The trial against Daniel Sancho in Thailand began last Tuesday, April 9 and, as planned, the sessions were paralyzed from April 11 to the 17th because Songkran, the Buddhist new year, has been celebrated in Thailand. This Wednesday, therefore, the trial will resume in which Rodolfo Sancho’s son has once again pleaded not guilty for the death of Colombian Edwin Arrieta.
The prisoner, who has been in provisional detention since August 7, a total of 243 days, renounced his initial self-incrimination in the first sessions, which was the surest way to avoid the death penalty. The hearings are taking place behind closed doors on the island of Samui, half an hour by ferry from the island of Phangan, where the crime was committed. The trial will last until May 3 and has between 14 and 15 sessions planned.
After Daniel Sancho rejected the possibility of accepting the charges, the round of statements from prosecution witnesses began. Fifty witnesses are expected to testify, including police officers, experts and relatives of those involved.
The testimonies of Daniel Sancho and his father are expected from April 25, when the thirty people cited by the prosecutor have given their testimony. Later, the defense witnesses will also testify until May 3, and it is expected that on the last day the accused will make a new final argument. Once the sessions are over, the court will have between four and eight weeks to issue the sentence.
It is also worth noting that according to Thailand’s procedural code, the judge could end the trial at any time if he considers that he has sufficient information to resolve the case, although all scheduled sessions are expected to take place due to the crime being tried.
According to the imprisoned man, son of actor Rodolfo Sancho, the death of the Colombian surgeon was an involuntary homicide resulting from a strong fight after which he tried to revive the victim, without success. And the reason for said dispute was, as Sancho’s lawyer told this media, an attempted rape of Sancho by Arrieta.
Sancho acknowledged the dismemberment of Arrieta’s body before the judge, but not the premeditated murder and his defense will be based on this, on which the death of the Colombian doctor was a reckless homicide. The defense seeks to prove that Arrieta’s death was accidental and occurred during a fight, in addition to challenging part of Sancho’s initial statement, alleging that he was pressured to confess and other irregularities.
According to the chronology that local media considered after Arrieta’s death, Daniel Sancho arrived in Thailand on July 30, 2023 and on the island of Koh Phangan on August 1. The surgeon joined him a day later. And on the night of their meeting, a strong argument occurred between them that resulted in the Colombian dying in the hotel room they shared. After that, Sancho himself reported the following day, the night of Thursday, August 3, the disappearance of the Colombian at the Koh Phangan police station. He began being questioned as a suspect on Friday, August 4, and was formally detained the following day.
On Saturday the 6th, Sancho’s confession came to the police, apparently because the evidence pointing to him was too obvious. And on Sunday he was taken to various locations on the island of Koh Phangan to reconstruct the crime. Among them was the beach where he would have abandoned the kayak with which he disposed of parts of Arrieta’s body.
Another bizarre detail of the story is the public statement that Sancho made to Efe on Sunday night. As he himself told Telecinco, the police were treating him “very well” because he had been cooperative. “To give you an idea, I am having dinner at the best hotel on the island, which is an Anantara,” the detainee revealed.
