The Edwin Arrieta murder case is once again on the agenda. At the beginning of August 2023, the son of actor Rodolfo Sancho, Daniel Sancho, confessed to the murder and dismemberment of the body of the Colombian surgeon on the Thai island of Ko Pha Ngan. Since then, the Spanish chef remains in provisional prison awaiting the trial, which will take place in the courts of Samui, in Thailand, and will last from April 9 to May 3.
With one month to go before the expected trial, the lawyer for Edwin Arrieta’s family, Juan Gonzalo Ospina, called a press conference in his office in Madrid to report, via videoconference from Thailand, on how the accused will face the accusation. trial next April.
The lawyer assured that the family of the Colombian surgeon trusts that “justice will be done” in the trial and although there is no private prosecution in Thailand, the representation of Edwin Arrieta’s family will join the request he makes. the Thai Prosecutor’s Office, which accuses the actor’s son of premeditated murder, destruction of other people’s documentation and concealment of the victim’s body. Some crimes for which Sancho could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
For her part, lawyer Beatriz Uriarte clarified from the Madrid office of Ospina Abogados that “a death sentence had not been carried out in Thailand for many years.” He also revealed that during the trial “53 pieces of evidence will be seen to prove that it was a premeditated murder” and that finally there will be the presence of more than 30 witnesses, among whom will be the surgeon’s parents, who will testify by videoconference due to their advanced age and the high cost that traveling from Colombia to Thailand would entail.
The lawyer also confirmed that her intention is to request the payment of compensation in court, pending quantification, despite the fact that “there is no money that will return a child to its parents.” Likewise, they will demand before the judge that the “deplorable situation” in which the parents and family of the deceased who lived thanks to their income be taken into consideration.
Regarding the order of the witnesses, he explained that the police officers in the case will testify first and then the other witnesses, such as those who found part of the mortal remains, the one who sold a knife to Sancho or the one who rented him a kayak. The accused will be the last to testify at the trial.
Regarding the sudden change in strategy of Daniel Sancho’s defense, the lawyers assured that they were within their rights, but they stressed that the initial confession in August will be decisive and fundamental for the trial.
On the other hand, the family’s Colombian lawyer, Adriana Behaine, confessed via videoconference at the press conference that “the parents and rest of Edwin Arrieta’s relatives still cry and will cry,” despite being calmer after the repatriation. from the surgeon’s ashes.