Jealous Man Shoots Girlfriend Dead in Chumphon
A 33-year-old man known as "Ko Tha Sae" confessed to shooting his 31-year-old girlfriend dead in a Chumphon rental home during a jealous argument. He claimed the gun fired accidentally while they struggled over it after she reached for a hidden weapon. He fled the scene but was arrested days later at a resort in Nonthaburi and now faces charges of intentional murder, illegal firearms possession, and drug possession.
At 11:30 a.m. on November 11, 2026, Pol. Col. Panya Thwomsi, chief of Mueang Chumphon Police Station, along with Pol. Lt. Col. Panin Choti, deputy chief of investigations, and Pol. Lt. Col. Sakorn Suknit, deputy chief of inquiry, led a team to arrest Mr. Dechaphol, alias "Ko Tha Sae," 33, the suspect who used a firearm to shoot Ms. Kalayanee, 31, his girlfriend, to death. They took him to reenact the crime at a rented row house in Moo 9, Wang Phai subdistrict, Mueang Chumphon district, Chumphon province, under tight security.
Pol. Lt. Col. Sakorn Suknit disclosed details from the suspect's confession. The motive was jealousy. One day before the incident, Dechaphol borrowed his nephew's sedan to prepare for a trip to an ordination ceremony with his girlfriend for two to three days.
Around 11:00 p.m., the suspect drove back to the rental house and entered to find Ms. Kalayanee talking on the phone with another man. This had happened several times before, and he had warned her previously. Dechaphol stated he went out to grill crabs, shrimp, and fish for them to eat, but noticed the woman continued talking on the phone the entire time. When he returned to the room to talk, a heated argument erupted.
The woman reached for a hidden handgun under the pillow. Dechaphol tried to stop her, saying "Don't play with the gun," before they struggled over the weapon, causing it to discharge once. The bullet entered her left temple and exited behind her right ear, and she collapsed near the doorway.
Dechaphol said in shock, he hugged his girlfriend and placed her on the bed, then decided to drive her urgently to Thonburi-Chumphon Hospital. After dropping her off, he drove the sedan back to the rental house but dared not enter, fearing neighbors or police had arrived. He shouted for someone nearby to open the door, then sped away, abandoning the car in Bang Saphan Noi district, Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
While fleeing, Dechaphol also called Ms. Kalayanee's relatives, telling them only that his girlfriend had been shot and injured, urging them to go to the hospital. However, the relatives went to Mueang Chumphon Police Station instead, giving investigators clues to the abandoned vehicle. Tracing CCTV footage, they found a woman had driven a sedan to pick him up and put him on a tour bus to Bangkok, where he was finally arrested at a resort in Bang Bua Thong district, Nonthaburi province.
Investigators at Mueang Chumphon Police Station gathered evidence, including gunshot residue, bloodstains at the scene, and narcotics (methamphetamine and ice) found inside the house, along with the crime reenactment and confession. They charged Dechaphol with "intentional murder, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and illegal possession of narcotics" and forwarded the case for prosecution.
