UK stalls progress in case of Lamduan Seekanya, the Thai wife found dead 16 years ago by hill walkers in Yorkshire
(The mother of Lamduan Seekanya 73-year-old Joomsri Seekanya is now simply waiting for the repatriation of her daughter’s remains for final funeral rites at home)
UDON THANI: The UK’s Lady of Hills was identified last year as 36-year Thai woman and mother of three, Lamduan Seekanya, whose death, police believe, may have occurred under suspicious circumstances. Now both her family in Thailand and her UK husband who also lives in the kingdom, want answers and closure.
Nearly a year after police in the UK finally identified a body, found in 2004 and buried under the epitaph
‘Lady of the Hills,’ as that of Thai wife Lamduan Seekanya, there has been no progress in the case with neither her body exhumed or an interview conducted with her husband at the time who is now living in Thailand. This week, Lamduan’s family, including her ageing mother, fear that the Thai woman has been forgotten about again as she had been 16 years ago when an investigation into her death became a cold case. Her husband has also expressed frustration at not being involved in matters to do with the identification of his wife’s body and the suspicion that he has grown up around him. 55-year old David Armitage lives in Thailand’s western Kanchanaburi province.
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It has emerged this week that authorities, despite police opening her cold case in 2018 and positively identifying the victim as well as reaching a conclusion that the woman had died under suspicious circumstances, have taken no further action on the case and Lamduan’s body has not even been exhumed.
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Retired police chief blames UK Home Office unit for the delay in authorising a full and active investigation
This week, they told UK reporters that the police are again forgetting about their daughter due to inactivity in the case. Their view is supported by Adam Harland, the now-retired head of the North Yorkshire Police cold case unit.
He blames the UK’s Home Office, an impenetrable institution that is almost a law unto itself in the United Kingdom as it sits at the crossroads of the work of the police services and the administration of justice.
The body responsible, for authorising the investigation to move ahead and make progress, is the UK Central Authority which is responsible for coordinating and deliberating on cross border operations between the UK and authorities in foreign countries.
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UK tabloid The Sun is on the case
There was some activity this week in the case and the family have even received a visit from Thai authorities after the UK’s best selling newspaper
The Sun, always a powerful force and the terror of faceless bureaucrats, did a follow-up story on the once again dormant case.
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Her mother is ageing and she anxiously wants to see her daughter’s remains repatriated and placed in the local temple. It’s the closest she will get to bringing her daughter home.
UK stalls progress in case of Lamduan Seekanya, the Thai wife found dead 16 years ago by hill walkers in Yorkshire - Thai Examiner
