Australian arrested in Thailand after teen's body found

An Australian man has been arrested in Thailand on suspicion of murder after the body of a 17-year-old girl was discovered inside a suitcase near the resort city of Pattaya. Simon Carman, 45, was detained by immigration officials at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport on the evening of Friday, June 26, as he attempted to board a flight to Perth, Australia.

The victim, identified as Tunchanok Donhomla, was reported missing by friends on Friday afternoon after she failed to return home. Investigators say security camera footage shows Carman picking up the teenager from the Beach Road area of Pattaya in the early hours of Thursday, June 25, and entering a hotel room with her. Hours later, separate footage shows him leaving the same building with a large black suitcase, which he loaded onto a motorbike and rode away.

The girl's body was later found inside the suitcase, approximately 4.2 kilometers from the hotel, near a railway line. Police said she had suffered a severe assault, with heavy bruising to her face.

Police Colonel Anek Sarathongyu, superintendent of the Pattaya City Police Station, said Carman initially faced a charge of taking a minor for the purpose of...