The Criminal Court has given the death sentence to a woman suspected of killing 14 people with cyanide and found guilty of murdering one, a friend, during a merit-making trip last year. 

The court on Wednesday sentenced Sararat “Aem cyanide” Rangsiwuthaporn, 37.

She was found guilty of adding potassium cyanide to either the food or drinking water of Siriporn Khanwong, 32, when they travelled together in Ratchaburi on April 14, 2023. Siriporn fell unconscious and died near the river.

The court said Sararat failed to help Siriporn and instead walked back to her car and left the scene with the victim’s bag, mobile phone and other valuables worth 154,630 baht.

The court said there were fatal levels of cyanide in the victim’s blood, stomach and liver. Experts believed the victim ingested the poison in the killer's car.

The court found that Sararat's bank accounts recorded transactions worth about 95 million baht in total from Jan 1, 2020, to May 5 last year. They were connected to accounts used by online gambling networks.

She had lost heavily gambling online in 2021 and 2022, and during this period a number of her friends had also died. Siriporn is believed by police to be Sararat's 15th victim. 

The court on Wednesday also sentenced Sararat's ex-husband, a former police chief, and her lawyer to two years in jail for helping her hide the victim's bag.