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Thailand jails for life son of Spanish actor over grisly murder

Court finds Rodolfo Sancho's son Daniel guilty of the premeditated murder of plastic surgeon Arteaga

Published: Thu 29 Aug 2024, 12:28 PM

Updated: Thu 29 Aug 2024, 12:29 PM

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  • Reuters

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Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, the son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre is escorted while assisting Thai police with investigations after he was arrested on charges of murder in the death and dismemberment of his Colombian travelling companion Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the tourist island of Koh Phangan, Thailand, on August 7, 2023. — Reuters file

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, the son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre is escorted while assisting Thai police with investigations after he was arrested on charges of murder in the death and dismemberment of his Colombian travelling companion Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the tourist island of Koh Phangan, Thailand, on August 7, 2023. — Reuters file

A Thai court on Thursday jailed for life the son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho for the high-profile murder and dismembering of a Columbian man last year on the popular tourist island of Koh Phangan.

A criminal court on the neighbouring island of Samui found Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 30, guilty of the premeditated murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44, whose body was cut up and concealed by the accused, a court statement said.

Daniel Sancho is the son of Rodolfo Sancho, who starred in El Ministerio del Tiempo (The Ministry of Time) and actress Silvia Bronchalo. He pleaded guilty to concealing the victim's body, but denied premeditated murder, the court said.

Throughout the trial, Sancho had maintained the August 2023 killing of Arteaga, a plastic surgeon, was an act of self-defense, according to Thai media reports. His lawyer declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Thursday.

Sancho was a chef on holiday in Thailand at the time of the incident, local media said.

He dismembered the victim's body and placed parts of it in plastic bags that he distributed around the island.

The court initially sentenced him to death but reduced that to life imprisonment due to the account he gave of the events during cross examination. He was ordered to pay the victim's family 4.42 million baht ($130,230) in compensation.



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