shygye Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Link The American man arrested for the murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pianjai has confessed to charges, police say. Donald Fanelli, 36, was arrested by a team of officers led by Police Region 8 Commander Weerasak Meenawanich early yesterday evening at his newly-rented home in Karon. The successful manhunt was one of the most intense in Phuket in recent years, harking back to the successful search in 2008 for the murderer of Swedish tourist Hanna Backlund in Mai Khao in March of that year. ... Mr Fanelli told police upon his arrest that he carried out the murder while under work-related stress. After the murder, at his home in Wichit Village 1, he rented the new home in Karon, police said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave32 Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 He's a poker player. What was the work-related stress? Losing? Typical bullshit artist. But I read 36 y/o American poker player living in Thailand and cringe. (Paid for last Thai trip via poker winnings). Sounds like the paradise he blogged about wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Sad. Sorry for the woman's family. And sorry for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsenalsteve Posted July 19, 2010 Report Share Posted July 19, 2010 Hope he likes dirty rice and fish-head soup,for the next 10-15 years. Som-Num-Nah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Link Retired US Navy serviceman Ronald Fanelli, who confessed to stabbing to death bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai last month, described the killing as a “terrible accidentâ€Â, saying he never intended to harm her. ... Mr Fanelli, originally from New York and a former US Navy lieutenant who served aboard the USS Nevada, said he came to Thailand about three years ago and has lived here since. Asked if he were the same Ronald Fanelli who was a former professional poker player who gambled in tournaments under the name “MadYankâ€Â, he laughed briefly with a tone of bitter irony before replying, “Yes, but that was a long time ago.†Mr Fanelli declined to comment on the motive for the murder, asking reporters to read his statement to police. Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit told reporters after the press conference that several factors appeared to have contributed to Mr Fanelli’s mental state at the time of the stabbing: he was drunk; his Thai wife had left him and taken their young child back to her native Maha Sarakham province in Isarn. He had also recently lost his Internet connection, he noted. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Retired Navy or former Navy? Unusual for someone to retire an O-3. Also, 39 is too young for a commissioned officer to have got in 20 years these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Losing your internet connect can be upsetting. Sounds like this guy needed help a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Yeah, he lives on Phuket - where there are simply no internet cafes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave32 Posted July 22, 2010 Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 Several threads going on revolving around him now. Until he confessed, quite a few people thought he was being framed (on a poker forum). Some of the details of the crime have also been released -- stabbed the victim multiple times, then broke several bones so he could stuff her into a trunk and dump the body. This guy is fucked up. Real thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted July 22, 2010 Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 ounds like a pretty picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Radley Posted July 22, 2010 Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 In the Thai press he was reported in a couple of newspapers as saying that the stabbing occurred after the girl found a knife he'd hidden in a pile of clothes in his apartment and started pay-acting with it. Apparently he became alarmed thinking he was in some kind of danger, so wrestled the knife from her and stabbed her. Yeah, right. Also said he had a Thai wife who had left him recently and they had one son together. He said he'd been under a lot of stress recently, abandoned by his friends and even his boss, which seems to suggest he'd lost his job too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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