An autopsy on the body of a female British tourist who died on the Thai island of Koh Tao has found no signs she was raped, police said yesterday.
The results, released by national police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri, confirmed police’s initial findings that there was no evidence of rape or an attack on Christina Amnesley when officers were called to her room in a bungalow on Sai Ri beach on the resort island in Suratthani Province.
The 23-year-old backpacker from Orpington in London, who was found dead in bed on Wednesday, was sent to Suratthani Hospital for a thorough examination and experts eventually found “no traces of physical assault or semen in her body”, Pol Lt Gen Prawuth said.
Amnesley checked in at the bungalow on 19 January for a two-night stay. However, she did not check out on the day she was due to leave the resort.
Staff later broke into her room when they received no answer after knocking on her door.
Amnesley was later confirmed dead.
In her room, police found nothing leading to a conclusion that her death had been the result of a violent incident, but what caught their attention was a number of medicines.
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Police have asked experts to analyse the medicines and are waiting for the results.
As for a toxicology test on the blood in Amnesley’s body, “we have to take some time”, Pol Lt Gen Prawuth said.
The results are expected to be a key piece of evidence in the inquest into Amnesley’s death.
“We expect to close the case once investigators know the result,” Pol Lt Gen Prawuth said.
The death of Amnesley dealt a further blow to the image of Koh Tao, earlier the scene of the murder of two British tourists — Hannah Witheridge and David Miller — in September last year.
This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 27 January 2015.