouring 25:28 the nearby rivers, streets, and jungles for any sign of Nicole. But sadly, despite their best intentions, no sign 25:35 of her was ever found. As they approached the 1 week mark, the enthusiasm to find her began to fade. 25:41 But then all of a sudden, on Thursday the 8th of July, 2021, 5 days after her 25:47 disappearance, something was found. It was on this morning that an island resident walking through the forest came 25:53 across a horrific discovery. There, lying in the water and among the rocks, she found a partially clad body lying 26:00 face down. Taking a closer look, the resident noticed that the body was of another female. Not only that, but she 26:07 appeared to be mostly naked and half covered by a black plastic sheet. With that in mind, she wasted no further time 26:14 and called the authorities immediately. Officers arrived at the scene only a few minutes later where they secured it to 26:19 make sure that nobody tampered with the evidence. And sadly, they would also confirm that the body did in fact look 26:26 like Nicole. Several items of clothing found at the crime scene would match that seen in surveillance footage. And 26:33 talking about clothes, they would also find one of her trainers hanging in a tree nearby. Forensics soon determined 26:38 that judging by the color and bloating of the body, this person had likely died around 3 days prior. Not only that, but 26:46 they could tell quite visibly that she had not died of natural causes. And to 26:51 add to these haunting details, another autopsy report would soon confirm that she had likely died from drowning. This 26:58 was a massive blow for Nicole's family and friends, and the residents were ashamed to hear that something so 27:04 barbaric had happened in their own backyard. Murder does tend to be rare here, especially against a tourist, and 27:11 as you can imagine, this would be sure to affect Thailand's holiday industry, which always sees a notable drop in 27:17 tourism whenever one is murdered. And so in response, the prime minister 27:23 urged all agencies to expedite their investigation and find the person responsible. Now, the authorities did 27:29 have a body, but what they didn't have was a motive or a suspect. And with that said, many people began to wonder if 27:36 maybe this could happen again. But thankfully, the officers were very quick to arrest a suspect. In fact, they had 27:42 the eye on one of them all along. So, do you remember the man seen on the moped 27:47 who was in this surveillance footage? Well, it turns out that he was not so innocent after all. Officers noticed 27:54 that this man had driven to the scene shortly before Nicole's arrival before then fleeing around 3 hours later. 28:01 Detectives soon learned that the man in question went by the name of Tiowat Thotip, a resident who lived in the 28:07 northern district of the island. Now, finding him was actually quite easy. They had his face, the model and color 28:13 of his moped, and even the license plate. But the real detective work here came from establishing him as a 28:19 potential suspect, which required careful watching and recollection of all surveillance cameras in the area. 28:26 Eventually, they would find his address through his license plate. And when they knocked on his front door to question 28:32 him, well, they immediately noticed several cuts and bruises across his body. No surprise, this was incredibly 28:39 suspicious for a man to be covered in bruises and cuts only days after a woman's disappearance. It was very 28:46 alarming. And so they decided to take him down to the station for some questioning. And well, it didn't take 28:52 long for him to break down and confess. Towatt Thotip, also known as Bangri, was 28:58 28 years old and unemployed at the time. Bangri was desperately trying to make ends meet because the pandemic had sadly 29:05 ruined his previous job. Formerly a technician in the area, he would then move on into kickboxing in front of the 29:11 local tourists. But as you know now, there were none. It was on July the 3rd, 29:17 2021 that Bangri visited the Aon waterfall to search for exotic flowers 29:22 and plants that he could then sell at a market, but unfortunately no dice. After 29:28 checking an old vantage point that had previously worked for him, no flowers remained. It was while he was walking 29:34 down from that area that he then came across Nicole, who at the time was busily footbathing in a stream. Bangry 29:41 was rather quick to admit that the sight of Nicole had instantly turned him on. And without giving it any thought or 29:47 hesitation, he decided to assault her. That is when he silently approached her from behind before then placing her into 29:53 a chokeold. But Nicole, she was not ready to go down without a fight, leading to the two having quite the 30:00 scuffle. As a result, Bangry was covered in bruises and cuts. But unfortunately, 30:05 he was too strong for her, and as soon as he had a good holding of the back of Nicole's head, he submerged her 30:11 underwater. For three gruelling minutes, Bangry watched her life fade away. He then dragged her to the edge of the 30:17 water and removed her clothes. After taking a glance at Nicole's face, it became quite obvious that she was now 30:24 dead. This deflating his sexual appetite. Abandoning his plans and quite clearly wanting to get out of the area, 30:30 he then covered her body with a black plastic sheet, which he found nearby, and then threw her clothes into the 30:35 undergrowth. But despite already disrespecting Nicole in the most gruesome of ways, he would only leave 30:41 her after robbing her body, too, to which he found a grand total of 300 Bart, the equivalent of 30:48 $9. Bangri fled the scene. His escape briefly captured on a nearby surveillance camera. Later that day, he 30:55 spent the $9 he robbed from Nicole on orange juice and drugs before then crashing at home as if nothing had 31:01 happened. However, the mask couldn't last long. And within days, he was arrested and charged with murder, 31:07 attempted sexual assault, and indecent assault. No surprise, his confession sent shock waves through the community. 31:14 The idea that someone could take a life for a twisted impulse and less than $10 was almost too gruesome to believe. As 31:21 is typically the case for most murders that happen in Thailand, the suspect was forced to reenact his movements and 31:28 actions on the day of the murder, where both the police and the press gawkked at him for several hours. It was only after 31:34 his confession that Bangri changed his story. He claimed that he only meant to rob Nicole and not kill her. But when 31:41 asked why her clothes had been removed, he couldn't offer an answer, just silence. The court wasn't buying it, and 31:48 ultimately he was found guilty of murder, where the judge then handed down the ultimate sentence to him, that being 31:54 the death sentence. However, in a surprising turn, that sentence was later commuted to life in prison. As for 32:00 Nicole's family, the Ministry of Tourism offered them compensation of 1 million BART, which is the equivalent of roughly 32:07 $30,000, which quite frankly is an absolute insult. The tourism minister also pushed for tighter security 32:14 measures under the island's new sandbox program, and officials agreed to ramp up surveillance, installing more 32:20 surveillance cameras at key tourist hotspots and employing more security personnel at each location. But the 32:26 minister did not stop there and also planned to conduct a provincewide review of all tourist attractions. Not only 32:33 that, but permanent closure was on the table for those sites deemed unpopular or too isolated. In short, this was a 32:40 very aggressive way for the government to try to increase safety on the island. On August the 6th, 2021, a vigil 32:49 was held for Nicole on one of the nearby beaches. A framed photo of her was decorated with floral wreaths and 32:55 surrounded by candles while locals and hotel staff alike gathered to pay their respects. The horrible thing about this 33:02 story is that Nicole's murder was not merely just a brutal crime. It was a tragic reminder that even paradise can 33:09 become a gruesome nightmare. Quite understandably, her death absolutely rattled Thailand and it sparked overdue 33:16 conversations about tourist safety. And while no sentence can ever bring her back, her death now stands as a quiet 33:23 plea for reform and awareness. With that said, folks, I think I'll end this video here. With stories like this, I do often 33:29 wonder what is actually going on in people's heads. For example, did Ronald and Joanna ever think about the 33:34 consequences of what they were doing? And how could they live with Evelyn right beneath their feet? Similarly, 33:41 what the [ __ ] was Bangry thinking? I mean, to just murder someone for a few minutes of unconenting pleasure is just 33:47 absolutely bewildering. Anyway, folks, as always, I'd love to know what you think about these stories. So, please do 33:53 share your thoughts in the comments section down below. And on that note, I think I'm going to wrap this video up here today. And just a heads up, but 33:58 I've got a lot of things happening on my Instagram and my Facebook. So, please do follow me there. Anyway, that's me done 34:04 for today. Once again, thank you so much for being here. I really do appreciate it. And until I see you again, please do 34:10 make sure to look after yourselves and each other. Thank you and goodbye.