Death sentence for Thai woman accused of cyanide serial killings

A Thai court has sentenced a woman to death for poisoning at least a dozen people, marking the first verdict in a high-profile serial murder case that shocked the nation. According to a summary of the Bangkok court's ruling this week, Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn killed her victims last year by lacing their food with cyanide before stealing property worth more than $4,400 (CAD 6,755).

The judge stated during the three-hour hearing that the gambling-addicted woman turned to murder and robbery to pay off debts, according to the state-owned broadcaster NBT Connext. The case garnered national attention due to Sararat's relationship with her ex-husband, a former senior police officer, and the fact that she was pregnant when she was arrested in May last year for the suspicious death of Siriporn Khanwong, which prompted a full investigation into a string of other unsolved cyanide poisonings.

Police previously told CNN that surveillance footage showed the two women together before Siriporn collapsed and died. Siriporn's autopsy revealed traces of cyanide in her system. Later police investigations found a common thread: all the victims had eaten or drunk with Sararat before their deaths. Following Sararat's arrest, a woman came forward to accuse her of poisoning her years earlier. The accuser said she was revived in hospital after the 2020 incident but had been afraid to speak out because of Sararat’s connections to her ex-husband, a police lieutenant colonel.

Sararat did not testify during the trial. The court found her guilty of premeditated murder, robbery causing death, and administering a substance causing death in food or other consumables. In addition to the death sentence, she was ordered to pay compensation for the unrecovered stolen items. According to NBT Connext, Siriporn’s family wept and embraced as the verdict was read. Sararat did not make eye contact with the plaintiffs, though she was seen smiling and talking to her lawyer during the hearing. Sararat's lawyer and her ex-husband also received verdicts this week.

According to the summary of the verdict, after Siriporn was killed, the killer’s lawyer, Thannicha Eksuwanwattana, urged her ex-husband, Withoon Rangsiwuthaporn, to destroy or conceal evidence linking her to the crime. Withoon, the former police officer, was sentenced to one year and four months in prison, according to the summary. Lawyer Thannicha was sentenced to two years in prison. Both Thannicha and Withoon were granted bail by the court pending their appeals. Thannicha told CNN on Thursday that Sararat denies the charges against her and plans to appeal her conviction. "My client is innocent... she is not satisfied with the court's verdict," Thannicha said.

According to NBT Connext, the national police agency will submit a case file to prosecutors next week regarding a series of other murder cases against Sararat. According to human rights organizations, Thailand lifted its de facto moratorium on the death penalty in 2018, executing a man by lethal injection, the country’s first execution since August 2009. No executions have been carried out since, but courts have handed down death sentences in some cases, including the high-profile murder of two British backpackers in 2019.