cheekyboy Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 Family upset with Thai murder trial KRISTA SYLVESTER/ METRO CALGARY January 08, 2009 05:06 http://www.metronews.ca/calgary/local/article/163769 Just a year after Calgarian Leo Del Pinto was killed in Thailand the trial is still in limbo, and the suspect has been released, a family spokesperson said. While progress has been made in the case against off-duty Thai officer Sgt. Uthai Daechawiwat, the fact he has been released due to a â??procedural errorâ? has the family frustrated, brother-in-law Ross Fortune told Metro. â??They have assured us it was an honest mistake (the error) and weâ??re disappointed,â? he added. â??Itâ??s been tough on the family.â? Del Pinto was killed on Jan. 6, 2008, and the family is holding a memorial tonight in his honour. â??The first year was tough because there are a lot of anniversaries and reminders,â? Fortune said, adding the family would like to have closure. One Year Anniversary Of Leo Del Pinto's Death CHQR Newsroom 1/6/2009 January 6th marks the one year anniversary of the shooting death of Leo Del Pinto in Thialand by a police officer. But Leo's dad Ernie is still looking for closure. He says the police officer who shot his son was arrested and sent to jail for the crime, but he was released soon after because some evidence was missed. He says he was not told what the missing evidence is, but he plans to ask the Thai ambassador when the two men meet on Friday in Calgary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelseafan Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 What a surprise....oh hang on...nope.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faustian Posted January 8, 2009 Report Share Posted January 8, 2009 He was a farang, so not that important......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 He was a farang, so not that important......... This just shows you how cheap life can be in LOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted January 9, 2009 Report Share Posted January 9, 2009 Sadly ..it looks that way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Father of Canadian slain in Thailand in 2008 says suspect has pleaded guilty By Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press August 7, 2013 CALGARY - Five years after a young Calgary man was shot and killed in a town in northern Thailand, his father says he is finally getting justice with word of a guilty plea in the case. Leo Del Pinto, 25, died after being shot in the face and chest in the town of Pai in January 2008. His friend, Carly Reisig of British Columbia, was also hit once in the chest but survived. Sgt. Uthai Dechawiwat, who was off duty at the time, had been charged with murder with intent and attempted murder with intent, but initially pleaded not guilty. "We received an email from Foreign Affairs stating there was a court case on July 2," Ernie Del Pinto told The Canadian Press Wednesday. "The email stated they deleted court due to him retracting his not guilty plea to guilty on all counts." A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs confirmed the department had been informed of a development in the case. The reason for the change in plea was not immediately known. "Consular officials are aware of developments in the case of Leo Del Pinto. To protect the personal and private information of the individuals concerned, we cannot comment further on the details of this case," Beatrice Fenelon said in an email. "Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends of the Mr. Del Pinto." The former officer had already been sentenced in 2011 to 25 years for murdering his pregnant wife. Word of the guilty plea provided some solace for Del Pinto. He said his son was a "good boy" who didn't deserve to die. "I'm not going to say all closure because my son will never come back to me," said Del Pinto. "But I'm sure we will get a little bit of closure and justice. I was asking for justice from the beginning and it looks like I'm going to receive it." Del Pinto said he and his wife Clara will leave Calgary Aug. 15 to attend the official verdict and sentencing on Aug. 20 in Chiang Mai. It will be the first time they have visited Thailand since his son's death. Del Pinto said they intend to visit the spot where he died to try and understand what happened. He said it has been a terrible five years. "It's put me through hell for five years. I'm lost without my kid. He was a good boy. He did his schooling and what we asked him to," he said. "It was a senseless death and he saved a young girl also. It's just so frustrating." http://www.theprovin...9478/story.html Background to story: http://t2.thai360.co...t-is-shot-dead/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 8, 2013 Report Share Posted August 8, 2013 Bangkok Post too ... http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/363611/accused-killer-in-2008-murder-of-canadian-confesses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 Thai court jails ex-cop for murder of Canadian tourist Former policeman Uthai Dechavivat. AFP PHOTO PAI: A Thai court on Tuesday sentenced a former policeman to nearly four decades in jail for shooting dead a Canadian tourist during a scuffle in a sleepy northern resort town. AFP Wednesday 21 August 2013, 09:48AM Uthai Dechawiwat, who pleaded guilty to the killing of Leo Del Pinto, 25, in January 2008, was handed a 37-and-a-half year prison term - reduced from life - by a court in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Del Pinto was shot dead and his girlfriend Carly Reisig, 24, was hospitalised with a bullet wound after the policeman tried to break up an argument between the couple outside a restaurant in Pai town in Mae Hong Son province. Soon after the incident Uthai was charged with Del Pinto's murder and the attempted murder of Reisig. “The court ruled him guilty as charged and sentence him (to) life imprisonment,†said a court official, adding his guilty plea resulted in a reduced sentence. The official did not provide further details of the proceedings, but reports in the Canadian press said the former policeman changed his plea just weeks before the trial. The Canadian couple were staying in Pai, a popular area for backpackers. Local police have said the couple argued after Del Pinto accused Reisig of having an affair with a Thai man. When the argument among the Canadians and the Thai man turned violent, restaurant workers asked off-duty police sergeant Uthai to intervene. Uthai's gun went off three times during the scuffle and he initially claimed it was an accident. AFP http://www.thephuket...urist-41488.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baa99 Posted August 21, 2013 Report Share Posted August 21, 2013 In January 2011, Dechawiwat was sentenced to 25 years in jail for killing his pregnant wife. Read more: http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/thai-police-officer-admits-to-killing-leo-del-pinto-in-2008-1.1401597#ixzz2cdmR0ifX Police Colonel Sombat Panya the head of Pai Police was accused of persuading local bar and show owners to say the Uthai was being threatened shot in self defence and that his gun went off when he fell backwards. But witnesses who gave evidence to the Thai National Human Rights Commission say that Leo was begging the policeman to put the gun down. http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2013/01/evidence-in-canadian-murder-case.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted August 22, 2013 Report Share Posted August 22, 2013 Sounds like the best justice that MONEY can buy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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