Two Suspects Apprehended
Police have arrested two out of four suspects in connection with the gruesome murder of a 62-year-old German man, Hans Peter Ralter Mack. His dismembered body was discovered in a freezer in a rented house in Chon Buri.
Nong Prue police chief, Pol Col Tawee Kudthalaeng, announced on Tuesday that they had obtained arrest warrants for Olaf Thorsten Brinkmann, Petra Christl Grundgreif, Shahrukh Karim Uddin, and Enriko (surname withheld). These individuals are suspected of premeditated murder and extortion.
The Arrest and Investigation
Enriko was apprehended after the police found a transfer of two million baht from Mack’s account to his. The authorities will now investigate his potential involvement in the murder.
Additionally, Ms. Grundgreif, a real estate agent, was detained by the police. She was the last person to meet Mack on June 4 before his disappearance. She surrendered to the police through her lawyer on Tuesday afternoon and was later brought in for questioning at Nong Prue police station.
The Crime and Suspects
Ms. Grundgreif, Mr. Brinkmann, and Mr. Uddin are suspected of using an electric saw to dismember the German property broker’s body. The suspects then placed the remains in a freezer at a house located in the Chokchai Village 1 housing estate. The other two suspects, Mr. Brinkmann and Mr. Uddin, are still on the run.
National police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn has ordered the revocation of all suspect visas to prevent them from fleeing the country. He also revealed that the German suspects are members of the “Outlaw” mafia gang in Pattaya, who had previously fled from Germany.
Piecing Together the Events
On July 4, surveillance footage captured Mack meeting Ms. Grundgreif at a café in Nong Prue, Bang Lamung district. The two later drove to a pool villa in Soi Chaiyaphruek 1, where the alleged murder transpired.
Investigators believe the other suspects were waiting for Mack at the villa. They reportedly forced him to transfer money from his bank account to theirs before killing and dismembering him.
The discovery of the body came after a Thai couple contacted the police regarding the German businessman’s disappearance. They had been hired by Ms. Grundgreif to deliver the freezer to the house. Upon reviewing surveillance footage, the police identified Mr. Brinkmann, a close friend of Ms. Grundgreif, on a pickup truck with the freezer. The truck was parked at a one-storey house in Bang Lamung district, where the officers located the freezer. Mr. Brinkmann’s Thai wife has been summoned for questioning by Nong Prue Police.
