British man arrested for allegedly kicking his Thai wife to death after accusing her of having an affair
A British man has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly kicking his young Thai wife to death after accusing her of having an affair.
Kevin Smitham, 51, reportedly flew into a jealous rage and fatally stamped on his wife Kandra, 29, after she refused to have sex on Sunday evening.
The couple, who have two young children, had been staying with Mrs Smitham’s parents in Ubon Ratchathani, in the northeast of the country, for the Songkran New Year festival.
Her body was found under a blanket early on Monday morning by shocked neighbours. The police claim Mr Smitham attacked her, covered her body and then went to bed.
According to the Bangkok Post, Mr Smitham was standing behind the house and allegedly confessed to having kicked his wife in the face, although he said he had no intention of killing her.
Inspector General Watcharapol Pimwong, deputy chief of staff in the Det Udom district where the incident occurred, said that he was now in custody.
“I arrived and found a woman lying naked in front of the house and called officials from the rescue foundation,” he said. “There were many bruises on the face and body. She had been dead for several hours.”
The couple had lived together in the popular beach resort of Pattaya on the east coast, where Mrs Smitham was a well-known fitness enthusiast who ran a Facebook page with over 28,000 followers.
The police said that on the night she died they had been drinking beer at the house with relatives until about 9pm, when everyone left.
When she refused to have sex with him, Mr Smitham reportedly became suspicious that she was seeing other men and beat her.
“The wife ran away from home and fell in front of the house. He left his wife like that by covering the blanket. Then went to bed,” said Mr Pimwong.
Songkran, the Thai New Year’s national holiday falls on April 13 every year and runs for three days.
The festival is known worldwide for its good-natured water fights. However, in recent years it has also been marred by drunken behaviour. The road death toll over the weekend rose to 323 despite dangerous driving campaigns, the police said on Tuesday.
