A court in Thailand has found Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a member of a famous Spanish acting family and a YouTube chef, guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced him to life in prison, in a lurid case that has gripped Spain.
The 30-year-old was convicted of the murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a 44-year-old plastic surgeon from Colombia, when both were vacationing on the Thai holiday island of Koh Pha-ngan in August 2023.
The case has generated enormous interest in Spain because the defendant’s father, Rodolfo Sancho, is a well-known actor, and scores of Spanish reporters have flown in for the trial.
At his trial on the island of Samui, Sancho claimed he got into a fight after Arrieta allegedly tried to sexually assault him. He said Arrieta fell as they scuffled and hit his head on a bathtub, losing consciousness and then dying.
Sancho acknowledged dismembering the victim’s body and disposing of the parts on land and at sea. The Koh Samui provincial court issued an initial sentence of death for Sancho, but in its ruling commuted it to life imprisonment due to his cooperation during the trial, according to police.
Bussakorn Kaewleeled, a lawyer for the victim’s family, said they were happy with the outcome. “The plaintiff is satisfied with the sentence because he will be put in prison for life and they receive some financial compensation,” Bussakorn told reporters outside the court.
When asked about Sancho’s reaction, she said: “He is sad, but we can’t forget the loss of the dead one.” Sancho claimed he killed Arrieta, 44, in self-defence, and admitted hiding the body, but denied destroying the Colombian’s passport. The trial heard that Sancho chopped up Arrieta’s body and put the parts in plastic bags before distributing them around Koh Phangan.
While Thailand still has the death penalty for some crimes, including premeditated murder, it rarely carries out executions – the last being in 2018. Arrieta’s family said before the verdict that they favoured a sentence of life imprisonment.
Guardian.
