Just under 800,000 euros is what the family of the Colombian surgeon murdered and dismembered at the hands of Daniel Sancho in Thailand on August 2, 2023. With eight days to go before the sentence of the Spanish chef by the Thai court is known, the final report presented by the defense of the Arrieta last April, in which they detailed the economic loss that the death of the doctor, the main support for all their family, has meant for them.
The details of the report were made public on Wednesday. They speak of expenses for organizing religious ceremonies and transferring mortal remains, as well as court costs, litigation expenses and fees of the lawyers who have defended his case. They include the salaries that Edwin Arrieta received for his work as a plastic surgeon, as well as the benefits he earned as a shareholder and director of a medical company, the benefits he earned for his overtime and also for his work at a clinic in Sicily and another in Colombia.
On the other hand, the Arrietas’ defense claims that Edwin was the economic pillar of the family and that he assumed, among others, all of his parents’ expenses: “There are many, including the rent of the house and daily living expenses, as well as the parents’ medical expenses, that need to be taken care of,” the report says. “The death of their son caused the co-plaintiffs to have a traumatized mental state and to have to endure extreme suffering due to the loss of their son.” In total, 768,000 euros that will certainly not be returned to their son but will ensure that his quality of life is not affected financially.
Eight days to sentencing
The countdown has begun to find out what the immediate future will be for Daniel Sancho. The Koh Samui court will read the sentence of the accused on August 29 and has limited the young man’s accompaniment to just two people: his father, Rodolfo Sancho, and his mother, Silvia Bronchalo. Both will travel to Thailand to be close to their son at such a delicate time.
García-Montes and the team of Spanish lawyers hired by Sancho are asking for an acquittal on the grounds that the crime was committed in self-defense and that there was improvisation. The representatives of Arrieta’s family, on the other hand, believe that there was premeditation, as evidenced by the fact that Sancho dismembered the body. “He has not asked for forgiveness, he has not repaired the damage,” says the lawyer for the Arrietas. It should be noted that the two crimes, the death and the dismemberment of Arrieta’s body, were confessed by the accused a few days after the murder.