Daniel Sancho, 30, was found guilty of murdering Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, dismembering his body and destroying his identity documents. A Thai court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The convicted man, the son of popular Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, had previously confessed to killing the man on the Thai island of Phangan.
Daniel Sancho is the son of the popular Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho and Sylvia Bronchalo, also an actress. In August 2023, the man was arrested on the Thai island of Phangan on suspicion of murder. The victim was his friend, 44-year-old Colombian Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, whose body parts were found in one of the island’s garbage dumps.
Daniel Sancho convicted of murder
A little over a year after these events, the 30-year-old Spaniard was found guilty of premeditated murder, concealing or destroying a corpse, and destroying the victim’s identity documents. By decision of a Thai court, Daniel Sancho was sentenced to life imprisonment – reports “El Pais”. According to the newspaper, Sancho was originally supposed to hear the death penalty, but it was waived due to his cooperation with law enforcement.
The justice system also ordered Sancho to pay compensation to the murdered man’s relatives in the amount of 4 million baht (the equivalent of about 450 thousand złoty). The lawyer for Edwin Arrieta Arteaga’s relatives, quoted by “The Guardian”, admitted that they are “satisfied” with the verdict. However, as “El Pais” notes, Daniel Sancho can still appeal it. “It’s time to fight on,” the 30-year-old’s father, Rodolfo Sancho, told the Spanish daily.
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Rodolfo Sancho, ojciec Daniela SanchoPAP/EPA/SITTHIPONG CHAROENJAI
Murder in Thailand
Daniel Sancho confessed to the murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga. However, he denied that it was premeditated. According to his version of events, the Colombian’s death was the result of an accidental head-butting of a bathtub during an argument between the men. The cause of the argument was supposedly Arrieta Arteaga’s attempt to sexually assault Sancho. However, as Paisan Sangthep, deputy police chief of Surat Thani province, noted in an interview with CNN, there is evidence that Sancho was preparing for the crime.
Daniel SanchoPAP/EPA/SOMKEAT RUKSAMAN
– (Sancho) bought gloves, plastic bags and garbage bags, a cleaning sponge, a knife, a cleaver and a ball before committing the murder – says Paisan Sangthep. The officer indicated that the Spaniard later used these items to dismember the body of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga. He later scattered them in various places on the island and in the surrounding sea.
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CNN, El Pais, The Guardian, tvn24.pl
photo-source">Source of the main photo: PAP/EPA/SOMKEAT RUKSAMAN
