The Criminal Court has acquitted convicted poisoner Sararat "Aem Cyanide" Rangsiwuthaporn of the sixth murder case brought against her.
The court ruled on Tuesday that prosecutors had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that she murdered a close friend with cyanide-laced food in 2015.
It was the sixth case filed by public prosecutors from the Office of Criminal Litigation Region 6 against Sararat on charges of murder.
In this case, Sararat, 39, was charged with poisoning Monthathip "Sai" Khao-in with cyanide at the victim's luxury condominium in Bangkok's Thong Lor area on July 7, 2015.
Prosecutors alleged the motive was Sararat's desire to eliminate a debt owed to the victim. She denied the charge.
The court in its judgement said Sararat and Monthathip were close friends and moved in the same informal-loan circle, and that Sararat had borrowed money from her.
The court heard that Sararat had lost more than 30 million baht through online gambling. The victim lived in Canada and owned commercial rental properties in Sam Phran district of Nakhon Pathom. She entrusted Sararat with managing the properties.
On the day of the alleged crime Monthathip returned from Canada. Sararat and several other friends met her at Suvarnabhumi airport. The group stopped for rice porridge before going to the victim's condominium, where she later died.
The court said the autopsy report stated Monthathip died of heart failure, or possibly an underlying medical condition. The examining physician was unable to confirm that her death was the result of cyanide poisoning.
The court ruled that the prosecution's evidence contained uncertainties and there was no witness or direct evidence proving that Sararat had administered cyanide to the woman.
Under the principle that criminal convictions must be supported by evidence establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the court said the benefit of doubt must be given to the defendant and dismissed the case.
Sararat was taken from the Central Women's Correctional Institution to the court to hear the judgement on Tuesday.
The court has previously delivered judgment in five other murder cases against her, imposing one death sentence and two life imprisonment sentences and acquitting her in two cases. With the latest acquittal, Sararat has now been cleared in three cases.
Prosecutors have filed a total of 15 cases against Sararat - 14 for murder and one attempted murder. Her involvement in a series of cyanide-related deaths attracted widespread public attention.
The Kanchanaburi native, dubbed "Aem Cyanide" after police found traces of cyanide in the victims' bodies, was arrested on April 25, 2023. She was pregnant when caught.
Police wrapped up their investigation into the criminal cases against her in June 2023, about the same time she miscarried during the fifth or sixth month of her pregnancy.
