Englishman killed, burnt over charcoal in national park

[limbo]

Gives a new meaning to the statement that Isaarn folks eat anything that moves.

 

 

Englishman killed, burnt over charcoal in national park

 

Relatives of gentleman farmer's ex-wife admit murdering father of 5-year-old

 

 

An English country squire was killed and his body burnt on charcoal in a Thai national park after divorcing his Thai wife because of her gambling debts.

 

 

The body parts of Toby Char-naud, 41, were then scattered in Kaeng Krachan national park, a court in Phetchaburi was told on Monday.

 

 

Charnaud had sold Latimer Farm near Chippenham in Wiltshire, after falling in love with a bargirl in Bangkok and gone to live in Hua Hin, where he bought two bars to run with his new wife.

 

 

But, after taking his wife Pannada home to visit his parents in Britain, the marriage began to fall apart. Charnaud divorced Pannada, because of her gambling debts and gave her a Bt777,000 (�11,000) settlement. They shared custody of their five-year-old son.

 

 

In April last year Pannada, 35, reported Charnaud missing to police, but in court she admitted, she had lied. On March 27 last year she had in fact helped five relatives and friends from her province of Yasothon in the Northeast to dispose of his body, although she denied premeditated murder and being an accomplice to murder.

 

 

Pannada Charnaud (formerly Laoruang) denied premeditated murder. But Boontin Puipong, 31, Sattri Sripatum, 28, Nipit Satabut, admitted murder with provocation. They have said they were provoked because Charnaud had interrupted them while they were drinking whisky.

 

 

Said Pannada: "I was at the market and returned home to find my ex-husband's body."

 

 

All were also charged with possessing a gun in a public place, deceiving police, and concealing the body. Two other defendants, Somsak Papai, 21, and Wisan Samaksri, 19, denied all charges. Their only involvement had been to return Charnaud's car after the murder, they said.

 

 

Back in Britain, Charnaud's sister Hannah Allen and his parents, Jeremy, 67, and Sarah, 65, had become suspicious of Toby's death and hired a locally based Scottish private eye.

 

 

He checked mobile-phone records and discovered that Toby had been at his ex-wife's house on the day he disappeared.

 

 

When police raided the house two of the defendants confessed and led police to where they had found the body parts.

 

 

Toby Charnaud had arrived to visit his five-year-old son Daniel, Phetchaburi Provincial Court was told. At first the relatives and friends of Pannada tried to kill him with a long-barrelled hunting musket but it backfired. Then they clubbed him to death with an iron bar and wooden staves.

 

 

They burned his body on a charcoal fire, with 20kg of charcoal they had bought earlier in the day, before cutting up the body and distributing the parts around Kaeng Krachan National Park on the Thai-Burma border.

 

 

The family's lawyer Boonchu Yensabai, who is jointly prosecuting the defendants said: "The only motive can be that Pannada expected to inherit everything through their son. We will appeal if she is acquitted of conspiracy to murder."

 

 

In a letter to the court, Mrs Sarah Charnaud, said: "For me, his mother, one of the worst horrors of his death is the fact that the first attempt to kill him failed and he would have been aware of his murderers making their fatal attack. His fear and concern for his son would have been overwhelming.

 

 

"Toby was a wonderful father to his son and it is so unfair that a small boy has been deprived of a great father and a father has been deprived of seeing his son grow up.

 

 

"We welcomed Toby's ex-wife into our home and family until they moved to Thailand and to repay us by murdering my son is beyond my comprehension.

 

 

"I trust the court will judge fairly and also understand that I cannot be there to hear the defence downgrade the value of human life and to hear more details of my son's horrific death."

 

 

The case was adjourned for a judgement on September 6.

 

 

Gentleman farmer Toby Charnaud predicted his own death in a short story competition for a local magazine in Bangkok, his sister Hannah Allen believes.

 

 

The story entitled "Rainfall" is about a British man called "Guy" who falls in love with a Thai woman and then his life falls apart.

 

 

She does not come home at nights. She builds up gambling debts. Eventually he is murdered by his best Thai friend, who unknowingly, is one of his wife's lovers.

 

 

He won first prize.

 

 

Said Hannah: " The story is eerie. I am sure he had his suspicions. It is difficult to come to terms with the fact that this woman was behind the murder of the father of her child."

 

Andrew Drummond

 

 

Special to The Nation 02/08/06

 

 

Phetchaburi

 

[Flashermac]

An English country squire? I thought he'd been just a plain old farmer.

 

And speaking of plain, the wife sure wasn't any looker ...

 

 

[soongmak]

Jeezus, what a bunch of fucking savages. I hope they lock the girl away and make sure the boy gets a decent upbringing. Maybe with his english family? would be nice.

 

Gentleman farmer Toby Charnaud predicted his own death in a short story competition for a local magazine in Bangkok, his sister Hannah Allen believes.

 

 

The story entitled "Rainfall" is about a British man called "Guy" who falls in love with a Thai woman and then his life falls apart.

 

Anybody knows this story? Is it out on the net? Would really like to read it.

[Flashermac]

No idea what magazine it was in. I'll ask around though.

[soongmak]

Thanks. Appreciate it!

[Flashermac]

Google brings up some mention of a "prize-winning story", but no references to what it apeared in or what prize it won. Early reports don't mention the story and call the "squire" a bar owner. Whatever ...

 

 

 

 

 

From the archive, first published Thursday 8th Sep 2005.

 

Family says farewell to victim of Thai murder

 

WILTSHIRE GAZETTE & HERALD: MEMORIES of murdered Thai bar owner Toby Charnaud were shared in a touching ceremony in his home village of West Kington on Saturday.

 

Family and friends of Mr Charnaud gathered to say an emotional final farewell to the larger than life character, four months after their worst fears were confirmed.

 

The 40-year-old vanished six weeks before his charred remains were discovered in the popular resort in Hua Hin back in May. His estranged wife is still being held on suspicion of his murder.

 

His parents Jeremy and Sarah, sisters Hannah and Martha, brother Matt and son Daniel, five, were surrounded by villagers and friends from Toby's days at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester.

 

An enlarged photograph of Toby with his treasured son Daniel taken in happier times hung poignantly at the front of West Kington Church.

 

The Rev Ann Ashcroft said the service acted as a homecoming for Toby. "This is part of a difficult and painful journey that you have had to travel over the past few months," she told the congregation.

 

The moving 45-minute service included a reading called The Sheepdog, which Toby himself had recited at a service in the church one Christmas.

 

Brother-in-law Alex Venner spoke of Toby's kindness, compassion, determination and dry wit. He recalled his love of horse racing, his 1954 Rolls Royce named Emma, and his globetrotting.

 

He said: "Toby took his role in life very seriously as an older brother, son, father or pioneer. He had a great ability to wind up his sisters with minimum effort.

 

"A school report to his parents once read `if he had paid as much attention to his school work as he did to sporting life then you would have a genius on your hands'.

 

"He ran a very successful business in Hua Hin. At the age of seven, in West Kington, he opened his first bar Holy Spirit on the side of the road with mixed success. Lack of trade was supplemented by his mother Sarah phoning her friends and asking them to drop in.

 

"He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered."

 

He had travelled across the US, Australia, Africa and South East Asia before settling in Thailand with his wife Pananda in 1999.

 

Colin Clifton-Brown, a friend from the Royal Agricultural College, recalled many happy times together.

 

"His grin lit up the whole of his rather chubby face," he said. "He was always cheerful and smiling and wanted to see the funny side of life as much as possible."

 

He told of Toby's Jackson Five-esque hairstyle, his slightly battered Ford Fiesta, dinner parties and party games with hilarious forfeits.

 

"At college, Toby's ethos was only to do what was strictly necessary when it came to studies," said Mr Clifton-Brown. "He was always indignant that the spring exams seemed to intentionally coincide with the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but still managed to attend two out of the three days."

 

He remembered their first trip to Swindon Town Football club where the group of friends turned up in tweed coats and Toby in his trilby.

 

He said they were mistakenly ushered into the directors' bar, downed a few gin and tonics and then watched the match from the directors' box.

 

"It seems strange talking about Toby without him being here," he said. "He would have loved all the stories about the past.

 

"He was a warm, lovable and generous person. He will always be in our thoughts and there will now be a big gap in our lives. Many thanks Toby for all those memories."

 

 

[Flashermac]

Nothing about a story in the BBC report either. Somebody must have made the connection later. But note that his bar was called "Rainbow".

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4512327.stm

[Flashermac]

BINGO! It's a real shortie, but effective. Wonder if the poor bastard worried that it would be his fate.

 

http://www.observergroup.net/ob114back/thismonth.htm

 

 

RAINFALL

 

Guy's fingers trembled as he lit yet another cigarette, the previous one still smouldering in the ashtray. His hands felt clammy and he was sweating, despite the chill blast from the air-conditioning. There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. This was the most terrible thing he had done in his life, and the waiting was the hardest part.

 

He walked across to the window and stared out at the cityscape in front of him. Bangkok , shrouded in cloud. The rain had started and soon it would close in, relentless and oppressive. It hard rained like that the night he had met her, nearly three years ago.

 

He had been trawling through the bars of Soi Cowboy with Greg, a good friend and an old Bangkok hand. They had been out in the street flirting with the â??welcomeâ? girls when the rain came, forcing them to take refuge on one of the bars.

 

It had been a standard go-go bar, and they had sat down on the bench seats around the outside and ordered a couple of beers. Half a dozen girls were dancing, their movements nothing more than going through the motions in time with the bland Thai pop music. One of the girls caught his eye. She was very petite, even for a Thai girl, with huge eyes. She smiled, a gorgeous lop-sided smile that lit up her whole face.

 

After her shift she came over, demurely holding out a dainty hand.

 

â??Hello. My name Fon, may I sit down?â?Â

 

He was taken with her politeness, her politeness, and her beauty. They laughed at the coincidence of her name and the random selection of the bar because of the rain, Fon being the Thai ward for rain. It was an omen and he was smitten.

 

He had spent the rest of that trip with her, and the next one, contrived just a couple of months later. He had heard all the stories of how a relationship with a bargirl was domed to fail. But those stories were not about Fon, she was different. Greg had tried to tell him that they all said that, â??this one is differentâ?Â, but he ignored him, and it was too late now.

 

Outside the rain closed in, the visibility dropped, the grey skies pushing in from all sides. He checked his wallet, the tickets were there, but there were still a couple of hours to go. There was an empty bottle of Mekong whisky on the table, maybe the last he would ever drink. He considered going to buy another, but couldn't face braving the downpour, and suddenly the thought of the cheap sweet taste made him feel sick.

 

He had known it would be difficult to get a visa for Fon to come to England , so had used the opportunity to do what he had dreamed about, to take off to pastures new. He sold his modest share portfolio and rented out his house and moved to Bangkok . He knew he would have no trouble finding a teaching job, but Greg was able to find him work in IT, to which he was more suited and paid far better.

 

Which, as it turned out, was no bad thing, as the problems with Fon started almost immediately. Nothing too much to begin with, and mostly about money. Then there was the not coming back to the apartment when she said, or coming back drunk. They would fight, she would cry, and then would smile with that extraordinary lop-sided smile and look at him with those huge eyes and he would forgive her. Always. As she knew he would.

 

But it didn't get better. There were more problems and more fights. They made the decision to move out of Bangkok . They went to Hua Hin on the gulf coast a couple of hours south. They found a suitable business available, a small bar and restaurant. Fon would run it and it would provide her with own source of income. There was enough IT work available for Guy even in a town like Hua Hin. It seemed like the ideal solution.

 

Instead things soon got worse. It wasn't just the money, that was still as bad as ever, despite the business appearing to do well, but the lies started. Again they would fight and again she would cry and he would feel guilty.

 

He wanted to walk away, but couldn't, and her eyes would do their magic and he would take her into his arms.

 

Then came the stories of other men, customers in her bar, an old boyfriend from her Cowboy days. He couldn't believe them and tried to ignore them, but on top of everything else it was too much. This time when he confronted her she became angry and denied everything. He believer her, he had too, he loved her too much and time it had been his turn to back down and apologise.

 

While they lived in Hua Hin he got to know Boy. Boy was a tuk-tuk driver, a regular Thai guy. They would play pool together and talk football, and they became good friends. People told him that you should not trust a Thai man, but Boy would never ask for money or except any favours. He introduced to him to his brother, Daeng. Daeng was a cop, not high ranking but with influence. He didn't have the same charm as Boy, and was always sponging drinks and chatting up the girls in the bar, who were very wary with him. However, he was a useful contact to have.

 

Then it happened. He caught Fon. He had gone to Bangkok to pick up some computer parts and had planned to have a night out with Greg, but Greg had been sick so he returned that evening. Fon was in a bed with this guy, a Dane, a regular customer in the bar. He didn't wait, he didn't want to hear. He left/ three days later was back in England .

 

As soon as he arrived he started to miss Thailand, the food, the climate, the lifestyle. And he missed Fon. She called him constantly saying how sorry she was, what a mistake she had made, how she never do it again, how much she loved him and how different it would be when he came back.

 

He held out for a short while, but he couldn't put her behind him. Every time he closed his eyes he saw that funny smile and those lovely, lovely eyes.

 

He went back. It got worse. He could not stop loving her, but she lied more and more, she cheated more and more. It was as if knew that by getting him back she had won. The though of leaving again, or just leaving her at all broke him up but he knew that if he stayed it would destroy him.

 

Then it came to him. There was a way of dealing with this Thai-style. He spoke to Boy. Boy said he knew how to deal with it.

 

It was Boy he was waiting for now. It was too late to stop what he put in motion, and although he had huge misgivings he was desperate and knew it was the only thing that he could do.

 

Beside the television there was a manila envelope. He opened it and counted the money again. 60,000 Baht. He had already paid 20,000 baht with the rest to be handed over when the job was done. Having paid for his airline tickets it was all the money he had left. He had been concerned about what would happen to Boy, but Daeng would take care of that. Perhaps he would have to spend a couple of months as a monk in a forest wat, but the disappearance of an Isaan peasant's daughter in a distant town would hardly be investigated and would soon be forgotten.

 

He looked out of the window. The rain had eased and the skies were lifting. Soon the sun would come out again. He stubbed out the cigarette and lit another one. Already he began to feel better.

 

There was a knock on the door. Peering through the spyhole he saw Boy. He looked relaxed; he hardly even looked wet. He opened the door to let him in.

 

Boy looked at him, his gaze steady.

 

â??Finishâ? was all he said.

 

The heavy feeling in his stomach moved up to his heat and his eyes blurred. For the first time it was not just guilt or regret he felt but real remorse. He couldn't look at Boy and turned away to pick up the money.

 

â??60,000.â? He paused, â??I must go now, Boy.â?Â

 

Boy nodded as he took the cash.

 

â??Take a good journey, my friend," he said.

 

Guy forced himself to look up. His eyes widened with shock as he saw the gun pointing at him. He didn't understand, couldn't take in what he saw. His last thought, bizarrely, was that the silencer was as big as the gun.

 

The girl slipped into the room. She was tiny with large brown eyes. She looked at the body on the floor, then at the man slipping the gun back into the waistband of his jeans. The expression on her face was of regret, sorrow and bewilderment. It passed quickly and she turned to Boy.

 

â??Come on, tilac, let's go,â? he said.

 

She gave him a quick lop-sided smile and took his hand as they left the room.

 

By Toby Charnaud

 

[Straycat]

TIT...or what?

[Flashermac]

What is amazing is that loonies like the wife really think they can get away with such things.

 

A more disturbng thought is ... how often do they actually do just that!