A 36-year-old woman was arrested after her 74-year-old mother-in-law was killed and beheaded following a domestic dispute at a house in Muang district of Phuket on Saturday.
Police and forensic investigators rushed to the house in tambon Chalong after being alerted at about 9.15am, said Pol Maj Charuwit Khuncharoen, investigation chief at the Chalong station.
Investigators found the body of the victim, identified only as Chantra, 74, lying in a pool of blood inside the house. She had sustained multiple sharp-force injuries.
A preliminary investigation found that the victim had been alone in the house with her daughter-in-law, identified only as Sriwan, 36, before the two became involved in a heated argument.
Ms Sriwan reportedly assaulted her mother-in-law, causing the elderly woman to fall, before attacking her repeatedly with a knife. The suspect was accused of inflicting multiple wounds to the victim’s body and face before fatally beheading her, according to police.
Neighbours who witnessed the incident alerted police. When officers arrived, they found the suspect hiding in the bathroom of the house and arrested her at the scene.
Investigators, forensic officers and a duty physician conducted an examination of the crime scene and carried out a preliminary post-mortem investigation.
The suspect’s husband, who had been in Bangkok at the time of the incident, was informed about his mother’s death when he arrived at Phuket airport.
He told investigators that his wife had been receiving psychiatric treatment regularly since 2016. The three had lived together in the house for about 10 years.
He said his wife had regularly cared for his mother by preparing meals and helping her change her clothes.
Pol Maj Gen Sinlert Sukhum, commander of Phuket provincial police, said the suspect has been charged with murder and will face legal proceedings.
