Death sentence upheld for convicted Spanish murderer

THAILAND´s Supreme Court today upheld the death sentence for Spanish national Artur Segarra Princep for the premeditated murder of countryman David Bernat, 41, in 2016.

Segarra was convicted of murdering and dismembering Bernat´s body. He had pleaded innocent.

Police believe Segarra held Bernat against his will and tortured him to force him to transfer money to his bank account, then killed him and chopped up his body to try to conceal the crime. He was also convicted of concealing a corpse and several other offences.

Mr Bernat´s body parts were found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River on the morning of Jan 30 2016 and traces of the his bloodstains and DNA were found in Segarra’s Bangkok apartment.

Segarra was taken from Bang Kwang Central Prison to hear the ruling at the Central Criminal Court. He greeted several Spanish journalists as he entered the court building.

The court ruling was based on circumstantial evidence and surveillance camera recordings, testimony from witnesses including a maid and a girlfriend of Segarra, and DNA samples of Segarra and the victim collected from a freezer and an electric grinder.

Segarra escaped to Cambodia but was extradited back to Thailand to face trial and was convicted in 2017.

Executions are rarely carried out in Thailand and Segarra can apply for a royal pardon or to have part of his sentence served in Spain.