Friend of Thai teen reported missing then visited condo of Australian man later charged

A friend of a 17-year-old Thai girl reported her missing to police in Pattaya on 26 June and then went to the apartment of an Australian man later charged in the case. Security footage obtained by the Guardian shows the friend at the apartment at 1:49 p.m. on 26 June. One image shows the man at the door; another, taken less than a minute later, shows the friend inside speaking with him.

Investigation timeline Police began investigating after the friend told officers the girl had been with a foreigner and had not been seen for about 24 hours. CCTV footage reviewed by police shows the girl entering the building with the man in the early hours of 25 June and does not show her leaving.

m. on 25 June with a suitcase, returning about 20 minutes later without it. Officers later searched the apartment but said they found no physical evidence of a crime. The man, 45, was charged over the weekend with murder, concealing a corpse, and two counts related to taking a minor for indecent purposes.

He has denied the charges. The girl's body was found in a suitcase near railway tracks in Pattaya in the early hours of 27 June. Colonel Anek Srathongyoo, a superintendent at Pattaya city police station, said the last text message from the girl's phone stated she had arrived at the room and that it was messy.