Senior police officers in Surat Thani province were at the scene where the body of 32-year-old Olga Frolova was unearthed last Sunday as police released CCTV footage showing the woman at a motorbike shop on May 25th, the last day she was seen alive, trying to sell her smartphone. Police have also interviewed her 47-year-old new UK relationship partner who has admitted arguing with her on the day she disappeared.
The mobile phone owned by 32-year-old Ukrainian woman, Olga Frolova, which appeared in CCTV footage on the day of her death may be the key evidence police in Ko Samui require to solve the investigation into her death. This has emerged after police questioned her 47-year-old new love partner Philip Armstrong who is reported to have engaged in a heated argument with her on the last day she was seen alive.
Investigating police officers in Ko Samui have still to conclude whether the death of 32-year-old Olga Frolova was murder or perhaps a suicide.
The body of Olga Frolova was found initially by a 47-year-old hotel worker, Uthen Ruangnon, on Friday the 5th June but it took two days for him together with other locals to return to the scene and alert authorities.
The body was finally identified to police last Sunday at the forested location by Mr Uthen and other locals.
It was found in a trench near a coconut grove and appeared to have been concealed by vegetation.
Please read our earlier report about the mysterious death of Olga Frolova on Ko Samui
Police have learned that Ms Frolova was prone to violent outbursts and acts of self-harm.
She suffered from a bipolar condition. They are also looking at her social media content which shows a lot of content centred on suicide.
Concealed nature of the body and absence of her smartphone are suspicious factors for police
However, the concealed nature of Ms Frolova’s body and the reported absence of her mobile phone may indicate otherwise.
Initially, it is reported, police had tended towards treating this as a case of murder.
Officers on Ko Samui are currently searching an area within 100 meters of where her body was found to see if it is possible to locate the mobile phone which is becoming increasingly critical to the investigation.
Mobile phone movement tracking led to the site where the body of the woman was found on Sunday
Police are also reported to have tracked her mobile phone linked movements which led them to where her body was found.
At the same time, officers are investigating a theory that she may have been murdered elsewhere and the body dumped at the spot and her smartphone removed by the killer.
Police Major General Thakoon Netpukkana, the police chief of Surat Thani province was at the scene on Tuesday along with other senior officers to inspect the ongoing investigation site and to brief the media.
Police have interviewed a 47-year-old UK man, Mr Olga’s new relationship partner, Philip Armstrong
It is understood that police have also interviewed 47-year-old Philip Armstrong, the UK man who began a relationship with Ms Frolova over the course of the last year and for whom she left her 40-year old husband and freelance photographer, Dimas Frolova, two months ago.
Olga Frolova has a young son with Dimas who she left with his father on the day she disappeared.
Mr Armstrong, reported to be an fitness enthusiast, has told police that, like her husband, he had not seen Ms Frolova since the day she disappeared.
However, he did admit to investigating officers that, on that day, the pair had argued.
CCTV footage shows Olga offering to sell her phone to the owner of a motorbike rental shop
Police have also retrieved interesting CCTV footage from before midday on the day Ms Frolova disappeared.
She returns a rented blue motorcycle to the shop where it was hired. However, Ms Frolva does not appear to have enough money to pay the bill.
She is reported to have tried to sell the mobile phone and the CCTV footage (see below) shows the owner of the shop examining the item before Ms Frolova leaves her passport behind and sets off from the shop by foot.
Returned later with her UK boyfriend
It is understood that she returned to the shop later, with her new boyfriend Mr Armstrong, to settle the outstanding bill. The owner of the shop observed the couple engaged in a heated argument.
The state of decomposition of Ms Frolova’s body has made it difficult for police to determine exactly, at this stage, what was the cause of death.
They are still waiting for the results of an autopsy which they are hoping will be able to cast some further light on this.
Reported missing by her husband on May 29th last, 4 days after going missing on the island
Ms Frolova was reported missing by her husband, Dimas Frolova on the 29th of May, 4 days after his wife of 12 years left their young son with him and promised to return that evening.
Visits by the estranged wife to Mr Dimas had been a regular occurrence as they negotiated their divorce and the woman would leave her son sometimes for up to two days with her husband.
Police on Tuesday described the case as complicated with new information coming to hand all the time.
Further reading:
3 foreigners in Pattaya arrested for brazen flouting of the law on Saturday by swimming at a beach
3 western men arrested by Pattaya police at the ‘Pussycat Club’ on Saturday night and locked up
City area popular with foreigners to be targeted by new lockdown measures in Pattaya from Tuesday
Jail time looms for sick party animals who defied the virus state of emergency in Phuket this week
Scramble to register online for state money as banks close over the weekend to defeat the virus
Still a chance to avoid a curfew or lockdown if the public stays at home over the coming 7 days
Emergency centre led by the Prime Minister takes power on Thursday to fight the virus in Thailand
