Thai court sentences Daniel Sancho to life in prison for murder

() – Daniel Sancho, son of famous Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, was found guilty of murdering a Colombian plastic surgeon at a Thai resort before dismembering the body, a senior police official told .

Daniel Sancho, a chef who recorded videos on YouTube, was sentenced this Thursday by a Thai court to life in prison for killing Edwin Arrieta Arteaga last year in a hotel room on Koh Phangan, an island off the coast of southern Thailand. Thailand.

At trial it was stated that Sancho, 30, killed Arrieta after a fight and put parts of his body in plastic bags before throwing them around the island.

Sancho faced the death penalty. But the Koh Samui island court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment thanks to his cooperation during the trial.

“The accused admitted that he had killed the deceased, but (said) that he had done so out of extreme anger,” Police Colonel Paisan Sangthep, deputy commander of the Surat Thani provincial police, who attended the hearing, told .

“The court found that his confession to the murder had been helpful during the trial. So the court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment,” Paisan said.

The court found Sancho guilty of all three charges: premeditated murder, concealment of a corpse and concealment of another person’s documents.

Sancho claimed he killed Arrieta in self-defense and admitted to hiding his body, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency. Sancho denied destroying Arrieta’s passport, which was never found.

Paisan said evidence showed Sancho had made preparations for the murder, suggesting it was premeditated.

“Before committing the murder, the defendant had purchased a knife, gloves, plastic bags, garbage bags, (a cleaning sponge), a butcher knife and a saw,” he said.

Before the murder, Sancho had booked a room in a hotel other than where the murder occurred, Paisan added.

Sancho’s parents, Silvia Bronchalo and Rodolfo Sancho, both actors, appeared in court, Paisan said. The parents of the deceased were not present in the room.

Rodolfo Sancho is one of the most recognizable faces on the small screen in Spain, as he starred in successful series such as “El Ministerio del Tiempo” and “Isabel”.

Daniel Sancho was arrested in August last year, shortly after the murder of Arrieta, a plastic surgeon from Montería, in northern Colombia.

Sancho, who came to court wearing a mask, “seemed to accept his fate, without any objection” after his conviction, Paisan said.

Sancho’s lawyer, Marcos García-Montes, told reporters that he would appeal the sentence. Under Thai law, you have the right to appeal to a higher court.