Son of Spanish film star accused in Thailand of murder and dismemberment of plastic surgeon faces sentencing

A Thai court will sentence the son of a Spanish film star on Thursday on charges of murdering and dismembering a Colombian plastic surgeon he met online.

The case against Daniel Sancho Bronchalothe 30-year-old son of actor Rodolfo Sancho, has aroused enormous interest in his home country; numerous Spanish reporters flew in for the trial.

The younger Sancho, a chef with a YouTube channel, is accused of murdering and dismembering Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the tourist island of Koh Pha Ngan last year.

His trial for premeditated murder, hiding a body and destroying documents took place in April on the nearby island of Koh Samui, another tourist hotspot known for its turquoise waters and rave parties.

Sancho denies premeditated murder but remains in custody after admitting he killed 44-year-old Arrieta in what he said was self-defense.

He also admitted to hiding the body, but denied destroying the Colombian's passport.

The two had arranged to meet after getting to know each other online.

During the trial, it was alleged that Sancho packed parts of Arrieta's body in plastic bags and scattered them around Koh Pha Ngan. Sancho led police to seven locations where he allegedly disposed of the victim's dismembered body in plastic bags, BBC News reported.

Although his crimes are punishable by death, Arrieta's family has said they would prefer a life sentence.

“Leave him in Thailand so he can take time – all the time God gives him to live – to reflect on his actions,” said Darling Arrieta, the victim's sister, in an HBO documentary about the case.

“He didn't just dismember my brother, he dismembered an entire family.”

Sancho's father said in the same documentary that Arrieta threatened his son, after which “a fight broke out, and in that fight an accident occurred.”

According to IMDB, Rodolfo Sancho has made dozens of film and television appearances and played the lead role in “El Ministerio del Tiempo” (“The Ministry of Time”).

“He finished him off”

The defense claims Sancho acted in self-defense after Arrieta tried to force him to have sex. Sancho told Spanish news agency EFE he was a “hostage” of the victim, who was obsessed with him, BBC News reported.

“He tried to rape me and we fought,” Sancho said in a statement quoted by Spanish daily El Mundo.

According to the newspaper, Sancho said he did not immediately inform the police about Arrieta's death because he was in shock and because it was all “an accident.”

But the victim's family lawyer, Juan Gonzalo Ospina, said in a recent interview with El Mundo that Sancho was living in a “false reality.”

“He continues to deny responsibility for his actions,” he said.

Thai police, he added, had done a “commendable job” in reconstructing the crime and searching for evidence.

“When Sancho reported the disappearance of Edwin Arrieta in search of an alibi, they already knew he was the culprit,” he said.

Ospina said the trial in April proved that Sancho had bought knives, plastic bags and cleaning products before the crime and kept them in the room where the murder took place.

“That is undeniable,” he added.

He said Sancho admitted in court that Arrieta suffered convulsions after hitting him.

“In his statement he admitted that he then finished him off. That is, he murdered him,” he added.

However, Sancho's family lawyer, Carmen Balfagon, told the Spanish news program Cronica that they were “very optimistic because during the trial we proved that there was no intent.”

Koh Pha Ngan is famous for its white sandy beaches and attracts thousands of backpackers with its infamous wild “full moon” parties.

In 2014, the tourist island of Koh Tao was rocked by the double murder of two young British backpackers. Two Burmese citizens are serving life sentences for the murders, but human rights groups accuse the Thai authorities of using the men as scapegoats.