The death of a three-year-old girl, Nong Chompoo, in Mukdahan's Dong Luang district in May is a case that has left police baffled. Hundreds of people have been interviewed with a number coming under police suspicion, but there has never been enough evidence to seek an arrest warrant.
- Note: This story is part of 'Heinous crimes that shocked us in 2020' series
The mystery began on May 11 when the toddler went missing from her home in Baan Kok Kork community in tambon Kok Toom.
The parents went to run an errand, so they left their elder daughter to look after her sister.
She reportedly told police that her little sister had simply wandered off and disappeared.
After a four-day search, Nong Chompoo was found dead and naked in a forest on Phu Lek Fai mountain, about 5 kilometres from her home.
The cause of death could not be established because the body had already decomposed considerably while the autopsy did not report any signs of sexual assault.
The investigation hit a snag in part because there were no security cameras, a bad mobile phone signal and insufficient forensic evidence in the area to pursue any concrete lines of inquiry.
National police chief Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk called a press conference on Oct 2, one day after he assumed the top police post, only to say that investigators had gathered a wide but shallow pool of evidence in the case and it was not enough to make an arrest.
However, the police chief insisted that did not mean the investigation was wrapped up, saying police would not give up in their efforts to solve the case which has a statute of limitations of 20 years.
The high-profile case has been dramatised by some TV channels.
