This Tuesday the trial begins in Thailand against Daniel Sancho, accused of premeditatedly murdering and dismembering Colombian doctor Edwin Arrieta. The court could sentence the son of actor Rodolfo Sancho and grandson of Sancho Gracia (the popular Curro Jiménez) to the death penalty, as contemplated in the Thai Penal Code. The hearing is expected to last approximately a month, as around fifty witnesses will testify.
Sancho’s defense will try to convince the magistrates that it was an accidental death in self-defense in order to reduce the sentence to a maximum of 8 years in prison. It is a crime full of uncertainties and the investigation by the Thai police is full of irregularities, a fact that Sancho’s lawyers will take advantage of to try to discredit the entire investigation. The trial that has aroused great media attention.
Daniel Sancho says that he is convinced that he will be acquitted because he assures that he acted in self-defense. Now, the fact that he decided to dismember the body of the victim, Edwin Arrieta, does not make things easier.
Sancho will testify at the end of the trial, before the fifty witnesses who have been summoned will do so. Among them, his father, Rodolfo Sancho, in person. Arrieta’s parents will also appear, but in this case it will be via videoconference from Colombia.
The trial takes place in the Provincial Court of Koh Samui, a court that is not at all accustomed to receiving the large number of journalists who are accredited with special permission from the Thai embassy in Madrid and unusual coverage.
The rules to access the room are strict, in accordance with Buddhist culture: everyone has to go barefoot and dressed in long pants with their shoulders covered. You must be seated well, with your hands on top of your legs, which cannot be crossed. You cannot record images, audio or take notes. Therefore, you must have a fine ear and a good memory.
