Son of Spanish actor arrested in Thailand in horrifying murder case

BANGKOK, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre has been detained in Thailand in connection with the death and dismemberment of a Colombian man on the resort island of Koh Phangan, Thai police told Reuters on Monday.

Daniel Sancho Bronchal appeared in court on Monday as police sought his further detention for investigation, Police Major General Saranyu Chamnanrat told Reuters.

Sancho traveled with police to seven locations Sunday, including a beach where he is accused of dumping plastic bags containing body parts of a man police later identified as Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44.

Sancho, 29, is charged with premeditated manslaughter and concealing and removing body parts to conceal the victim’s death or cause of death, Saranyu said.

Son of renowned actor Rodolfo Sancho, who starred in “El Ministerio del Tiempo” and actress Silvia Bronchalo, Daniel Sancho works as a chef and was on vacation in Thailand, media reported.

His family issued a statement this Sunday asking for “the utmost respect, both for Daniel Sancho himself and for the entire family, in these delicate moments of maximum confusion.”

Sancho was detained shortly after body parts were found in a dump on Koh Phangan, an island well known to tourists for its monthly “full moon” parties. The police say that he has confessed to the crime.

Police said DNA tests on the remains showed they were Arrieta’s, adding that they have other evidence against Sancho.

CCTV footage shown by local broadcaster ThaiPBS showed Sancho and Arrieta together on a motorcycle days before the remains were discovered.

Thai police said the investigation is continuing as authorities continue to search for the rest of Arrieta’s remains.

(This story has been rearchived to correct a typo in paragraph 5)

Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Panu Wongcha-um; Written by Kay Johnson; Edited by Kanupriya Kapoor

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