Son of Spanish actor detained in Thailand in grisly murder case

BANGKOK — The son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre has been detained in Thailand in connection with the death and dismemberment of a Colombian man on the tourist island of Koh Phangan, Thai police told Reuters on Monday.

Daniel Sancho Bronchal appeared before a court on Monday as police sought his continued detention for investigation, Police Major General Saranyu Chamnanrat told Reuters.

Sancho on Sunday traveled with police to seven sites, including a beach where he is accused of dumping plastic bags containing body parts of a man police later identified as Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44.

Sancho, 29, is charged with premeditated murder and concealing and removing body parts to cover up the death or the cause of death of the victim, Saranyu said.

The son of the well-known actor Rodolfo Sancho who starred in El Ministerio del Tempo (The Ministry of Time) and actress Silvia Bronchalo, Daniel Sancho works as a chef and was visiting Thailand on holiday, media reported.

His family on Sunday released a statement asking for "maximum respect, both for Daniel Sancho himself and for the whole family, in these delicate moments of maximum confusion."

Sancho was detained shortly after body parts were found at a landfill on Koh Phangan, an island well-known to tourists for monthly 'full moon' parties. Police say he has confessed to the crime.

The police said DNA tests of the remains proved them to be of Arrieta, adding they have other evidence against Sancho. CCTV footage showed by local broadcaster ThaiPBS showed Sancho and Arrieta on a motorcycle together days before the remains were discovered.

Thai police said the investigation is ongoing as authorities continue the search for the rest of Arrieta's remains. — Reuters