Toddler lone survivor of Khon Kaen shooting horror

Two-year-old girl left alone in shock after father kills ex-wife and two others before taking his life

KHON KAEN: A jealous man shot his ex-wife, her mother and a teen relative before turning the gun on himself at a house in Mancha Khiri district on Saturday, leaving his two-year-old daughter alone and in shock.

The shootings occurred at a house in Khampom village of tambon Phon Phek, said Pol Capt Phongphit Thanaphanpakdee, deputy investigation chief at Mancha Khiri police station, who was alerted at about 11.30am.

Police, forensic officers, doctors and rescue workers who rushed to the scene found a Toyota car with Nong Khai licence plates parked in front of the one-storey house. Inside, they found a woman, identified later as Jaruayporn Faengrit, 50, lying dead on a bed with two gunshot wounds to her body.

Next to the body lay that of her daughter Khalita Faengrit, 28, with two gunshot wounds to her head. Noppadol Unthasee, 55, a former husband of Khalita, was lying dead on a bed with a gunshot to his mouth. The body of Phonphiphat Thongyot, 18, was found dead inside a bathroom with two gunshot wounds to his head.

A two-year-old girl, the daughter of Noppadol and Khalita, was sitting trembling with shock near the body of her mother. Officers immediately took her from the house.

Police and forensic officers inspect the scene where the bodies of four people were found inside the house in Mancha Khiri district of Khon Kaen on Saturday. (Photo: Chakkrapan Natanri)

Orn Faengrit, 68, the grandmother of Khalita, told police that the house belonged to Mrs Yaowaluck, the mother of dead teenager Phonphiphat. She worked in Bangkok with her husband, leaving their son to stay in the house as he was studying at a local school.

Khalita was a younger sister of Yaowaluck. She had one daughter with Noppadol, who lived in Nong Khai where he owned a resort along the Mekong River.

Khalita had two children from a previous marriage before she married Noppadol.

“As far as I knew, Miew (Khalita’s nickname) was often physically assaulted by her husband,” said Mrs Orn. “This prompted her to flee to stay with her parents in Mancha Khiri. Noppadol kept persuading her to return. She later returned to stay with him. But the domestic violence was repeated three or four times.”

Khalita later told relatives that she had broken up with her husband, her grandmother said. She and her daughter then moved into her elder sister’s house.

On Saturday morning, Noppadol arrived at the house and tried to mend the relationship again, but Khalita refused. There was a quarrel before gunshots were heard, said Mrs Orn.

At some point the teenager Phonphiphat sent a message to his mother in Bangkok saying “Pak Boy (Noppadol) killed all the people.”

His mother tried to phone her son but got no answer. She later learned that he had been shot dead.

Neighbour Amporn Chaokudrang, 56, said she heard eight gunshots over a period of about 10 minutes. She initially did not think shooting was taking place but her son insisted the noise was from gunshots. She immediately alerted the village head.

Pol Col Pichai Nakhandee, chief of Mancha Khiri police, said witnesses told investigators that the couple had broken up about one year ago and the man often tried to reconcile before the violence erupted.

According to an initial police investigation, the fatal shooting was motivated by a fit of jealousy after the man learned that his former wife had become romantically involved with someone else.

A police search of Noppadol’s car found some drug paraphernalia inside. His relatives brought his body back to Nong Khai for religious rites on Saturday afternoon.

A phone message sent by Phonphipat Thongyot, 18, to his mother in Bangkok that all the people in the house where he was staying had been shot dead. He was killed later. (Photo: Chakkrapan Natanri)