Thai teen's ashes laid to rest by family after alleged murder

Tunchanok Donhomla was cremated and laid to rest by her family at a local temple. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) The family of a Thai teenager allegedly killed by an Australian man has placed her cremated ashes to rest. Her great aunt Mee Boonsert has recalled their final moments together before the teenager left for Pattaya. Ms Mee wants Simon Peter Carman, who is accused of the 17-year-old's murder, to face the death penalty if found guilty. Link copiedShareShare articleThe family of a Thai teenager allegedly killed by an Australian man has placed her cremated ashes to rest at a local Buddhist temple as they seek justice for her murder. The body of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla was found inside a suitcase last week, discarded near railway tracks in the coastal city of Pattaya. Thai police allege 45-year-old Simon Peter Carman murdered her after picking her up from the Beach Road vice strip in the early hours of June 25. Simon Carman on CCTV in the lobby of a Pattaya Beach hotel. (Supplied: Pattaya Police) The city of Pattaya is almost 500 kilometres from the 17-year-old's home in Kalasin, where her family is now in mourning. Her great aunt, Mee Boonsert, helped raise her, and wept as she recalled their final moments together before the teenager left for Pattaya. Mee Boonsert said she loved her niece, Ms Tunchanok, more than she loved herself. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) "I am just like a mother to her, she called me Mum," she said. "Before she went, she told me she is going and she will be back soon." The 75-year-old said she wished she was able to give her own life in place of Ms Tunchanok's, saying: "I love her more than I love myself." CCTV vision shows Mr Carman and Ms Tunchanok arriving at the building where he was living, and almost 18 hours later it captures him leaving with a large suitcase. A friend of the 17-year-old, affectionately known as "Cake", lodged a missing person's report, and visited Mr Carman's house looking for her, photos obtained by the ABC show. But by then, the teenager was already dead. Police allege he strangled her and kept her body in the bathroom before taking it out in the suitcase. Mirantee Thanachai was asked to help identify her niece's body. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) Ms Tunchanok's aunt Mirantee Thanachai was part of a group of family members who police called on to identify the teenager's body. "I was scared knowing my niece is no longer alive, I was crying on the way to the hospital," she told the ABC. Ms Mirantee said the two were like sisters and cried as she spoke of her "brutal" death. An ashes ceremony held by the family of Ms Tunchanok. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) Ms Tunchanok's body was released to the family this week and cremated at a Buddhist temple in Kalasin. The abbot of the monastery, Pra Vichien, said hundreds of people attended the service and there was a "tremendous grief". "It was raining the day the body was delivered, people were crying," he detailed. Phra Vichien Panatito helped facilitate the ceremony. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) He said the death had taken a "big toll" on the community and there was "deep sorrow to its core". "Lot and lot and lot of grief, she is a poor girl," he told the ABC. The family are described as enduring tremendous grief. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) "She was born in a broken home, the parents are separated and what she have to face at the end." The following day, members of her family interred an urn of her ashes at their local Buddhist temple. The urn containing the ashes of Tunchanok Donhomla. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) Four monks chanted as candles were lit and water poured, before the urn was placed in a memorial wall. Mr Carman has been charged with murder, moving a body, and taking a minor for sexual purposes. Thai authorities say he has denied all of the charges. The family are seeking the death penalty if Simon Carman is found guilty. (ABC News: Natalie Whiting) Ms Tunchanok's great aunt, Mee Boonsert, wants him to face the death penalty if found guilty. It has become the centre of international attention after an Australian allegedly murdered a teenage girl, but Pattaya City has had an international reputation for decades. Ms Mirantee said she was "very happy" the police were able to arrest Mr Carmen before he could leave the country. The 17-year-old told the family she was going to Pattaya for a holiday and Ms Mirantee said they believed she was there to sightsee. "I don't want people to view her negatively," she said. "Whether she went for work or sightseeing, she was not trying to put herself in harm's way." Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)See more ABC coverage in your search results Top StoriesAustralians caught between homelessness and the lawTopic:Homelessness

Thai teen's ashes laid to rest by family after alleged murder

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