Spanish chef gets life imprisonment for murder of his Colombian lover
A Thailand-based Spanish chef, who faced the death sentence for the murder and dismemberment of a Colombian surgeon on Koh Pha Ngan in Surat Thani province, was given the life sentence by the Koh Samui Provincial Court on Thursday.
The court said the punishment for Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, 30, has been reduced to life imprisonment, as he had confessed to killing and dismembering his lover, Edwin Miguel Arrieta Arteaga, 44.
Bronchalo has been ordered to pay 4.42 million baht at an annual interest rate of 5% to Arteaga’s relatives.
The crime took place in August last year when Bronchalo, who is a son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, killed Arteaga, dismembered his body and dumped some of the pieces in a landfill on Koh Pha Ngan and the rest in the sea.
Local police took many days to find the human remains from the cement yard of the island's municipal solid waste disposal centre.
Bronchalo had previously denied charges of attempted murder and dismemberment of Arteaga, but later confessed to the crime after intense questioning and after being confronted with evidence.
