This Tuesday, April 9, the trial against Daniel Sancho, 29, for the death and dismemberment of Colombian doctor Edwin Arrieta, 44, will begin in Thailand. The Spanish tourist and son and grandson of Spanish actors Rodolfo Sancho and Sancho Gracia will begin He faces three accusations: premeditated murder, concealment of the body and destruction of other people's documentation.
In the worst-case scenario, Sancho faces a commutable death sentence if the provincial court on the Thai island of Samui finds that it was a premeditated murder and not a reckless homicide. The latter is the thesis that supports the defense, which could result in a minimum sentence of between three to five years in prison for Sancho.
The trial will last until May 3 and has between 14 and 15 sessions planned. Four viewings each week from Tuesday to Friday, although there will be a temporary hiatus due to the Thai New Year celebration. Fifty witnesses are expected to testify, including police officers, experts and relatives of those involved.
Daniel Sancho and his father will testify starting April 25, when the thirty people summoned by the prosecutor have given their testimony. Later, the defense witnesses will also testify until May 3, and it is expected that on the last day the accused will make a new final argument. Once the sessions are over, the court will have between four and eight weeks to issue the sentence.
Sancho, who has been in provisional prison since August 7, a total of 243 days, acknowledged the dismemberment of Arrieta's body before the judge, but not the premeditated murder and his defense will be based on this, on which the death of Colombian doctor was a reckless homicide. The defense seeks to prove that Arrieta's death was accidental and that it occurred during a fight, in addition to challenging part of Sancho's initial statement, alleging that he was pressured to confess and other irregularities.
For its part, the Prosecutor's Office will support in the trial that Arrieta's death was a premeditated murder that Sancho had prepared, presenting as main evidence the cleaning products, garbage bags, knives and a saw that the accused bought the day before. The Prosecutor's witnesses are mainly police officers and experts, as well as the woman who rented a kayak on the night of August 2 to Sancho, from where she allegedly threw part of the remains of Arrieta's body into the sea.
The judicial process will begin this Tuesday with an initial statement by all the parties involved, lasting approximately five minutes, in which the parties' theses will be broadly outlined. It is also worth noting that according to Thailand's procedural code, the judge could end the trial at any time if he considers that he has enough information to resolve the case.
According to the imprisoned man, son of actor Rodolfo Sancho, the death of the Colombian surgeon was an involuntary homicide resulting from a strong fight after which he tried to revive the victim, without success. And the reason for said dispute was, as Bangkok Post extracted from Sancho's initial statements, that Arrieta was subduing him and threatening to damage the reputation of his family in Spain, since, apparently, the deceased had intimate graphic material in his possession. that Sancho had previously provided him. The two had met on Instagram a year before.
The true relationship between the victim and the accused is another of the most morbid issues in history. Many accept the version that Sancho and Arrieta maintained something more than a friendship or business contacts, and the trial could clear up doubts in this regard. What is not in doubt is that, after Arrieta's death, Sancho tried to get rid of the body and dismembered it into several parts.
According to the chronology that local media considered after Arrieta's death, Daniel Sancho arrived in Thailand on July 30, 2023 and on the island of Koh Phangan on August 1. The surgeon joined him a day later. And on the night of their meeting, a strong argument occurred between them that resulted in the Colombian dying in the hotel room they shared. After that, Sancho himself reported the following day, the night of Thursday, August 3, the disappearance of the Colombian at the Koh Phangan police station. He began being questioned as a suspect on Friday, August 4, and was formally detained the following day.
On Saturday the 6th, Sancho's confession came to the police, apparently because the evidence pointing to him was too obvious. And on Sunday he was taken to various locations on the island of Koh Phangan to reconstruct the crime. Among them was the beach where he would have abandoned the kayak with which he disposed of parts of Arrieta's body.
Another bizarre detail of the story is the public statement that Sancho made to Efe on Sunday night. As he himself told Telecinco, the police were treating him “very well” because he had been cooperative. “To give you an idea, I am having dinner at the best hotel on the island, which is an Anantara,” the detainee revealed.
