A YouTube chef who murdered and dismembered his gay lover has been found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison in Thailand.
Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a member of a famous family of Spanish actors, has admitted to dismembering the body of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a 44-year-old Colombian plastic surgeon, and disposing of the parts on land and at sea.
The two men were on holiday together on the Thai resort island of Koh Pha-ngan in August last year, an area famous for its Monthly full moon parties on the beach, attracting travelers from around the world for all-night raves.
The Koh Samui provincial court initially sentenced Sancho to death but commuted it to life in prison because of his cooperation during the trial, said Col. Paisan Sangthep, deputy commander of the Surat Thani provincial police.
The convicted man is the son of Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre, a prominent Spanish actor, and Silvia Bronchalo, also an actress. Both parents are 49 years old and attended the court hearing on Thursday.
Daniel Sancho Bronchalo has been found guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison in Thailand. Photo: August 7, 2023
A photograph provided by the Royal Thai Police shows Spanish chef Bronchalo sitting next to evidence and a police officer, after he was arrested for murder and dismembering the body of a Colombian man.
Thai police forensic officers investigate a garbage dump while searching for body parts of a Colombian surgeon on the island of Koh Phagnan. August 4, 2023
Rodolfo Sancho, a Spanish actor, walks after a Thai court sentenced his son, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, to life for the high-profile murder
Silvia Bronchalo, who has also worked as an actress, leaves the Thai court after her son’s sentence
At the trial on Samui Island, Sancho claimed he got into a fight with Arrieta because he allegedly tried to sexually assault him. He said Arrieta fell while they were fighting and hit his head on a bathtub, losing consciousness and dying.
He pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder.
On the charge of concealing or damaging a corpse, he received a four-month prison sentence, reduced to two months for admitting to the act, Paisan said.
He also pleaded not guilty to the charge of destroying another person’s documents – the victim’s passport – for which he received a two-year prison sentence.
The elements of the case – violent death on a holiday island, celebrity connections and lurid details – attracted huge coverage in the Spanish media.
HBO produced a Spanish-language documentary about the events.
The case came to light when garbage collectors found what the Bangkok Post newspaper described as a pelvis and severed intestines weighing around five kilograms in a sack of fertilizer at a garbage dump.
Police said the body of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga (pictured) was found dismembered in a garbage dump on the island of Koh Pha Ngnan.
Spanish chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo (centre) is escorted by Thai police officers to court from Koh Phangan police station on August 7 last year.
A handout photo provided by the Royal Thai Police shows a Spanish chef, murder suspect Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo (center), being escorted by Thai police officers during a crime reenactment at a scene on Koh Phangan island, southern Thailand, August 7, 2023.
Police officers stand behind a cordon at a garbage dump where Arrieta’s body was found.
Shortly after, Sancho reported to the police that Mr. Arrieta was missing and the police gathered evidence linking the two men, leading them to detain and question him.
Police established a version, telling the press that Sancho had confessed to the murder and saying he had planned it because Arrieta threatened to dishonor him and his family by revealing their alleged sexual relationship.
Sancho, through his father and his lawyers, said that was a distorted version of what he told police and denied having had a sexual relationship with Arrieta.