Witnesses came forward this week after the man was arrested following the discovery of skeletal remains under a metal container. They told police that the bodies of at least two other people, including that of another woman, were to be found in a deep pond near his property. The man was reported to have filled the water area with carnivorous fish to eat the bodies he buried. Local media have dubbed the man ‘Ice Metal Casket’ as he killed his 22-year-old girlfriend by locking her in a metal container where she suffocated overnight.
Thai police suspended diving at a what is believed to be a murder pond in the Bang Khae district of Bangkok on Saturday after a decision was made to apply to the Thonburi Criminal Court for a search warrant. It follows the discovery of at least 300 human bone fragments in the pond following initial police dives. Officers commenced the search after the discovery of the skeletal remains of a woman on Thursday which led them to charge the owner of a nearby property with murder. This prompted witnesses to come forward reporting at least two other people buried in the pond with at least one other murdered woman.
Police in Ban Khaen on the outskirts of the Bangkok temporarily called off the search of a pond where they suspect the bodies of at least two people may have have been buried by a man arrested last week for the murder of his girlfriend in August 2019.
40-year-old Apichai Ongwisit has been dubbed ‘Ice Metal Casket’ by local media due to the bizarre nature of his lifestyle and the circumstances surrounding the murder of the 22-year-old woman.
Skeletal remains of a young woman found
Police on Thursday uncovered skeletal remains believed to be those Warinthorn Chaiyachet also known as Kuk-Kik. The woman and the man had been involved in a tempestuous sexual relationship.
In fact, police officers were led to the discovery of the woman’s body after Mr Apachai and Ms Kuk-Kik made a report last year regarding sexual harassment activity towards her from third parties.
Officer later could not find the young beauty to follow up on their enquiries.
Mr Apichai admitted killing Kuk-Kik last August at the substantial property and home where he lives at the end of Soi Phetkasem 47 in Bang Khae.
Horrific story of how his 22-year-old girlfriend died
The man told horrified police investigators that he had become so sexually jealous of his girlfriend that he insisted on locking her in a large metal container one night while he slept.
He claimed to police that when he opened the container the next morning he discovered that she had expired from lack of air.
Police charged him with the murder of the 22-year-old woman and concealing her body. The skeletal remains were found under the metal container and weighed down by a metal gate and dumbells.
The woman was wrapped in clothing, a bed sheet and a plastic bag.
Witnesses, emboldened by the man’s arrest, came forward with more dismaying news for investigators
However, police officers were soon confronted by a number of credible witnesses who made startling claims about the pond near the man’s home and not far from the road in the area.
These witnesses told the police that Mr Apichai had murdered at least one other woman and placed her body in the pond. Police were told that there were at least two other people buried in the pool.
Rumours abounded that the 40-year-old, a chronic drug user, had placed some species of carnivorous fish in the pond to eat the flesh of his victims.
288 bones, most of them human, found on Friday
On Friday, police divers searched the pond and retrieved 288 bone fragments from the depths of the water, most of which are thought to be human.
On Saturday, a deployment of 20 further divers from the Poh Teck Tung rescue foundation and 20 replacement personnel were on hand as search operations commenced again to find further bone fragments.
Planned search by divers, no danger yet detected from aggressive fish after warning from the public
Reports from Saturday suggest that divers were searching the pond area in zones and lanes to cover the full body of water carefully to find as much evidence as possible.
There were also concerns about the presence of the aggressive fish species which may have posed a risk to divers but nothing untoward was reported.
Search and diving suspended on Saturday
Later on Saturday, Police Colonel Jirakrit Jarunpat announced that the search was being suspended as a decision had been made to apply to Thonburi Criminal Court for a search warrant.
Police told the media that they were still hopeful of resuming operations on Sunday. Police Colonel Jirakrit is the Head of Woman’s Children’s Welfare division of the police.
The operation to search the murder pond was authorised by Police Major General Chokchai Ngamwong, the Commander of Metropolitan Police Division 9.
Killer’s wealthy father was also a killer
As speculation mounts about the ultimate number of bodies buried in the pond and the sinister activities of the 40-year-old drug user, it has also emerged that his father was a suspected killer.
The owner of the Ongwisit Market in Bang Khae, Mr Ongwisit senior was arrested by police in 1983 and charged with the murder of a 15-year old girl and the dismemberment of her body. He was later shot dead.
Mr Ongwisit’s mother, who police at the time believed had masterminded the outrage, then fled Thailand with the 40-year-old’s sister leaving him behind.
This week, the substantial home and property adjacent to the pond where the man resides, became the scene of another grisly nightmare that police must wade through.
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