Hanna Charlotta Backlund case
Encyclopedia
The Hanna Charlotta Backlund case involves the murder
of a 27-year-old Swedish woman, named Hanna Charlotta Backlund on the northern tip of the island of Phuket
, Thailand
on March 14, 2008.
At the afternoon of her day of death, Backlund asked her travel companion to join her for a walk on the beach but her friend stayed back at the grounds of the hotel on Mai Khao beach, where they camped in a tent. When Backlund failed to return, the friend went looking for her and found her body in the sand. She was attacked and, after fighting back, stabbed in the neck. Furthermore, she had apparent knife wounds on her body and her left hand.
Police said they feared any clues left in the sand had been washed away by waves.
On March 18, 2008 Thai police issued a warrant for the arrest of 31-year-old Akaradet Thatchai Tankay, a Moken
sea gypsy who police believe murdered Hanna. Described as a pool cleaner / gardener, police received reports of his tendency to spy on female tourists on the beach and believed he had fled to the Chumphon region of Thailand.
Later on on the night of March 18, 2008 police arrested Akkaradej "Chon" Tunkae at Ranong Kraburi district with the assistance of the suspect's father and relatives after he had made contact with them from Burma expressing a desire to surrender. It has been reported that he has admitted to stabbing and killing Hanna after he failed to rape her.
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of a 27-year-old Swedish woman, named Hanna Charlotta Backlund on the northern tip of the island of Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
on March 14, 2008.
At the afternoon of her day of death, Backlund asked her travel companion to join her for a walk on the beach but her friend stayed back at the grounds of the hotel on Mai Khao beach, where they camped in a tent. When Backlund failed to return, the friend went looking for her and found her body in the sand. She was attacked and, after fighting back, stabbed in the neck. Furthermore, she had apparent knife wounds on her body and her left hand.
Police said they feared any clues left in the sand had been washed away by waves.
On March 18, 2008 Thai police issued a warrant for the arrest of 31-year-old Akaradet Thatchai Tankay, a Moken
Moken
The Moken , are an Austronesian ethnic group with about 2,000 to 3,000 members who maintain a nomadic, sea-based culture. They speak their own language which belongs to the Austronesian language family.-Nomenclature:They refer to themselves as Moken...
sea gypsy who police believe murdered Hanna. Described as a pool cleaner / gardener, police received reports of his tendency to spy on female tourists on the beach and believed he had fled to the Chumphon region of Thailand.
Later on on the night of March 18, 2008 police arrested Akkaradej "Chon" Tunkae at Ranong Kraburi district with the assistance of the suspect's father and relatives after he had made contact with them from Burma expressing a desire to surrender. It has been reported that he has admitted to stabbing and killing Hanna after he failed to rape her.