A suspect linked to the murder of a young Thai woman who was found stabbed to death in London is believed to have fled abroad, according to UK media reports.
It was also revealed that Kamonnan “Angela” Thiamphanit was planning to fly home to visit her family in Ratchaburi but inexplicably cancelled shortly before she was killed.
Kamonnan, 27, was found dead on the morning of April 8 at the Airbnb property she was renting in an affluent neighbourhood near Hyde Park in central London.
A friend had contacted police the night before after becoming concerned for her welfare, while neighbours had reported hearing screaming from the address.
Kamonnan, who had dual Chinese-Hong Kong and Thai nationality, had been working in London in property management. She moved to the UK eight years ago to study graphic design at the London College of Communication, The Times reported.
Police believe her attacker was known to her, an inquest into the death heard this week.
Kamonnan had been renting out 6 Stanhope Place, a £4-million property that formerly housed the Embassy of Ethiopia, as an Airbnb property, Detective Chief Inspector Alison Foxwell, the senior investigating officer in the case, told Westminster Coroners Court on Tuesday.
“At some point on April 8 she was attacked, which caused her death. We have a named individual we are looking for at this moment,” she said.
However, asked by senior coroner Prof Fiona Wilcox whether anyone was to be imminently charged with murder, DCI Foxwell said the suspect had since fled the country.
“I think it unlikely anyone will be imminently charged. We are requesting with the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) whether we have sufficient evidence to extradite someone from outside the UK, so I think it unlikely,” she said.
Prof Wilcox granted permission for Kamonnan‘s body to be released to her family.
Kamonnan, whose identity was confirmed via police fingerprint screening, died as a result of “multiple sharp force injuries”, the inquest heard.
Her cousin, Nutcha Tiempanich, 28, said she had spoken to Kamonnan on March 31 to finalise plans to return home to Ratchaburi for the Qing Ming festival, a Chinese celebration honouring the dead. However, Kamonnan cancelled at the last minute, The Times reported.
Ms Nutcha said Kamonnan had a boyfriend, contrary to statements made by the police at the inquest on Tuesday. She said there had been no sign that anything was wrong when she last spoke to her.
“We talked about the day the whole family would meet in a Chinese cemetery [for] the festival. Angela said she was ready to book the ticket, but she could not make it,” the newspaper quoted Ms Nutcha as saying.
“We are shocked. We did not believe the news when we heard [she had died]. It happened so suddenly. We spoke only days before she passed.”
Kamonnan travelled between Hong Kong and Thailand to visit her parents several times a year and last visited Ratchaburi in February. Ms Nutcha said there was “no sign that anything was wrong” at the time.
“She came home in February. She was normal. I know she now has a boyfriend but did not say much about him,” her cousin added.