JusticeSimon Carman pleads guilty to hiding Thai teen’s body, denies murderAired October 13, 2026 at 7:41 AM UTCWritten October 13, 2026 at 7:47 AM UTCRead the write-upThis storyFollow via RSSTranscript · LOADING0:07Simon Carmen admits hiding a 17-year-old's body but denies murdering her.0:11Her family is seeking compensation for funeral expenses and the financial support0:15she would have provided her father.0:17Carmen faces a contested murder case that could carry the death penalty.0:20The court must still decide how she died and whether Carmen committed murder.0:23Carmen changed his plea in court on concealing Tunchanak Don Hamla's body.0:28She was 17, and known as Cake.0:30He continues to deny the other three charges.0:32He hasn't been convicted or sentenced on any charge.0:35Pattaya Provincial Court set the witness schedule at the October 12th hearing.0:39Judges dealt with pleas and plans for testimony.0:42Prosecution witnesses will begin giving evidence in December on three dates now0:46fixed by the court.0:47Carmen had denied every charge after his September indictment.0:50At the October hearing, the judge referred to strong CCTV evidence.0:54The judge encouraged him to admit concealment as a possible basis for leniency, and0:59Carmen changed that plea.1:00Prosecutors brought four charges.1:03They allege intentional murder and concealment of a corpse to hide the death or its1:06cause.1:07They also brought two distinct charges involving taking a teenager for indecent1:11purposes.1:12Carmen denies both minor taking allegations.1:15One concerns taking a minor away from parents, a guardian, or a carer.1:19The other concerns taking the teenager for indecent purposes.1:22Both cover someone older than 15 but younger than 18, even with that person's1:26consent.1:27If convicted of intentional murder, Carmen could receive 15 to 20 years in prison,1:31life imprisonment, or death.1:33Cake was her parents' only child, from Khalesan province in northeastern Thailand.1:38Her family says she arrived in Pattaya around June 16th for a holiday with a friend.1:43They have rejected descriptions of her as a sex worker.1:46Carmen is an Australian former truck driver associated with Perth and formerly1:50Ballarat.1:51He had lived in Thailand for years.1:53He was 45 at the October hearing and turns 46 later that month.1:57He's held at Pattaya Ramen Prison after being refused bail.2:01CCTV showed Cake and Carmen entering his condominium on Jamteen Second Road early on2:05June 25th.2:07Police and rescue volunteers later found her body in the Kaumakok area, about four2:11kilometers from the condominium.2:13The footage showed them walking hand in hand through the lobby toward the lifts at2:17about half past three in the morning.2:18What happened inside the apartment is part of the contested case.2:21Her unclothed body was inside a discarded suitcase in long grass near railway2:26tracks.2:27The discovery was in the overnight period leading into June 27th, roughly two days2:31after the CCTV sighting.2:33That interval doesn't tell us when she died.2:35Police arrested Carmen at Suvarnabhumi Airport while he was preparing to board a2:39Jetstar flight to Perth.2:41His arrest and the discovery of Cake's body both fall within that same overnight2:44period in late June.2:46The police timing places his arrest before the discovery, but the precise sequence2:50isn't clear.2:51It can't safely be assumed that finding the suitcase first led police to apprehend2:55him.2:56Carmen says she pulled a knife during a money dispute, and he squeezed her jaw3:00without intending to kill her.3:01Police earlier described his statement as admitting strangling her without intending3:05to kill.3:06Those different accounts still await testing in court.3:08The autopsy findings identify suffocation and an internal brain injury.3:12A broken jaw was also described in court.3:15The medical evidence and Carmen's self-defense account have yet to be tested through3:18the scheduled testimony.3:20His concealment plea leaves responsibility for her death unresolved.3:23Cake's family is seeking 1.65 million baht, about $70,500 Australian dollars.3:29The claim covers funeral costs and the future financial support she would have3:33provided her father.3:34The court hasn't awarded compensation.3:36The earlier dollar figure was more than $51,000.3:40Newer estimates run from about $70,000 to $70,500.3:44Nobody has explained the difference.3:46The underlying demand is 1.65 million baht.3:49The family sought a lawyer through a Thai government rights protection and legal3:53assistance service.3:54The assisting office is its Pattaya branch in Chanbori province.3:58A legal assistance official says compensation depends on a criminal conviction.4:02The official says the linked civil claim can be heard alongside the criminal4:06proceedings without separate court fees.4:08The family's eventual payment still depends on the court's decisions.4:11Her cousin, Kanita Nong Kampun, said, Nobody wants money from this.4:15They want the person's life back.4:17She should have had a future that went much further than this.4:20Relatives have rejected treating compensation as an exchange for their dignity.4:23Her father, Thong Shai Don Hamla, known as Jack, expressed his anger by saying, I4:29want to punch him.4:30He wants the fullest application of the law and favors the death penalty while4:34leaving the decision to the court.4:35Her aunt, Mirintri Thanakai, and other relatives want maximum punishment.4:40They've said they're grateful Carmen is contesting murder because they want the full4:43case tested.4:44The court scheduled evidence hearings for December 8th, 9th, and 11th.4:48Prosecutors have about two and a half days for their witnesses.4:51The defense has about half a day, with Carmen proposed as its sole witness.4:56His lawyer, Sorasit Pongen, was retained by Carmen's mother.4:59Pongen expects a verdict roughly a month after the December proceedings, around5:03January 2027.5:05The court hasn't fixed a verdict date.The short
