A Thai woman, believed to be one of the most notorious serial killers in the country's history, was found guilty and given the death penalty on Wednesday for using cyanide to poison a friend, in the first of her 14 murder trials.
Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, an online gambling addict, allegedly deceived her victims into giving her large sums of money before ending their lives with the toxic substance. On Wednesday, a Bangkok court convicted her of murdering her friend, Siriporn Kanwong, by poisoning him with cyanide. The pair met near Bangkok in April of last year to take part in a Buddhist ritual, releasing fish into the Mae Klong River.
Cyanide Killer
Shortly after the ritual, Siriporn collapsed and died. Investigators later found cyanide traces in her body. Police were then able to link Sararat to a series of unsolved cyanide poisoning cases dating back to 2015, according to officials.
"The court's decision is just," Siriporn's mother, Tongpin Kiatchanasiri, told reporters after the verdict was announced.
"I want to tell my daughter that I miss her deeply, and justice has been done for her today."
In 2023, Thailand was shaken by reports of a serial killer who had used cyanide to poison 15 people.
Sararat, later nicknamed "Am Cyanide," targeted people to whom she owed money, poisoning 15 victims and earning the grim distinction of being the country's first female serial killer.
According to police, Sararat funded her gambling addiction by borrowing large sums from her victims—up to 300,000 baht (nearly $9,000) in one case—before killing them and stealing their belongings, such as jewelry and mobile phones. Authorities revealed that she deceived her victims, including one who survived, into consuming cyanide-laced "herb capsules."
Country Left in Shock
Sararat is facing 13 additional murder trials and has been charged with nearly 80 offences overall. Her ex-husband, a police lieutenant-colonel, received a 16-month prison sentence, while her former lawyer was sentenced to two years for their involvement in Siriporn's murder, according to the victim's family lawyer.
Thailand has witnessed several shocking high-profile criminal cases in recent years. In 2022, the son of a Spanish actor was accused of murdering and dismembering a prominent Colombian plastic surgeon on the tourist hotspot of Koh Phangan.
Recently, six foreigners were found dead in a luxury hotel in Bangkok, who were suspected victims of cyanide poisoning linked to debts worth millions of baht.
Sherine Chong, a 56-year-old U.S. citizen, is suspected of poisoning herself and five others with cyanide after accumulating significant debts from a failed investment in a Japanese hospital.
Chong had allegedly coerced a married couple and two other victims to invest in the project, causing them to lose approximately 10 million baht—around $280,000.
The victims, all Vietnamese nationals aged 37 to 56, included three men and three women. Their last known activity was receiving a food delivery to their room at the Grand Hyatt Erawan on Monday afternoon.
