Daniel Sancho sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Edwin Arrieta in Thailand

BBC

Madrid.-The verdict has been announced in one of the most high-profile cases of recent years. Daniel Sancho has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Edwin Arrieta, as Infobae Spain has been able to confirm from sources involved in the case.

Finally, the Koh Samui Provincial Court has found that there was premeditation in the crime and has imposed one of the most severe sentences on the Spanish chef. It also condemns him for the dismemberment and concealment of the Colombian surgeon’s body, as well as for the disappearance of his passport.

The ruling also requires Sancho to pay compensation of around 130,000 dollars to Edwin Arrieta’s parents for the damages caused. It should be noted that the Colombian’s family, which has strong Catholic beliefs, did not support the imposition of a death sentence. The legal team of the victim’s family asked for compensation of around 760,000 euros for the “economic damage” that, according to their calculations, the surgeon’s crime caused.

The Koh Samui court has reduced the sentence from capital punishment to life imprisonment because the defendant provided evidence that has helped resolve the case and said he was “sorry for what happened” at the end of the trial. Upon hearing the verdict on Thursday, Sancho appeared remorseful and was seen with tears in his eyes, according to sources present at the reading of the sentence. Daniel Sancho’s defense will appeal the ruling, for which they have a maximum of one month.

The reading of the sentence began at 10:00 in Thailand (5:00 in Spain) at the Koh Samui Court. The ceremony was held behind closed doors and in front of a strong police presence and great media expectation. Daniel Sancho was able to learn the verdict first hand and was accompanied by his father, the actor Rodolfo Sancho, and finally also by his mother, Silvia Bronchalo. The Thai lawyer who defended him during the trial was also present.

The ruling supports the thesis supported by the Arrieta family’s legal team, which during the trial sessions tried to prove premeditated crime. In this way, a full stop is put in a case that has kept Spanish, Colombian and Thai public opinion in suspense since August 2, 2023, when the crime took place on the island of Koh Phangan.

Spaniard Daniel Sancho is facing trial in Thailand for the alleged murder of Colombian Edwin Arrieta. The court has to determine whether it was a premeditated crime or an accident.

For the time being, Daniel Sancho will remain incarcerated in the same prison in Koh Samui where he has been for almost 400 days. This will be the case at least until the sentence is final once the higher court rules on the appeal filed by the Spanish chef’s defence.

In the next few hours there will be a series of reactions to the verdict in one of the most mediatic cases of recent years. The lawyers for the Arrieta family have called a press conference from the Ospina Abogados office in Madrid starting at 12:00. For their part, the lawyers for the defense of Daniel Sancho are on the island of Koh Samui, where they have accompanied his client Rodolfo Sancho, although the court did not allow them to attend the reading of the sentence.Infobae.