Husband of woman found dead in Thailand detained

Police in Thailand have detained the British husband of Lamduan Armitage, the Thai woman whose body was found in the Yorkshire Dales more than 20 years ago.

Walkers found her semi-nude body in a river near Pen-y-Ghent in 2004 and she remained unidentified for 15 years until her family saw a BBC News report and come forward,

David Armitage, who has been living in Thailand since her death, did not report his wife missing and did not even manage to make inquiries with Thai or British police about her whereabouts.

He is now detained in Bangkok while Thai authorities prepare to cancel his visa.

BBC journalist Issariya Prithongyam said Mr Armitage, who has a resident visa, was detained at his home in Kanchanaburi on Thursday before being transferred to a Bangkok immigration detention centre.

He explained that he did not file an immigration petition, meaning he no longer had the right to remain in Thailand and would either go back to the UK or move to another country.

Mrs Armitage’s death is being investigated by North Yorkshire Police.

A spokeswoman for the force said it was aware of Mr Armitage’s detention and added: “We understand this relates to his visa status and residence in Thailand and it is entirely a matter for the Royal Thai Police’s Immigration Service. Is.

“Should Mr Armitage be deported, we understand he will have the choice of where to go, which will include returning to the UK.

“If that happens, we will make every effort to talk to them about re-investigating.”

The BBC has not spoken to Mr Armitage but he has previously said he was not involved in his wife’s death. Sun.

During efforts to identify Mrs Armitage, née Sekanya, she was known as the Lady of the Hills.

A post-mortem examination conducted after her body was found on 20 September 2004 failed to establish how she died.

There was no sign of violence and hypothermia was ruled out, but detectives could not answer two main questions; Who she was or how she died.

A cold case review was launched in 2016 and scientific advances meant police were able to piece together a more detailed picture of who she was and conclude that she had been killed.

A major breakthrough came three years later when a Thai family read about the case and believed the woman could be their daughter who had disappeared in 2004.

This led North Yorkshire Police to conduct DNA testing to confirm his identity.

It was established that she had moved to the UK with Mr Armitage after their marriage in Thailand in 1991 and that they were living in northern England before her death.

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