The missing girlfriend of a British teenager murdered in Thailand has been found dead, local police have confirmed.
Officers discovered the body of 16-year-old Suraphltchaya Khamsa in a shallow grave in woodland around three miles from where her boyfriend Woramet Ben Taota was found on 7 May.
Her body was identified by her parents and grandparents from the braces on her teeth and the jewellery she had been wearing.
Police are continuing to interrogate convicted sex offender Chaiwat Boongarin, 44, who allegedly admitted killing Woramet but denies murdering Suraphltchaya, whose nickname was Ping Pong.
He is likely to face the death penalty if convicted of either or both killings.
Police Major General Mongkol Sampawapol, commander of Lampang Provincial Police, said: “Police received intelligence gathered from the search operation about the location of the body.
“The suspect who admitted to killing the boy denies killing the girl. He says that somebody else attacked her and buried her body in the woods.
“We suspect that the suspect is responsible for both murders. However, police will also continue investigating the deaths to check if anybody else was involved.
“The female victim’s body is now being sent to hospital for an autopsy to find traces of rape or sexual assault, because the suspect has a history of these crimes.
“There were signs of bruising on her face and it is expected that she was hit with a solid object until she died.”
Suraphltchaya and Woramet were last seen together riding a motorcycle on Saturday evening, 6 May, after visiting her grandfather earlier in the afternoon.
Woramet was found dead the next morning with severe head wounds. His body had been dumped in woodland but had not been buried. His phone and cash from his wallet were missing.
A police search for Suraphltchaya and another girl Yam, 16, who he was said to be seeing, followed as investigators tried to piece together what happened.
Chaiwat was later identified from CCTV riding a black Honda motorcycle around the area at the time of Woramet’s death. He later tried to hide the vehicle in a friend’s shed before changing to a new bike.
Police said Chaiwat admitted killing Woramet, saying his motive was revenge for a drug deal in which the youngster had stolen tablets from him.
However, Chaiwat continually refused to give any details about the disappearance of Woramet’s girlfriend, who was believed to have been with him when he died.
Earlier this week, Woramet’s devastated father Steven Graham, 60, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, confronted the alleged killer during a chaotic crime reconstruction on Wednesday.
He yelled, “Look me in the eye, you cowards” and “May you rot in hell” at the alleged murder while was being taken on a ‘perp walk’ or crime reconstruction, which will form evidence for the prosecution.
The businessman, who travelled from his home to Thailand said: “It was dreadful to see [Boongarin], just ghastly.”
