His first murder, that of a young American whose body was found on a beach in a bikini, dates back to 1975. Nicknamed the “bikini killer“, this suave and sophisticated man was eventually linked to more than 20 murders. Charles Sobhraj’s other nickname, “The snake“, comes from his ability to assume other identities to escape justice. It has become the title of a hit series produced by the BBC and Netflix which is inspired by his life.
He was arrested in 1976 in India and eventually spent 21 years in prison, with a brief interlude in 1986 when he escaped before being arrested again in the Indian coastal state of Goa. Released in 1997, he retired to Paris but resurfaced in 2003 in Nepal, where he was spotted in the tourist district of Kathmandu and arrested. The following year, a court sentenced him to life in prison for the 1975 murder of American tourist Connie Jo Bronzich. Ten years later, he was also convicted of murdering Ms. Bronzich’s Canadian companion.
Behind bars, Charles Sobhraj maintained he was innocent of both murders and claimed he had never been to Nepal before the trip that led to his arrest. Thai police officer Sompol Suthimai, whose work with Interpol helped arrest Charles Sobhraj in 1976, had pushed for him to be extradited to Thailand and tried for the murders he committed there .
But on Thursday, he told AFP he had no objection to his release because he and the criminal he once prosecuted were now too old. “It has been so long“, said Sompol Suthimai, now 90 years old.I think he already paid for his actions“.