TRANG - A woman suffering severe depression strangled her ailing 28-year-old daughter to death with a cord before hanging herself at their home overnight in Muang district, leaving two children behind.
Police called to the scene in tambon Na Torming about 7.30am found the dead body of a woman, identified later as Kanchana, on a mattress in the middle of the house.
The 28-year-old woman had been strangled with an electric cord. The dead body of her mother, Somjai, 53, was found hanging inside her room, Thai media reported.
There were no traces of a struggle, said Pol Capt Ath Phosalee, a duty-officer at Nong Trud police station.
The two women had been dead at least 8 hours before their deaths were reported, he said.
A relative, Suparb Khunthayok, 41, found the two bodies. She told police that Kanchana’s daughters, aged 2 and 9, arrived at her house around 6.30am and said they could not find their grandmother, and their mother was still sleeping. They wanted to go to school.
Ms Suparb then went to their house to find the grandmother. When she entered it appeared to her that Kanchana was sleeping. She tried unsuccessfully to wake her and was shocked to then realise she was dead, with severe bruising on her neck.
Somjai’s bedroom was locked. She immediately called other relatives to the house, Ms Suparb said. They forced the door open and found Somjai inside, hanging by a cord.
Relatives told police that Somjai had suffered from severe depression and had tried to take her own life four times previously.
The 53-year-old woman kept saying that next time she would be successful and would take her daughter Kanchana, who had suffered encephalitis for several years, with her. She did not want her daughter to suffer anymore.
Kanchana had divorced her husband 3 years ago. The man left their two children in the care of Kanchana and her mother.
Forensic officials from Trang Hospital confirmed Somjai had hanged herself and that her daughter had been strangled to death with a cord.
Police believed depression and stress had finally driven the woman to take her ill daughter's life and her own. Relatives did not question cause of the deaths and said they would care for the two children.