Simon Peter Carman: Tunchanok Donhomla’s tragic final hours before brutal death as police probe alleged murder
“I loved him more than myself; I would give my life to him.”
These are the heartbreaking words of the great-aunt of 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla after the tragic teenager was cremated at a temple in north-east Thailand this week.
Pattaya City Police continue to build a murder case against 45-year-old Simon Peter Carman of Perth.
It’s a case that has made headlines around the world and angered Thais who are calling for the death penalty.
The petite teenager, known as Nong Cake to her loved ones, was stuffed into a suitcase and placed next to the railway tracks on the night of June 25.
The suspected murderer claims that he strangled her to death in self-defense following a dispute over payment for sexual services he provided to her in his Pattaya apartment.
He allegedly refused to pay her just over $20 before he was killed.
dead body in suitcase
Forensic analysis of a suitcase, autopsy results, CCTV evidence and Mr Carman’s statements are being analyzed by local police, who are trying to present the case to the prosecutor within an 84-day window.
If they fail to do so, Mr Carman will have to be released under Thai law.
They allege the pair met at around 3am on Thursday, when Mr Carman propositioned the girl for sex in Pattaya’s Beach Road vise area, a popular spot for holidaymakers interested in nightlife and sex tourism.
At around 2am, Mr Carman was reportedly rejected by a sex worker he had been drinking with at the bar.
Ms Donhomla was accompanied by others before the Australian, who was said to have been drunk, approached her about an hour later. A friend filmed the couple walking away.
Footage taken from the lobby of Mr Carman’s Jomtien apartment complex at 3.34am showed Mr Carman holding hands with the 17-year-old before getting into the elevator.
Pattaya City Police Col. Anek Srathongyoo claimed the pair entered Mr. Carman’s cluttered 15th-floor apartment and that Carman texted a friend telling them not to worry.
“I got to (Simon’s) apartment. The room was a mess,” he said.
This was the girl’s last known contact with anyone outside the apartment.
Detectives are investigating unsubstantiated allegations that Mr Carman killed the girl in self-defence.
Mr Carman allegedly claimed he strangled Ms Donhomla after she threatened him with a knife following a dispute over payment for sex.
He claimed the two argued after he offered half of the agreed upon 1,000 Thai Baht ($43).
“According to Simon’s interrogation, Simon said that he strangled her until she was motionless, then brought her body to the bathroom,” Colonel Sthongyoo said in an interview with SBS Thai. he said.
“He must have had no idea about finding a solution, so he stuffed it in the suitcase and left it (next to the train line).”
Colonel Sthongyoo claimed that Mr Carman was seen dead in the girl’s bathroom on Thursday while he was going about his normal day.
Security cameras emerged in the lobby hours after she was last seen with the 17-year-old.
That morning, she did the laundry, had breakfast, and texted a sex worker, saying: “I’m so tired. I’m going swimming today.”
The most damning evidence police found was CCTV footage showing Mr Carman removing a black bag from the back of the complex at 9.25pm on Thursday.
He was then filmed riding away on a motorbike with a bag strapped to his back.
Police claimed Ms Donhomla’s body and personal belongings were found dumped on waist-high grass by the railway tracks, 4 km from the complex.
He was caught re-entering the complex approximately 35 minutes later.
The next day, Friday, a concerned friend of Ms. Donhomla filed a missing person’s report before confronting Mr. Carman at his apartment. Chilling photos taken by the ABC showed a bare mattress and scattered clothes on the bed inside the room.
Empty rum bottles were also pictured on the fridge.
Later that night, the Australian was arrested while trying to board a flight to Perth from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
He was initially accused of abducting a minor for sexual services before Ms Donhomla’s body was found inside the suitcase a short time later.
Mr Carman initially claimed the teenager “disappeared from the room” while he was asleep, then changed his story after being confronted with the evidence, local media reported.
In a brief interview after the arrest, Mr. Carman claimed that the scratches on his body, which appeared to be defensive wounds, were caused by spider bites. He also denied killing the girl.
In the message he sent to the girl’s family, he said to the camera, “I’m sorry about what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control.”
He faces charges of murder, hiding a corpse, transporting or destroying a corpse, and taking a minor between the ages of 15 and 18 for sexual purposes.
He could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted of murder in Thailand.
Who is Simon Peter Carman?
The Perth man, currently held in Pattaya Remand Prison, had been in Thailand for eight months at the time of the alleged crime and was known to visit bars with sex workers, according to reports.
On the morning he met Ms Donhomla, Mr Carman was reportedly rejected by a sex worker.
He was described as a keen swimmer who mostly kept to himself and was sometimes aggressive.
An internal document from Thailand’s immigration office shows Mr Carman has visited Thailand frequently in recent years and previously entered the country on a tourist visa in early 2025.
It is understood Mr Carman was born in Ballarat and grew up in Jerramungup, about 440km south-east of Perth. He later lived in Albany before settling in Casuarina and Rockingham.
Before leaving Australia, Mr Carman had spent much of the last decade living in an industrial complex in Rockingham, while surviving on a disability pension and compensation payments related to injuries from two motor vehicle accidents (a motorcycle and a truck crash).
Mr Carman’s former Rockingham neighbour, who asked not to be named, said the defendant had told several people he was moving to Thailand for back surgery.
“The real reason he went to Thailand was to have surgery because no one would do that,” the neighbor said.
“I’m not sure if it was a motorcycle accident in which he broke his neck or a truck accident in which he had a needle inserted into his spine; he believed that was what caused the pain and medical problems.
The neighbor described Mr. Carman as intelligent and said they did not think he was capable of such a crime.
A few people said they weren’t surprised.
“Unfortunately, I know there are a few people here who are not surprised by what happened,” said a local worker named Brendon.
“I don’t know him personally, but he didn’t have a very good reputation.”
Another resident, who did not want to be associated with Mr Carman, said the accused killer was “heavily medicated”.
They said he “barely left” the unit and was known to “sleep all day”. Another worker nearby said Mr Carman was involved in a road rage incident near the unit while he was living there.
A Thai woman alleged that Mr Carman verbally abused her following a car accident in Pattaya, before the girl’s alleged murder.
It is understood he had several interactions with WA Police before his arrest. His firearms license was withdrawn by WA Police for an undisclosed reason in May 2023. This decision was confirmed by the State Administrative Court in 2024.
He was also fined for driving without a valid license in August 2025.
The 45-year-old man is awaiting trial. At the time of publication, it was unclear when this date would be. He reportedly denied all the accusations.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is offering him consular assistance.
The West Australian understands his parents, who live in Albany, have no immediate plans to travel to Thailand.
sad farewell
Ms. Donhomla was an only child who lived with her father and stepmother. He reportedly traveled alone from Thailand’s northeastern Kalasin province to spend time with two friends in Pattaya.
News of Mr. Carman’s death spread after his arrest, and at least one local Thai media outlet livestreamed the moment police opened the discarded bag containing the body.
Some of his relatives learned about the situation through friends who saw the images of his body.
His body was handed over to the family after the autopsy and it was stated that he most likely died by drowning.
He was cremated in an open-air temple in Kalasin province.
His father, Thongchai Donhomla, first went to Pattaya after learning about the police investigation.
“My daughter didn’t have a mother, so whenever she wanted something she always found a way, and she always helped me too,” he said as he camped outside a police station.
Her stepmother, Oradee Bussarakum, hoped that the girl’s killer would be executed.
“As a (step)mother, I don’t know what else to say… I just want him to face all the consequences,” she told Reuters.
