Mad Yank Confesses to Murdering Bar Hostess

Wanphen’s body was stuffed into a large suitcase and dumped in a remote part of Wichit, several kilometers from Mr Fanelli’s rented home.

After a brief statement outlining the details of the case, Mr. Fanelli told the press flatly, “I killed her.”

Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit said that Mr. Fanelli initially denied the charges, but changed his mind when confronted with evidence including CCTV images and recorded telephone conversations.Police also explained to him that pleading guilty to a murder charge customarily leads Thai judges to commute a death sentence to life imprisonment.

Mr. Fanelli, originally from New York and a former US Navy lieutenant who served aboard the USS Nevada, said he came to Thailand about three years ago and has lived here since.

Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit said several factors appeared to have contributed to Mr. Fanelli’s mental state at the time of the stabbing: he was drunk; his Thai wife had left him and taken their young child back to her native Maha Sarakham province in Issan. He had also recently lost his Internet connection, he noted. Mr. Fanelli stabbed Ms. Wanphen once in the back then again in the chest.

Wanphen had stayed with him for about one day before she was murdered. Mr. Fanelli told police that he carried the suitcase in front of him while he rode his motorbike to where he dumped Wanphen’s body off Chao Fa Thani Rd in Wichit. Ms. Wanphen’s wrists and ankles were found broken, apparently so her body could be stuffed into the suitcase. Mr. Fanelli returned home and hid the switchblade above the gypsum tile roof, then rented a house in Kata to avoid detection by police.

Maj Gen Pekad said the arrest followed several days of surveillance following a tip-off by ananonymous person.Phuket Police were under intense pressure to bring Ms. Wanphen’s killer to justice.The murder sent shock waves throughout the bar industry across Phuket, with “mamasans” taking extra precautions to screen potential customers.