Daniel Sancho was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday for the murder and dismemberment of Dr. Edwin Arrieta on August 3, 2023, as announced in the reading of the sentence, in the Provincial Court of Samui, in southern Thailand. It is not the outcome that Sancho’s representatives and family expected, according to the chef’s father, Rodolfo Sancho, who is committed to “continuing to fight”; and as confirmed to us by the lawyer Ramón Chippirrás. The Defense is preparing the appeal and has a month to do so. Meanwhile, Juango Ospina, the Arrieta lawyer, celebrates the news. The family could not contain their emotion upon learning the result.
The lawyer has published a statement on his Instagram stories stating that “justice has been done” and sharing a series of points that justify his defense. In them, he confirmed the content of the sentence and thanked the Arrieta family for their “unconditional support.”.
The lawyer also thanked all the people who have sent them “messages of affection and strength” and “the media that have empathized with the victim.” And he thanked the Koh Samui Court “having issued a solid judgment based on the evidence presented at the oral trialThe Thai prosecution, he says, has done a “rigorous job in the trial.” His firm is scheduled to hold a press conference at 12 noon (CET).
Arrieta’s parents followed the outcome of the trial from Colombia, since they did not travel to Thailand, and welcomed the reading of the sentence with tears and hugs. However, Victoria Jattin, a childhood friend of the Colombian, said that it had been “a fair sentence.” “He will have to pay; we know that an appeal is coming, but there is no justification for that appeal,” he said. At home, a few hours earlier, those around him had set up an altar in honour of the victim, with candles and photographs in his memory. Now, those around him can breathe a sigh of relief.
The surgeon’s friend explained that she was calm because a week ago her friend Edwin appeared to her in a dream and told her to calm down, that Sancho was going to receive that sentence, which he gives to the family, that in a neighboring house they are keeping silent for the moment, “emotional tranquility”“With this difficult and hard year, from now on poor Sancho but the death of our friend will be more painful because he will never be erased from our hearts and he will then realize the dimension of what he did and little by little life will teach him that a person does not kill himself in that way,” he alleged. Efe Tania Jattin, another of the doctor’s friends.
For her part, Nancy Jattin, who was mayor of Lorica, has pointed out that they finally receive “tranquility in the midst of pain”, and hopes that the convicted man will be transferred to a higher security prison and cannot be extradited to Spain.
Life sentence for Daniel Sancho
Although the worst scenario has not been reached for the grandson of Sancho Gracia, everything indicates that the chef will spend his life in prison. Although there is still a chance since the Spaniard’s defense is going to appeal. The court has considered that the death of the Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta Last summer on the island of Koh Phangan, the murder was premeditated, meaning it was part of a plan hatched in advance by the Spaniard.
In this way, Daniel Sancho has been convicted of hiding and dismembering the corpse of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta and premeditated murder. He was also charged with destroying documents. He has been in pretrial detention since 7 August last year. From the start, the Thai prosecution had been asking for the death penalty and maintained that Sancho planned the murder. However, the young man’s defence insists that the surgeon’s death was due to an accident during a fight.
Daniel Sancho will also have to pay compensation of 106,000 euros to Arrieta’s familyThe ruling in the case also states that Daniel Sancho will have to compensate Edwin Arrieta’s family with that amount for the doctor’s murder.
A precautionary embargo on Sancho’s assets
Juanjo Ospina said that Arrieta’s family is satisfied with the amount determined by the Thai court, although they do not rule out asking for an increase. “It could be valued”he said. The family had initially asked for compensation of 800,000 euros.
In addition, Ospina has announced that, as soon as they can read the full sentence, They will ask the court for a preventive embargo of the peculium that Daniel Sancho receives in prison and that goes to a personal account so that the money is transferred to the Arrieta family.
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