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 passed sentence on 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 to release fish into the Mae Klong River in Ban Pong district of Ratchaburi on April 14, 2023. Siriporn fell unconscious and died near the river.
The court in its judgement said Sararat saw her friend collapse, but did not appear surprised. As if they had not been friends, 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.
Her actions showed that Sararat had expected what happened to Siriporn, the court said.
The court said there were fatal levels of potassium cyanide in the victim’s blood, stomach and liver. Experts believed the victim ingested the poison in the killer's car, before the two of them went down to Mae Klong River.
Afterwards, Sararat hid the victim’s bag and bottles of potassium cyanide she had bought. Police found traces of potassium cyanide at several spots in her car. There was evidence proving that she had ordered potassium cyanide and had a motorcyclist deliver it to her.
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.
The court also found that Sararat had huge debts. 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 found Sararat guilty of the premeditated murder of Siriporn for purpose of theft.
The court on Wednesday also sentenced Sararat's ex-husband, Withoon Rangsiwuthaporn, 40, a former chief of Suan Phueng police station in Ratchaburi, and her lawyer Thanicha Aeksuwannawat, 36, to two years in jail for helping her conceal the victim's bag.
Withoon’s jail sentence was commuted to one year and four months because he gave useful testimony.
The court later released Withoon and Thanicha on bail of 100,000 baht each pending their appeals.
It also ordered the three convicted felons to pay about 2.34 million baht in compensation to Siriporn's family.
All three had denied all charges.
Sararat was also suspected of administering potassium cyanide to 14 other people between 2015 and 2023, to either avoid debts she owed them or to steal their valuables.
In most cases the poison was allegedly administered in food. In one case, it was added to diet pills. Only one of her alleged victims survived.
Sararat was arrested on April 25, 2023, and had been detained at the Central Women's Correctional Institution.
She was pregnant when caught. Police wrapped up their investigation into her criminal cases in June last year, about the time she miscarried during the fifth or sixth month of her pregnancy.
Police take Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn to the Criminal Court on April 26, 2023, a day after her arrest. (Police photo)