A manhunt is underway after two British tourists were found dead early Monday morning on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand. The murders have rocked the quiet tourist destination, which is seen as an alternative to more party-heavy Thai getaways.
THE investigation into who killed two British tourists in Thailand has taken a bizarre twist, as police let the public take selfies at the murder scene.
The Mirror in the UK reports that tourists have been seen taking selfies on Koh Tao, where British couple David Miller, 24, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, were found naked and beaten to death near a beachside bungalow early Monday.
Police also seem to be clueless as to who the killer might be, after the Mirror also witnessed them taking more DNA swabs on the sand from local workers who were forced to hold up identification signs near where the murder weapon — a garden hoe — was first discovered.
The Mirror reports that "officers have also been carrying out tests in public on male and female bar and restaurant workers, who were made to line up in the sand".
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Brutally slain ... British students, Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
The investigation in to Miller and Witheridge's brutal murder has now been branded a "joke" by one local, who claimed it was "offensive" to be asking them to undertake tests.
Thailand's top police and forensics chief also arrived on the island today, according to Mirror reporter Andy Lines who tweeted that Witheridge's parents would not be going to the island after they arrived in Bangkok.
They were advised earlier this week that they should not look at her body as it was unrecognisable from the fatal injuries she suffered, according to authorities.
As they met senior officers leading the inquiry, detectives admitted they had no suspects after forensic tests came back negative – and said the killer may have fled the holiday island.
Hopes of a breakthrough in solving the double killing now appear to rest on a used butt from a cheap cigarette of the sort smoked by Thais, migrant workers and long-time expats.
DNA from two unidentified men has been found on the butt, and genetic material from at least one was also discovered on Miss Witheridge's body.
The news of selfies being taken at the crime scene and further haphazard police DNA testing by the sea comes after residents have pooled their funds into a reward for clues about the killers.
The search for suspects continued on the southern diving island of Koh Tao.
The police investigation appeared to have stalled after post-mortem examinations of the victims' bodies in Bangkok failed to find DNA links to key suspects questioned so far.
"At this point we offer 50,000 baht ($1,500) for anyone who can provide clues which lead to the arrest of a suspect," Koh Tao mayor Chaiyan Turasakul told AFP. "The money comes from donations from the people of Koh Tao." The murders have rocked the normally laid-back island and landed a new blow to Thailand's image as a tourist haven, battered by months of political protests that ended in May's army coup.
Relatives ... of murdered British tourist Hannah Witheridge hug ahead of a police briefing at the Thai police headquarters in Bangkok. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
Several dozen Koh Tao residents held a religious ceremony to offer prayers for the dead on Thursday, Chaiyan said, with many more assisting police in the search.
On Friday regional police commander Panya Maman said around 160 officers were hunting for clues on the small island, which neighbours the more-visited Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand.
Thai Buddhist monks ... recite prayers during a religious ceremony held in memory of two murdered British tourists on the southern resort island of Koh Tao. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
"I have deployed police in nearby islands as well as on the mainland," he said. With no arrests and an apparent lack of new leads, it is unclear where the police investigation can turn.
Earlier this week comments by Thailand's military ruler Prayut Chan-O-Cha, suggesting tourists in bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack, triggered an international outcry, leading the premier to apologise.
"They think our country is beautiful and is safe so they can do whatever they want, they can wear bikinis and walk everywhere," Prayut said in off-the-cuff remarks to government officials, two days after the murder of the British pair.
But "can they be safe in bikinis ... unless they are not beautiful?" On Thursday, in a rare public moment of contrition from the army chief, Prayut said he was "sorry" his remarks hurt people.
According to an official source, Prayut will send letters to the British prime minister and the families of the two victims offering his condolences over the deaths and explaining his recent comments.
Crime scene ... the Ocean View Bungalows hotel where two British backpackers who were murdered earlier this week. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
Thai police chief General Jarumporn Suramanpee has also continued to dodge questions about the haphazard way the inquiry has been conducted.
He denied that officers had 'mucked up' in allowing large numbers of tourists to trample over the crime scene beside Sairee beach on Kho Tao.
But Gen Suramanpee admitted that he did not know whether the killers were still on the island or had escaped since the murders.
He promised the victims' families that the perpetrators would be caught, but confessed:
"No, we don't know who the murderer is."
Thai forensic investigators ... inspect a hotel room where one of two British backpackers who were murdered earlier this week. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
Meanwhile, two British friends of Mr Miller were allowed to return home to Jersey by Thai police after being questioned as 'possible suspects'.
Chris Ware, 24, and his brother Jimmy, 27, had been on holiday with Mr Miller on Kho Tao and have now been eliminated from the inquiry along with Burmese migrant workers after DNA test results proved inconclusive.
Photos of Chris Ware being questioned showed a cut on his right hand, but it was revealed yesterday that it was caused by a firework. The Jersey Evening Post reported how Mr Ware wrote on Facebook on Wednesday: "I'm going through the worst tragedy of my life!"
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