My night with the Australian accused of killing Thai teen | Daily Mail

I feel bad for what happened to your daughter.It was out of my control.

Did you go to Simon's apartment?Yes, I go with him in the apartment.April, yes.I go in the room, he smell not good and messy, room messy.Yes.

I'm here in Pattaya's busiest red light district.On any given night, the bars are pumping, the music is loud, and the girls spill out onto the streets to hustle their next customer.It's a well -known part of the entertainment economy that attracts visitors from around the globe.But when Australian Simon Carmen was accused of murdering local teen Tanchinok Donhomla, it exposed a far darker side to the tourist city.Because Miss Dom Homler was just 17 years old, she wouldn't have been permitted to work at one of these bars, as ID is rigorously checked.But according to Carmen's own account, he says their paths crossed in a neighboring suburb.

It was 3 a .m.when Carmen took this walk along the waterfront in Jontiem, around 15 minutes from his apartment.He says that as he came level with the night market behind me, three girls crossed the road, asking if he wanted to pay for their services.Carmen claims that he declined, saying he just wanted to be alone that night, but that as he walked away, the younger of the girls stepped in beside him and held his hand.This is Carmen's apartment, the last time that the teenager was seen alive.

Police allege that behind these doors an unimaginable crime has taken place.As you can see, it's a long, gloomy corridor that she took her last walk.The neighbors' apartments are either locked up, they have notices of evictions on them, or posts shoved under their doors that seemingly have been there for months.Even if she screamed, I'm not sure anybody would have heard her.This wasn't the first time Carmen brought girls back to his condo.One of those ladies was mother of two, Tang Chai.

Carmen had invited her over just weeks before he killed the teenager and stuffed her body into a suitcase.Miss Chai met Carmen by chance at the local 7 -Eleven store.The following day, he asked her for a date, but Ms Chai explained that she worked at a local bar nearby and she would need paying as she sends money home to her mother, who's caring for her two children.

You exchanged, gave each other your contacts?

Yeah.

And then he started to message you?Yes.And he asked what?Um, you beautiful, yeah, you want go with me?yes me say yes i can go with you but you can pay lady um one hour short time not long time yes And Simon say yes, okay.Yes, say yes, okay.

Two times I see him.He send message to me, go in the room.Yes, short time, one time I go with him.Did you go to Simon's apartment?Yes, I go with him in the apartment.April, yes, I go.

smell not not good and Miss Missy room Missy.

Yes, and when Simon need to pay you How much did you ask for?

Um three thousand and five hundred baht and him and for tip me Maybe I nothing 300 baht But days later, when she asked if he wanted to book again, he said she was too expensive and that it was a scam.

Miss Chai was shocked when she heard the news about the teenager's death and couldn't sleep for days.

When you see the news of Simon, what did you think?I see, I look new, yes.I'm very scared.I cannot sleep three days because Simon customer me.

The death of Miston Homla soon became international news.But to understand the murder allegations now before the courts, it's necessary to return to Carmen's own account of the final hours before she died.According to Carmen's version of events, it wasn't until they were sitting on the bed that the conversation, with the aid of Google Translate, first turned to money.He said when he opened his wallet containing Thai baht worth around $800, that Miss Dom -Homla pulled out a flick knife, demanding the lot.The pair struggled.Carmen weighed up his options, and he didn't believe

calling the police was one of them.He'd had run -ins before and he believed that the Thai police were corrupt.So instead he decided to deal with it himself and he placed his hands around her neck.He has since claimed he didn't realize how tightly he was squeezing and when she stopped struggling he knew she was dead.It was then that he folded her lifeless body into a suitcase, dragged it into the bathroom and went to bed.The following day, with the suitcase still stored in Simon's apartment bathroom, he came downstairs and went about life as normal.

He did some chores, gathered his laundry and dropped it off and then came here to the strip of cafes behind me where he planned to meet a friend for lunch.Whilst he was waiting for the friend, they actually called and cancelled plans.They said they had a change of mind and were no longer coming back to Pattaya.And that's when Simon decided that he wanted to go back to Australia.You see, he'd been waiting for this friend because they were storing belongings at his apartment.And as they didn't need access for the next few weeks, Simon thought that would be a great time to head back.

So after he left here, he went back to his apartment.and he booked flights to pass.And this is where Carmen's ended up on his scooter with the suitcase still strapped to the back.He's thrown it down this embankment into the long grass.It's actually not very far.I can see Carmen's apartment from here and as you can see this isn't even an isolated area.

There's a busy highway that's running right past these railway tracks and then there's the tracks themselves which have regular trains coming through.There's also businesses right there behind me.And what's even more shocking is just here at my feet, there's actually the remains of the forensic testing kits that were used by detectives to identify her.The following day, Carmen packed and headed to the airport.Unbeknown to him, Ms Donhomla's friends had reported her missing and the police were already tracking his movements.Thai police arrested Karman moments before he boarded his Jetstar flight to Perth.

After Karman was arrested, he was brought here to Pattaya police station.He was questioned by detectives.He gave a full statement where he admitted to strangling the teenager.He also recorded a video apologizing to her parents.

I know you'll be very sad, upset, same, same me. um it shouldn't happen and i hope you're okay i know you're not but i hope um and please tell other girls to be not just to be careful and not Now we met with police chiefs here and they actually told us that Simon can negotiate with the family from here and if that's successful and they accept a compensation

payment he can actually get years taken off his sentence.Carmen briefly appeared in court where he was refused bail with the judges believing he was a flight risk.Carmen is currently being housed here at Pattaya Roman Centre where he's expected to stay for the next 84 days.Now he's currently in isolation which means he won't be allowed any visitors for 10 days but we have also been told that nobody has applied to see him.He is staying at the moment in the hospital wing, and that's because Carmen is classed as a high risk prisoner.But when I say high risk, I don't mean that Carmen is a threat to other prisoners.

I mean that there is serious concerns about his safety because there is a target on his back.Carmen is still yet to face trial for his alleged crimes.If found guilty, he could potentially face life in jail or even the death penalty.Daily Mail will be there to provide the latest updates.