Thai court gives death penalty to woman accused of cyanide serial killings

By Jessie Yeung and Kocha Olarn, CNN

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) — A Thai court has handed down the death penalty to a woman accused of fatally poisoning at least a dozen people, the first ruling in a high-profile serial murder case that has gripped the nation.

Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn killed her friend last year by spiking the victim’s food with cyanide, then stole property from her worth more than $4,400, according to a summary of the Bangkok court’s judgment on Wednesday.

The gambling addict had turned to murder and robbery to pay off her debts, the judge said during the three-hour long hearing, government-owned broadcaster NBT Connext reported.

National attention on the case has been fueled by Sararat’s ties to her ex-husband – a former senior police officer – and her pregnancy when she was arrested last May in connection with the suspicious death of Siriporn Khanwong, which sparked a sweeping investigation into a spate of other unsolved cyanide poisonings.

The two women were seen together on CCTV footage before Siriporn fainted and died, police previously told CNN.

Siriporn’s autopsy found traces of cyanide in her system, which a police probe later revealed to be a common factor among victims who ate or drank with Sararat prior to their deaths, police told CNN last year.

Following Sararat’s arrest, a woman came forward to accuse her of poisoning her years earlier. The accuser said she had been resuscitated in hospital following the 2020 incident, but had been too afraid to speak out because of Saratat’s link to her ex-husband, who held the rank of police Lt. Colonel.

Sararat did not testify at her trial. The court convicted her of charges including premeditated murder, robbery causing death and spiking food or other consumables resulting in death. In addition to the death sentence, she was also ordered to pay compensation for unrecovered stolen items.

Siriporn’s family wept and embraced when the sentence was read out, NBT Connext reported. Sararat did not make eye contact with the plaintiff’s side of court, though she smiled and chatted with her lawyer during the hearing.

Sararat’s lawyer and her ex-husband were also sentenced on Wednesday.

Following Siriporn’s killing, the killer’s lawyer, Thanicha Eksuwanwat, urged her ex-husband, Witoon Rangsiwuthaporn, to destroy or conceal evidence that linked her to the crime, according to the judgment summary.

Witoon, the former police officer, was sentenced to one year and four months in prison, according to the summary. Thanicha, the lawyer, was sentenced to two years in prison.

Thanicha and Witoon were both granted bail by the court pending their appeals.

Thanicha told CNN on Thursday that Saratat denies the accusations against her and plans to appeal her conviction. “My client is innocent … She is not satisfied with the court verdict,” Thanicha said.

The national police agency will submit a string of additional murder cases against Sararat to the prosecutor next week, NBT Connext reported.

Thailand lifted a de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty in 2018, executing a man by lethal injection in the country’s first execution since August 2009, according to rights groups.

No executions have taken place since, but courts have handed down the death sentence in several cases, including the high-profile murders of two British backpackers in 2019.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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