Autopsy confirms Thai teen in suitcase died of suffocation

Thai police have confirmed that 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla, whose body was found in a suitcase in the resort city of Pattaya in June, died from suffocation. The autopsy report, released this week, provides a definitive cause of death as authorities prepare to submit their case against Australian national Simon Peter Carman, who has been charged with murder.

The teenager, known as Cake, was discovered naked inside a large suitcase near a railway track on June 27, 2026. Police stated that CCTV footage from the early hours of June 25 showed Carman, 45, entering the Jomtien Condominium in Pattaya with Tunchanok. Later that evening, the footage allegedly captured Carman leaving the building with the suitcase, which he loaded onto a motorcycle and transported to the area near the tracks where it was later found.

Carman was arrested on June 26 at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport while reportedly preparing to board a flight to Perth. He has remained in custody and faces multiple charges, including murder, concealing and moving a body, and taking a minor for sexual purposes.

The autopsy found Tunchanok suffered a brain injury and died of suffocation, with no other...