- Charles Sobhraj, 79, is believed to have murdered at least 20 backpackers
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A hippy serial killer called The Serpent could be put back behind bars in an investigation by British detectives.
Charles Sobhraj, 79, is believed to have murdered at least 20 young Western backpackers in the 1970s but has only been prosecuted and convicted of killing two.
He was released from prison in Nepal in 2022 and moved back to France.
Now former Chief Constable Gary Copson and DCI Jackie Malton have gathered evidence linking Sobhraj to the deaths of two young Dutch tourists whose charred bodies were found by a roadside in Thailand in 1975.
They have handed over their case to Dutch police and say Holland can try Sobhraj as there is no statute of limitations.
Charles Sobhraj, 79, known as ‘The Snake’, is believed to have murdered at least 20 young Western backpackers in the 1970s but was only prosecuted and convicted of killing two
Sobhraj inspired one of the BBC’s most watched dramas, The Serpent, in 2021, with Tahar Rahim as the killer and Jenna Coleman as his accomplice.
The investigation of Mr. Copson and Mrs Malton – the inspiration for ITV drama Prime Suspects DCI Jane Tennison – will be revealed on Thursday in a Channel 4 documentary, The Real Serpent: Investigating a Serial Killer.
Nicknamed the Snake for his ability to evade justice, Sobhraj is said to have once confessed to killing Dutch backpackers Henricus Bitanja, 29, and fiancee Cornelia Hemker, 25.
Sir. Copson will tell viewers: ‘The Dutch can pursue the murder of Dutch citizens anywhere in the world. The murders of Cornelia and Henricus are cruel so they could bring the murders committed in Thailand to justice. It feels really important to me, so I’m not just suggesting that we should do this, but we should do this.’
Sobhraj is said to have confessed to their murders, plus eight others, in a 1981 book by Julie Clarke and Richard Neville, but he later recanted.
He would befriend his victims on the hippie trail in Asia and then drug, rob and murder them, even using their names and passports to travel to other countries and commit further crimes.
VICTIMS: Sobhraj is said to have once confessed to Dutch backpackers Henricus Bitanja, 29, and fiancée Cornelia Hemker, 25, whose bodies were found burnt
Sir. Copson and Ms. Malton tracked down tapes recorded by Ms Clarke and Mr. Neville, from Sobhraj, who admitted the murders, laughed: ‘I hope this doesn’t haunt me one day.’
They also uncovered evidence of Cornelia’s belongings in his apartment, including her diary. Sobhraj’s former neighbor Nadine Gires says she saw the Dutch couple in the apartment, then later snuck in and found diarrhea medicine laced with strychnine.
Asked by Mr Copson and Ms Malton about their findings, Sobhraj threatened to ‘bring a libel suit’ and added: ‘We will meet in court.’
He was jailed in India in 1976 for drugging and robbing tourists, but released in 1997 and flew to France.
He traveled to Nepal in 2003 and was arrested, tried and imprisoned for the 1975 murders of American Connie Jo Bronzich and her Canadian friend Laurent Carriere. He was freed by Nepal in 2022 due to his age.