Thailand murders: Hannah Witheridge’s body returned to UK

The body of a British holidaymaker who was murdered together with a fellow tourist in Thailand has returned to the UK, The Guardian reports her family as saying.

Hannah Witheridge, 23, was found with severe head wounds next to David Miller, 24, on a beach on the island of Koh Tao on Monday.

Her family said on Sunday that they had travelled to Bangkok on Tuesday to bring their “beautiful Hannah” home and find out more about the investigation.

In a statement, they said: “As a family we feel enormous relief to have Hannah back at home where she belongs. We continue to work closely with officers to assist in the investigation and bring those responsible to justice.

“Our family is broken and require time to grieve in private – as do Hannah’s many friends. With the support of our fantastic family liaison officers, we will make further statements as required and when we feel able.”

Police in Thailand said they are investigating new evidence suggesting the murders may have been due to “sexual jealousy”. They also said they were looking into claims that the pair had a row with a Thai man in a bar before they were killed.

Police Colonel Kissana Phathanacharoen said: “We have discovered fresh evidence which could lead to a new suspect who may have had a relationship or one-night stand with Hannah or one of her friends or David the night before they were killed.

“We have asked the Metropolitan police to go back and make enquiries of Hannah’s friends on this matter. The liaison officer here in Bangkok is working on getting that statement. The faster we get it, the faster we may be able to get the bad guy.

“No lines of inquiry can be ruled out and we believe these crimes could have been motivated by sexual jealousy. Police have been made aware of reports that Hannah and David had a fight in a bar with a Thai man before they were killed, but cannot confirm if they are true.”