A quiet canal in southern Thailand became the scene of a disturbing discovery on August 8 when the body of a 51-year-old woman was found floating in the Tha Yai Canal in Takua Thung district, Phang Nga province. The victim, later identified by investigators as Kansiri Nasomboon, was wearing a grey T-shirt and black shorts. Two concrete dumbbells were reportedly chained to her neck in an apparent attempt to sink the body — a detail that turned a grim recovery into a complex criminal inquiry spanning two provinces.
Kansiri, originally from an Isaan province, had moved to Phuket for work and was last seen in the Kathu district. Local police began piecing together her movements by reviewing CCTV footage along the route between Phuket and Phang Nga. That footage, according to investigators, captured a pickup truck making a suspicious stop near the canal before returning toward Phuket. The truck was later traced to a house in Takua Thung district and subsequently seized by police for forensic examination.
Police have named a 21-year-old Thai man — who reportedly lived in the same area of Phuket as Kansiri — as the main suspect. He is currently in custody and being questioned, though authorities have not yet confirmed whether he is the killer. Investigators have also searched Kansiri’s home and the suspect’s vehicle for any traces of blood or other evidence that could establish a conclusive link. For now, the case remains active and officials are keeping details tight as they follow forensic leads and statements.
The slow, methodical work of checking CCTV footage played a key role in the early stages of the inquiry. Officers said cameras captured Kansiri being taken from her home in Kathu, and later showed the pickup stopping near the Tha Yai Canal. Those images, paired with the discovery of the truck at the Takua Thung residence, provided the backbone of a chain of events investigators hope will lead to a clearer timeline and motive.
As police proceed, they are cautious about drawing conclusions. The presence of the concrete weights around Kansiri’s neck raises obvious questions about intent and premeditation, but officials have avoided definitive public statements until forensic results and witness interviews are complete. That restraint is standard in sensitive cases: investigators must balance the public’s right to know with the need to preserve evidence and protect the integrity of a potential prosecution.
In a separate but eerily similar incident earlier this year, villagers in the eastern province of Rayong discovered a suitcase floating in the water that emitted a foul odour. When police opened it, they found the naked body of a woman, with two dumbbells — together weighing about 10 kilograms — placed inside the suitcase. Security camera footage from that scene captured three men arriving on two vehicles, and a local resident later told police she had overheard the men discussing timing: one asked when they should begin while another said to wait until nightfall. No arrests or further official updates in the Rayong inquiry have been released publicly.
Two cases separated by geography but linked by disturbing similarities — the use of weights, bodies left in water, and the reliance on CCTV to reconstruct events — underscore how modern investigations increasingly hinge on digital evidence. Cameras along roads and at residences are now as important as fingerprints and DNA in building timelines and identifying suspects. For families and communities affected by these crimes, the slow grind of evidence collection is painful, yet necessary to ensure that any charges brought forward will withstand scrutiny in court.
For now, investigators in Phang Nga and Phuket continue to follow leads. The pickup truck is in police custody pending detailed forensic analysis, and the 21-year-old suspect remains detained for questioning. Authorities have not offered a motive publicly, and are urging anyone with information to come forward to help clarify Kansiri’s final hours.
These cases serve as a reminder of the unresolved human cost behind each headline. While the facts on the record remain limited, communities in Phuket, Phang Nga and Rayong will be watching closely for answers and for justice to take its course.
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