Aussie Faces Death Penalty Over Alleged Murder Of Teen Found In Suitcase | 10 News+

A grisly crime that's made headlines around the world.An Aussie expat accused of killing a 17 -year -old girl in Thailand before dumping her body in a suitcase.But just who is Simon Carmen, the man currently behind bars and under investigation by Thai police?And has the case brought into the open Australia's dirty secret?A beachside city where seedy men exploit vulnerable young girls.

This is a great place to live if you want to live cheaply and that's the attraction for a lot of people.Beers are cheap and food's cheap and you could live here for maybe $200 a week.The only reason I could think of people coming here is because they wanted to come here as a sex tourist.

Pattaya, Thailand.A resort city trading on its coastal lifestyle, it's pitched as having a pulsating nightlife enticing expats from around the world.One of them is Australian Simon Carmen, who now stands accused of a barbaric murder.

I can't think of anything more horrendous, not only for the alleged crime, but the way his victim was treated after that crime.

That victim is a 17 -year -old girl, Tunchinok Donhomla.She met Simon Carmen at a local beach last Thursday.Security cameras captured the pair heading back to the 45 -year -old's apartment.Tunchinok Donhomla didn't make it out alive.Carmen is seen wheeling out a suitcase.18 hours later, police found the bag dumped in thick grass on the side of the road about 10 minutes away near train tracks.

Stuffed inside was Tunchinok Donhomla's body.

People are pretty distressed and angry.There's not much sympathy for Simon Carman at the moment.

Carman was arrested at the airport trying to board a Jetstar flight to Perth.Instead, he was transported back to Pattaya and marched into the police station with his hands covered in blood.scratches on his neck and arms.He was asked outright by journalists if he killed the girl.But he didn't hide involvement in a message to Thanchanok's parents.

I hope you, I know you'll be very sad, upset, same same me.It shouldn't happen.

Media reports in Thailand suggest there was a disagreement over the price for sex services.The original agreement was reportedly 1 ,000 Thai baht or just over $40.Carmen, it's claimed, then tried to pay half that.A $21 dispute that's left the 17 -year -old's family devastated.Here, they pour through her old messages outside the police station.Her stepmother says she wants him executed.

The young girl's final moments were spent in this apartment complex.It's where Simon Carmen lived.He worked as a handyman at a nearby bar.He'd been in Thailand for around eight months.From WA, he's what you might call a drifter.

I spoke to one of his friends last night who said, look, I knew him.but I definitely wouldn't have bought him a beer.And that was before these allegations surfaced.

Is Simon Carman someone renowned for seeking out sex workers?

He didn't seem to bring girls back to his apartment very often, according to his friends.People in the complex said they hadn't seen him very often, kept to himself, didn't open his door much.

But walking down the street in Pattaya, sex and exploitation are hard to ignore.

The person I was with pointed out a young girl.I thought she was a young girl.12, maybe she was 15, but he said that girl was a prostitute.And this is what is happening here on the streets of Thailand.Australian men are exploiting young women for sexual services with no regard to the cost to them.

Is that sort of thing rife there in Pattaya?

It's everywhere.There's ping -pong bars, there's... bars full of, you know, at two o 'clock in the afternoon, there's women dressed in bikinis who are yelling out to men, offering sex.