Australian man Simon Peter Carman has pleaded not guilty to all charges arising from the death of Thai teenager Tunchanok Donhomla. Carman, 45, appeared at Pattaya Provincial Court in Thailand in his first court hearing since the girl’s death.
He faces four charges, including murder, concealing a corpse and abducting a minor for indecent purposes. Carman also applied for bail, but prosecutors objected, arguing that he was a flight risk.
Thai police arrested Carman in late June. According to police allegations reported by ABC News Australia, he picked up 17-year-old Tunchanok along Pattaya’s Beach Road before killing her and disposing of her body.
The teenager was last seen alive on June 25, when closed-circuit television footage showed her walking hand in hand with Carman into the elevators of his condominium building. Police found her body two days later inside a suitcase dumped near railway tracks close to Carman’s accommodation.
The allegations have not been proven in court. Carman’s not-guilty pleas formally contest all of the charges, while the court is considering the prosecution’s objection to bail.