BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai court on Thursday convicted Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a member of a famous Spanish acting family, of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison in a gruesome case involving the dismemberment of the victim.
The Koh Samui provincial court initially handed down a death sentence to Sancho but commuted it to life imprisonment because of his cooperation during the trial, said Police Col. Paisan Sangthep, deputy commander of Surat Thani provincial police, who attended the hearing.
Sancho, a 30-year-old chef with a YouTube channel, had been charged with the murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a 44-year-old Colombian plastic surgeon, while they were both on holiday on the Thai resort island of Koh Phangan in August last year.
The island is famous for its monthly “Full Moon” beach parties, which attract travelers from all over the world for all-night raves.
The convicted man is the son of Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre, a renowned Spanish actor, and Silvia Bronchalo, who also worked in the cinema. Both parents are 49 years old and attended Thursday’s hearing.
The court also ordered Sancho to pay more than 4.2 million baht ($125,000) in compensation to the victim’s family. Lawyers representing the family in the trial had asked for 30 million baht ($882,000), Spanish news agency EFE reported.
EFE also quoted Sancho’s father, Rodolfo, who told the media after the verdict that he intended to “keep fighting, keep fighting.”
At his trial on the island of Samui, Daniel Sancho claimed he fought with Arrieta over alleged attempts to sexually assault her. He said Arrieta fell during the fight and hit his head on a bathtub, losing consciousness and then dying.
He had pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder.
Sancho admitted to dismembering the victim’s body and throwing the pieces on land and at sea. For the charge of concealing or damaging a body, he was sentenced to four months in prison, reduced to two months for admitting the act, Paisan said.
He had also pleaded not guilty to the charge of destroying another person’s documents – the victim’s passport – for which he was sentenced to two years in prison.
The elements of the case – a violent death on a holiday island, celebrity connections and sordid details – have been widely covered in the Spanish media. HBO has produced a Spanish-language documentary about the events.
The case came to light when garbage collectors found what the Bangkok Post newspaper described as a sawn-off pelvis and intestines weighing about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) in a bag of fertilizer at a dump.
Shortly after, Sancho reported to the police that Arrieta was missing, and the police subsequently gathered evidence linking the two men that led them to detain and question him.
The police established a narrative, telling the press that Sancho had confessed to the murder and that he had planned it because Arrieta threatened to dishonor him and his family by revealing their alleged sexual relationship.
Sancho, through his father and lawyers, said this was a distorted version of what he told police and denied having a sexual relationship with Arrieta.
Police obtained surveillance video showing Sancho allegedly purchasing a knife, rubber gloves, trash bags and cleaning solutions at a convenience store before Arrieta’s death, which prosecutors say bolsters the charge of first-degree murder.
In his final statement at the start of his trial, Sancho told the court he regretted his actions, Spanish newspaper El País reported.
“I’m sorry that a life was lost and that parents lost a son,” Sancho said. “I’m sorry that his family couldn’t bury him properly. I’m sorry for what I did after he passed away.”
Under certain conditions, Sancho can request to be repatriated to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in his country after several years of incarceration in Thailand, in accordance with a treaty between Thailand and Spain.
Among the few Spanish nationals incarcerated in Thai prisons is another man convicted of premeditated murder and dismemberment of his victim.
Artur Segarra Princep was convicted of the 2016 murder of fellow Spaniard David Bernat. Police suspect Segarra robbed the victim, whom he apparently knew. The body was kept in a freezer at Segarra’s Bangkok apartment until parts were dumped in Thailand’s Chao Phraya River.
Her Death sentence in 2017 was commuted to life imprisonment in 2020 by Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
