A Vietnamese American, Sherine Chong, has been identified by Thai police as the suspect who is believed to have poisoned five others at the luxurious Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok, before killing herself with the poison.
Cyanide poisoning is likely the cause of the deaths, police said.
Chulalongkorn Hospital said on July 17 that an autopsy of the six people found dead in a hotel suite found traces of cyanide.
The bodies showed traces of the rapid-acting chemical and had purple lips, indicating a lack of oxygen, the hospital’s Dr Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin told reporters, adding that more tests were being conducted.
Thai investigators concluded that Chong was culpable after questioning witnesses, including the daughter of one of the dead, said Police Major-General Theeradej Thumsuthee, the head of investigation of Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau, according to Thai newspapers Khaosod and Bangkok Post on July 17.
Debt issues may be the motive behind the deaths, said Maj-Gen Theeradej. Thai police are not considering other possible suspects, as Suite 502, where the bodies were discovered, had been locked from the inside and no one else was found to have entered. There were no signs of a struggle.
Investigators believe the victims had been dead for 24 hours by the time they were found.
Chong is suspected to have poisoned the others before committing suicide, Thai police said on July 17, adding that they are looking for the source of the cyanide.
“The case likely stems from a debt problem. There are no other possibilities. The culprit is among the six (dead) because they were the only people who entered the room. There were no others,” Maj-Gen Theeradej said.
The debt may be the result of a construction deal that went south.
