The shadow of the death penalty hangs over Daniel Sancho. after new statements by the Thai police. The authorities of the Asian country have proposed the death penalty for Sancho, the main suspect in the murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta.
The official narrative, supported by the testimony of the investigators, suggests that Sancho committed the murder in the hotel room as a means to end their relationship. In an act of apparent desperation, the young chef would have used a knife and a saw to dismember the doctor's body. Therefore, the police understand that it was "a premeditated murder" and that he acted completely alone.
However, Sancho's version is markedly different. The cook alleges that Arrieta's death was accidental, the result of an altercation that culminated in the surgeon hitting a bathtub. But the evidence does not seem to support his claim. The police have reported a hole in Arrieta's clothing that coincides with a stab wound to the left chest, contradicting Sancho's account.
Added to this scenario is the figure of the media police chief Big Jok, who has not hesitated to recommend the maximum penalty for the Spaniard: "It was a planned murder and, generally, the death penalty is requested for these cases."
At the moment, it has only been the police officer who has spoken. The final decision will rest with the trial, which is expected to take place in September. But Sancho would still have a chance of serving a prison sentence.
In the complex Thai legal framework, a premeditated murder can send the defendant straight to death row. And while execution may seem like an unlikely fate for the chef, it's a real possibility in Thailand.
But Sancho would still have an escape route. In this sense, if capital punishment is handed down, the cook could still appeal to King Maha Vajiralongkorn for clemency, as the Spanish Artur Segarra did in 2016. Segarra, originally sentenced to death for the murder of a businessman, managed to have his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after asking the king for clemency.
