An initial autopsy on the body of Pol Col Thitisan "Joe Ferrari" Utthanaphon has indicated the probable cause of death was suicide by hanging, according to the Central Institute of Forensic Science (CIFS).
Dr Worawee Waiyawuth, deputy director of the CIFS under the Justice Ministry, said at a press briefing on Sunday the findings suggested Thitisan had used a small towel as a makeshift noose to take his own life.
Asked if other injuries were found on the body, he said there was bruising on the back and hip, but they were from old wounds.
However, further lab tests on tissue samples are needed to confirm this, he said.
Regarding bloodstains found by Thitisan's relatives on the floor of his cell in Klong Prem Central Prison when they came to see the body, Dr Worawee said forensic officials believed the blood may have come out of the body after his death.
Blood seepage from bodily orifices is normal after death, he said.
"Initially, we have given weight to suicide by hanging as the possible cause of death.
"The mark around the neck matches the size of a small towel believed to have been used to commit the act," Dr Worawee said.
However, Weerasak Nakhin, Thitisan's lawyer, said Thitisan's relatives will send the body for another post-mortem examination at Chulalongkorn University for a second opinion.
Pol Maj Gen Jessada Suaysom, commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Division 2, said police have been further examining evidence gathered at the scene of the death, including CCTV footage.
Thitisan, a police officer convicted for the torture and killing of a drug suspect in 2021, was found hanged in his cell at Klong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok on Friday night.
On Saturday, the Department of Corrections issued a statement confirming prison officials were notified of Thitisan's death on Friday around 8.30pm.
He was found slumped against his cell door with "bruised fingers and no pulse," the statement said. A towel around his neck was tied to the cell door.
Thitisan had been sentenced to life imprisonment and had served three years and six months in Zone 5 of the prison.
However, his relatives do not believe he took his own life, claiming previous assault by a prison official while in detention.
On Feb 26, his mother lodged a complaint requesting an investigation after Thitisan was scolded and attacked by a guard for reporting an inmate for breaking the rules by watching pornography on a mobile phone.
