The ‘serial killer’ son of a murderer has been arrested after hundreds of bones belonging to young women were found submerged in his pond.
Wealthy property heir Apichai Ongwisit, 40, is being held by police in Bangkok, Thailand, after the body of his former girlfriend Warinthorn Chaiyachet, 22, was found in the pond six months after she disappeared.
Her decomposing remains were identified by a large tattoo on her back.
Police decided to search the pond after receiving a tip off, and have found 298 other bones. They believe there may be at least two other victims.
Ongwisit’s father Chalermchai Onkvisit, who is wealthy and owns a market in the capital, was jailed in 1983 for butchering a 15-year-old girl.
The remains of the property heir’s girlfriend Warinthorn Chaiyachet, 22, (pictured) were found in the pond in Bangkok, Thailand. She was identified by a large tattoo on her back
Wealthy property heir Apichai Ongwisit, 40, is being held by police. His father Chalermchai Onkvisit, who owns a market in the capital, was jailed in 1983 for butchering a 15-year-old girl
Part of the bag in which Ms Chaiyachet’s body was found. It had been wrapped in a black plastic bag and white sheet
Pictures show that police found the body wrapped in clothes, a bedsheet, and a black plastic bag.
The body had been fastened to the bottom of the pond with a large metal object and dumbbells with chains, the Bangkok Post reported.
Ongwisit allegedly made his girlfriend, known to friends as ‘Kik’, sleep in a metal casket he was so worried she would leave him.
Officers have claimed that she was suffocated and then hurled into the pond. Her remains were found on January 9.
They now believe there could be many more victims after fishing at least 298 human bones from the murky waters on Friday January 17.
The family of a missing 12-year-old who live near the property in the Thai capital’s Bang Khae district have said they believe she could be in the pond.
Police divers have pulled hundreds of bones from the pond. Pictured above is a rib
Officials were alerted to the possibility that bodies were in the pond by a tip off
Three police divers surface at the pond as they search for bones in the murky water. Officials plan to drain the pond in order to discover the full extent of the crimes
Authorities are planning to drain the pond for their investigation, in order to uncover the full extent of Ongwisit’s alleged killing spree. He has been dubbed by local media the ‘metal casket killer’.
Police Colonel Jirakrit Jarunpat, commander of the Women’s and Children’s Welfare Division, said the investigation suggests there are many more victims who were killed by Ongwisit, who has been remanded in custody while investigators consider further charges.
The police chief said: ‘The investigation has found several women who were involved the culprit have disappeared. They include his friends, girlfriends and prostitutes.
‘We have found 298 bone pieces in the pond so far but could not clarify that how many humans those bones were from.
‘We are also seeking his ex-girlfriend who we believe might have witnessed or have information about him killing the missing women.’
Ms Chaiyachet disappeared in July last year after making a complaint to police about a sexual assault. She is pictured above
A police line is stretched around the large body of water as police continue their investigation
Officers are shown looking at items from the pond stretched out on a white sheet, left, as individuals talk at the side of the pond, right
Ongwisit has allegedly admitted killing Ms Chaiyachet at his home in August, reports the Bangkok Post. When he opened the metal case he kept her in, Ongwisit said he found that she had died.
Her body is being transferred to Siriraj Hospital in Thailand along with the other remains for forensic examination.
The case began back in July last year when Ongwisit and his girlfriend, Kik, made a police complaint.
They began searching for suspects who had allegedly sexually assaulted Kik.
However, shortly after the Kik’s complaint, the family reported her missing. Investigators continued trying to contact her until an informant in their 50s, said she had been killed.
They then discovered her body in the pond and were urged by those who knew the alleged killer to search through the pond for other victims.
His father had been arrested on charges of murdering and dismembering a 15-year-old girl in 1983. He was later shot dead. His mother, accused of masterminding the crime, subsequently fled abroad with his younger sister.