Last month, the body of a 21-year-old woman was found in the passenger seat of a car that had crashed into a tree at 2am, in Nong Bua Lamphu province, but the driver was nowhere to be found.
The driver-less car, authorities soon found, was only the first of several irregularities in this seemingly straightforward case.
Upon closer inspection, the woman, Wanwisa Samran aka Nong Namwarn, was reportedly found with few if any impact wounds, her jean-shorts put on backwards and her underwear missing.
Nearly a month after the July 19 incident, however, her worried parents have yet to find out exactly what happened that fateful night.
Namwarn's mother, 48-year-old Nookan Boonnom, told the Bangkok Post that her daughter's body is at a temple in Pathum Thani's Lat Lum Kaeo district.
The father, Phairot Samran, 43, has worked in the district for over 20 years.
They had planned a funeral, but it has since been put on hold after family members revealed the incident was likely not a so-called "conventional" car crash, and that further investigation was needed.
Both parents were working elsewhere at the time of the incident. Namwarn had travelled back home to help out with her mother's small restaurant in the province during her summer break.
She had been studying Chinese for international business at Bangkok University, in what was to be her senior (last) year.
"I remember my sister had suddenly called me to say my daughter died in a car crash. I cursed her and hung up, thinking it was all a joke," Ms Nookan said, saying she had been in France for two weeks, working at a relative's restaurant to raise money for Namwarn's tuition fees.
"Then my younger brother called, telling me the same news, and I cried for three days straight. She was my entire life, so I did not even want go back [to Thailand] to see the body," she added.
Together, the couple also have a 26-year-old who has now entered the monkhood indefinitely. The family said he blamed himself for "not being able to protect his little sister".
Ms Nookan said she is now heavily in debt because she had to travel to and from France unexpectedly.
No closure: Nookan Boonnom and Phairot Samran decided to suspend the cremation of their daughter Wanwisa Samran, aka Nong Namwarn, in order to have further forensic tests carried out to ascertain the cause of her death after her body was found in a crashed car with her shorts on backwards and her underwear missing.
Most of Namwarn's education fees were paid courtesy of Mr Phairot's employer, from primary school to the first two years of college, she said.
Her father started out as a construction worker in Pathum Thani, and now supervises workers and transports construction materials at the same firm.
Mr Phairot said: "During the last two years of Namwarn's college years, my boss fell ill, and was no longer able to pay for her tuition."
He added that this was when Namwarn's mother, who was also working as a custodian in the province, decided to move to France.
At present, he and the young woman's mother are waiting for their daughter's autopsy results.
Namwarn's body was sent to a hospital in Udon Thani, where doctors told her parents it would take around seven to 15 days to compile the results. They said they have not received them so far.
"We kept calling the police for an update, but each time they told us there was nothing new to report," Ms Nookan said.
"I don't know much about the procedures. I just want to know what happened to my daughter."
Worried the legal process was going too slowly, she filed a complaint to the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women after returning to Thailand, to pressure authorities to speed up their investigation. Namwarn's case has garnered coverage from media outlets as a result.
According to Ms Nookan, all she has so far are leads and tips from Namwarn's friends who were with her on the night of the incident.
She said her daughter had gone out to celebrate at a bar in Nong Bua Lamphu just before she was set to return to Pathum Thani, with one friend and another man, whom Ms Nookan claims Namwarn had only recently met.
According to police reports earlier this month, the man, 39-year-old Polsan Rattanapholtee, admitted to driving the black Toyota Vios into a tree on Nong Bua Lamphu-Non Sung road, around 13km from the province's Muang district.
Initial medical reports said Namwarn had died from a broken neck suffered during the crash. Mr Polsan was charged with reckless driving but was released on bail after allegedly confessing to the crime.
He also admitted having sex with Namwarn prior to the crash. According to police reports, Mr Polsan said he had taken Namwarn to a concert before the bar.
On their way back to Namwarn's home, they had stopped by a school and had sex in the car, he said.
Mr Polsan claims the young woman was slightly intoxicated but was fully conscious at the time. At the scene of the crime, Namwarn's body was found with backwards-facing, unzipped jean-shorts, and missing underwear. Mr Polsan claims she put on the clothes herself and she was not wearing any underwear.
He said he left the car to find help and found a rescue vehicle, admitting the crash into the tree was an accident. Police have also charged Mr Polsan with rape.
However, authorities say the autopsy results must first be considered before details of the case or an accurate conclusion can be made.
Ms Nookan, however, said it is hard to believe Mr Polsan's testimony.
"Namwarn had a boyfriend prior to the incident, and they had a steady relationship," she said.
"Yes, she was friendly and got along with people easily, but she always knew right from wrong.
Her father added: "If the investigation was conducted properly, why are there still so many unanswered questions?"
The pair said Namwarn was planning to work as a tour guide or a language teacher to help her family since she had a knack for learning Chinese.
Mr Phairot said Namwarn loved doing extracurricular activities from a young age, often participating in singing contests and working as a dancer at luk thung concerts.
She was also selected as a contestant on the fourth season of Princess Ubolratana's "To be Number One" singing contest.
"The last thing I told her was that I was going to go home and cook for her, and she cheered," Ms Nookan said. "I worried about her constantly, but she would always say no one would hurt her if she doesn't hurt them first."
