Spanish actor's son jailed for life for grisly Thai island murder

Photo: Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho leaves court after his son Daniel Sancho Bronchalo was handed a life sentence for the murder of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the island of Koh Pha Ngan in August 2023, at the Koh Samui Provincial Court on August 29.//AFP

A Thai court on Thursday jailed a famous Spanish actor's son for life for the grisly murder of a Colombian plastic surgeon on a tropical holiday island, in a lurid case that has gripped Spain.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a 30-year-old chef, was found guilty of the premeditated murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the tourist island of Koh Phangan last year.

The case has generated enormous interest in Spain because the defendant's father Rodolfo Sancho is a well-known actor, and scores of Spanish reporters have flown in for the trial.

Photo: Silvia Bronchalo arrives at court to attend the ruling of her son Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, who is accused of killing Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the island of Koh Pha Ngan in August 2023, at the Koh Samui Provincial Court on August 29.//AFP

Bussakorn Kaewleeled, a lawyer for the victim's family, said they were happy with the outcome.

"The plaintiff is satisfied with the sentence because he will be put in prison for life and they receive some financial compensation," Bussakorn told reporters outside the court on the island of Koh Samui.

"The verdict has been delivered, both sides have the right to appeal according to Thai law," Bussakorn added.

When asked about Sancho's reaction, she said: "He is sad, but we can't forget the loss of the dead one".

Sancho claimed he killed Arrieta, 44, in self-defence, and admitted hiding the body, but denied destroying the Colombian's passport.

The trial heard that Sancho chopped up Arrieta's body and put the parts in plastic bags before distributing them around Koh Phangan.

While Thailand still has the death penalty for some crimes, including premeditated murder, it rarely carries out executions -- the last being in 2018.

Arrieta's family said before the verdict that they favoured a sentence of life imprisonment.

"Let him be left in Thailand so he can take time, all the time that God gives him to live, to think about what he did," Darling Arrieta, the victim's sister, said in an HBO documentary about the case.

"He not only dismembered my brother, he dismembered a family."

- Self-defence claim -

Sancho and Arrieta agreed to meet in person after getting to know each other online.

Sancho's father said in the same HBO documentary that Arrieta had threatened his son, and then "there was a fight, and in this fight, there was an accident".

The defence argued that Sancho acted in legitimate self-defence after Arrieta tried to force him to have sex.

"He tried to rape me, and we fought," Sancho said in a statement quoted by the Spanish daily El Mundo.

A lawyer for the victim's family, Juan Gonzalo Ospina, said in a recent interview with El Mundo that Sancho was living a "false reality".

Ospina said it was proven at the trial in April that Sancho had bought knives, plastic bags and cleaning supplies ahead of the crime, and kept them in the room where the killing took place.