Polish man arrested over gruesome murder in Bangkok condo

Lagoda Filippow, 25, was arrested at the Klong Luek border checkpoint in Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet district on Monday for the alleged murder of Alona Savchenko, 27.

The suspect was tracked down shortly after Bangkok police learned of the gruesome murder in room No 708 on the 32nd floor of The Key Sathorn-Charoenrat Condominium in Bang Khlo Laem district.

Filippow was delivered to Wat Phrayakrai Police Station, which has jurisdiction in the area, at 4am on Tuesday.

The suspect appeared calm and took a nap inside the detention room. He then had breakfast and coffee without any apparent sign of stress.

He later asked the police to alert the Polish embassy to send him help. Police said they called the embassy later on Tuesday and asked them to send of official to interpret and witness the interrogation process.

The Wat Phrayakai Police Station was alerted of the murder at 1pm on Monday by a taxi driver, who claimed the suspect had asked him for help to get rid of the body.

Filippow was caught just as he was about to cross the border over to Cambodia.

Police found Savchecko’s body covered in a white blanket on the bed. There were stab wounds in the chest and her left arm had been sawn off. There were several cuts on the body and her neck had almost been severed. A foot-long handsaw was found nearby.

Preliminary checks showed that the victim had been dead for more than 24 hours. Police said initial investigation showed the victim’s belongings and luggage had been ransacked.

The condominium management said Filippow and the victim had rented the room from April 29, when arrived on tourist visa.

Footage from the condo’s security camera showed Filippow leaving the condo at noon on Monday in a taxi.

The cabbie said that when the man got into his car, he said something, which the cabbie took to mean he wanted to visit a gambling den.

So he took Filippow to two places where he believed there were underground gambling dens. However, he said, Filippow used a smart phone app to say he wanted to hire someone to get rid of a body.

Alarmed, the cabbie took Filippow back to the condo and alerted the management of the request. The management then checked Filippow’s room and upon finding the body called the police immediately.

Filippow, however, still managed to get to Sa Kaew province where he was eventually caught.