The Am Cyanide case covers fourteen suspected serial murders by cyanide poisoning in Thailand from 2015 and 2023. It is so-called by the media after the nickname of the accused, Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn (Thai: สรารัตน์ รังสิวุฒาภรณ์), and her modus operandi.
The case came to public attention in April 2023 following the death of Siriporn Khanwong, a friend of Sararat's. In the aftermath, families of previous victims, almost all of whom had personal connections to Sararat but whose deaths had been ruled to be of natural causes, came forward with their suspicions. The ensuing investigation linked Sararat to fourteen suspected murders, plus one poisoning whose victim survived. The victims were friends and acquaintances whom Sararat either had borrowed money from or killed to steal their possessions. Police said that she was apparently motivated by an online gambling addiction.[1][2][3]
The police forwarded over 75 charges against Sararat to the public prosecutor on 30 June. They included premeditated murder, attempted murder, theft causing death, and forgery.[4] The case was instituted on 18 July 2023, with Sararat's ex-husband (a police officer) and her lawyer also accused of helping Sararat conceal evidence.[5] The trial's first taking-of-evidence session took place on 4 July 2024.[6]
In November 2024, Sararat was found guilty of murdering Siriporn Khanwong in the first of 14 trials, and sentenced to death.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Day, Lauren; Vimonsuknopparat, Supattra (29 September 2023). "Thailand's worst suspected serial killer 'Am Cyanide' is accused of luring her victims to a meal and poisoning them". ABC News. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "Police close Thailand's historic case of serial killer 'Am Cyanide'". Khaosod English. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "'Am Cyanide': The story of Thailand's female serial-murder suspect". Thai PBS World. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "Police wrap up 'Aem Cyanide' case". Bangkok Post. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "อัยการสั่งฟ้อง "แอม-สามี-ทนายพัช" คดี "ก้อย ศิริพร" เสียชีวิต". Thai PBS News (in Thai). 19 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ ""ทนายเดชา" มั่นใจ พยานหลักฐานคดี "ไซยาไนด์" เอาผิดจำเลยได้". Thai PBS News (in Thai). 4 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
- ^ "Thai woman sentenced to death for cyanide poisoning in first of 14 murder trials". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 20 November 2024.