Thai police have arrested two men allegedly hired by a relative to kill a British businessman and his Thai wife. The relative is also in custody.
The bodies of retired British businessman Alan Hogg, 64, and his wife Nod Suddaen, 61, were found on the couple’s property in Phrae Province, Thailand, six days after the couple had been reported missing.
Police brought cadaver dogs to the property. The dogs located the couple’s bodies in a 6-foot-deep grave behind a duck pond on the couple’s property.
The Hoggs lived in a three-story house on a 32-acre estate that included a cattle farm, a summer house, a swimming pool, and a duck pond.
Police said Hogg was killed by a shotgun blast in the pool changing area, while his wife was beaten to death with a hammer or wrench in the garage.
Stolen Truck Leads to Arrests
The Hoggs were reported missing on Sept. 18 after a friend tried unsuccessfully to contact them via a messaging app after the couple failed to show up for a planned get-together in the nearby city of Chang Mai, the Guardian reported.Investigating police officers found bloodstains in the pool changing rooms that looked to have been partially wiped away. They also found signs of digging.
Police also noticed that the Hogg’s brand-new Ford Ranger pickup truck was missing.
Police got their first break in the case through a public plea for information about the pickup truck.
A man from Laos, who bought the truck, saw the police bulletin and told them he had bought it in a rural village.
Police followed up with the villagers and found the villagers bought the truck. Forensic examination of the truck led to the arrest of two individuals who eventually confessed to the crime.
Pia confessed he had used a shotgun to shoot Hogg in the chest while the victim was going to feed his ducks.
Kittipong claimed that he held Suddaen while her brother Warut allegedly hit her head with a wrench until she died.
Maj. Gen. Sanpat Praputsra, investigating the case, said, “Three suspects were traced from forensic checks on the car. They have confessed to the murder of Mr. Alan and his wife Nod.
“They used a shotgun to kill Alan and said they buried him near the ducks. The villains used a hammer to murder his wife in the garage,” he added.
Hired by a Relative
The three killers told police that they had acted at the behest of Hogg’s brother-in-law, 63-year old Warut.Police said the men confessed to killing the couple after Warut paid them 50,000 baht ($1,543) to carry out the crime. According to the Guardian, Warut buried the bodies himself.
Warut had already been arrested and released in connection with the crime.
Surveillance camera footage showed Warut entering the Hogg home on the morning of Sept. 20 and later driving off in the truck.
Warut was arrested on Sept. 24 for stealing the truck and released on bail. He was rearrested after the two killers named him as the man behind the crime.
Apparently Warut had been feuding with his sister and her husband over money matters, and the argument escalated to murder-for-hire.
According to the Bangkok Post, Hogg and Suddaen had planned to retire to Spain, but chose Thailand at the insistence of Warut. The Hoggs and Warut often quarreled, the Post reported, and Warut was resentful because his sister sided with her husband.
According to the Daily Mail, neighbors called Suddaen “the most beautiful woman in the town” and described Hogg as “very friendly” and often helped them. They told local media that he was a “millionaire.”
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