Chumphon: The provincial court yesterday handed down death sentences, commuted to life imprisonment, to a man and his lover over the murder of his fiancee in December last year.
Ronnachai Panchart, 26, and Narumon Chuaisombat, 23, were found guilty of the premeditated murder of Nontiya Kruajaturas, a 25-year-old dental assistant, and sentenced to death.
Citing their cooperation during the investigation and the trial, the court commuted the sentences to life imprisonment.
The judge spent about an hour reading out the court's ruling at the hearing that was attended by members of the victim's family.
Nontiya was found shot dead from a shotgun blast on Dec 19 last year -- five days before her wedding -- in her room at the residential compound of Tambon Salui Health Promotion Hospital in Tha Sae district.
Ronnachai, who worked for the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), was detained shortly after the killing after police used footage from security cameras to help identify the physical appearance of the potential suspect in the case.
The footage showed a hooded man entering Nontiya's living quarters before she was found dead.
Narumon, his lover and a colleague at the PEA, was arrested after evidence suggested that the pair had bought a shotgun together.
She reportedly paid 7,000 baht for the weapon after Ronnachai told her he needed it for protection.
She was believed to have driven Ronnachai to the victim's room where he shot her dead and to Klong Tha Taphao where he allegedly disposed of the shotgun.
Police investigators later found the weapon in the canal which was a key piece of evidence in the trial.
According to police, the relationship reportedly soured when the bride-to-be went to Ronnachai's house and found him with another woman.
Chao Kruajaturas, the father of the victim, said yesterday justice had been served even though the sentence for the pair was commuted to life in jail.
However, the case could be prolonged if the defendants decide to appeal the ruling within the 30-day timeframe stipulated by the court.
He said the family would file a lawsuit seeking about 8 million baht in compensation from the defendants, adding that the sum included 900,000 baht in expenses incurred for wedding planning.
