The sentence against the young Spaniard Daniel Sancho, accused of the premeditated murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, has already been drafted and has been sent to a higher court for review, according to sources close to the case told EFE, a week before the verdict is announced.
The verdict, which will be made public on August 29, was written by the judge of the Samui Provincial Court (southern Thailand) who has been handling the case from the beginning, and has already been sent to a higher regional court in Surat Thani (the province to which Samui belongs) for review.
The office of the Dean of Region 8, which is the headquarters of the Samui court, is responsible for the process and is reviewed by a panel of five judges, including the Dean, the sources said.
Daniel Sancho insists he acted in self-defense in the murder of a Colombian surgeon
The need to review the sentences in Thailand is related to the severity of the possible punishment. Sancho is accused of premeditated murder, a crime that can carry the death penalty, although it is rarely applied and is usually commuted to less severe punishments.
The judge in charge of the case, whose identity has not been made public, had already announced during the trial, which was held behind closed doors between April 9 and May 2 at the aforementioned court in Samui, that the sentence should be reviewed, several sources said.
The signing of the sentence and its review came after the defense and the co-accusation, which represents Arrieta’s family, presented their final arguments in writing on July 25 after the trial.
During the trial, Thai prosecutors maintained that Sancho, 30, planned the murder of Arrieta on the Thai island of Phangan, while the defense argued that the death of the then 44-year-old surgeon was due to an accident during a fight in which the accused defended himself from an alleged attempted sexual assault.
Witnesses recounted the purchase of knives and the rental of a kayak during the trial of the Spaniard Daniel Sancho
Sancho is also accused of hiding the corpse, for the dismemberment of Arrieta, and of destroying other people’s documents, for having gotten rid of the surgeon’s passport.
The Spaniard has only pleaded guilty to concealing the body, whose remains were found in several places in Phangan, an island near Samui, in the days after the alleged crime took place on August 2, 2023 in a hotel room.
The judge will read out the sentence at a hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. (3:00 GMT) next Thursday, August 29, which Sancho himself will attend.
Sancho’s parents, Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho and investment analyst Silvia Bronchalo, and representatives of the Spanish Embassy in Thailand are also expected to attend.
During the reading of the sentence, the judge is expected to offer the parties a period of time to decide whether they will appeal, during which time Sancho must remain in Samui prison, where he entered on August 7, 2023. (I)
