BANGKOK – Residents in Phetchabun province have been shaken by a brutal love-triangle murder. A furious ex-wife allegedly attacked her former husband’s new wife with a hoe, hacking her face and body before fleeing on a motorbike. Police are still searching for the suspect.
On Friday, Pol Lt Boonlert Lekma, deputy investigation officer at Lom Sak Police Station, Phetchabun, received a report that a woman had been killed in a field in Moo 1, Bung Khla subdistrict, Lom Sak district.
He informed his superiors, then went to the scene with an investigation team, a doctor from Lom Sak Hospital, forensic officers from Phetchabun, and rescuers from Ruamkatanyu Foundation, Lom Sak.
At the scene, police officers found the body of a woman lying on the ground. She was later identified as Mrs Pipprinya, aged 54, a resident of Moo 14, Bung Khla subdistrict, Lom Sak district. She was wearing a blue T-shirt under a jacket, black long trousers, boots, and gloves.
Her face, the back of her head, torso, and hands had deep cuts from a sharp weapon, and there was a large pool of blood. Police believe she had been dead for about one to two hours.
A closer check found four long gashes on her face, so severe that the bridge of her nose had collapsed. There was a deep, long wound on the back of her head. Between her chest and abdomen, officers found eight large stab or slash wounds.
Her right hand also had a clear-cut mark, as if she had tried to defend herself. Near the body, police found the victim’s blue, green, and white Yamaha Fino motorbike, and a hoe lying on the ground, although there were no visible bloodstains on the tool.
From initial enquiries, police learned that Mrs Pipprinya had married and been living with her husband, Mr Mued, since April 2025. Mr Mued had a former wife, Mrs Kiam, aged 51, who had separated from him around the end of 2024.
However, Mr Mued’s house is only about 300 metres from Mrs Kiam’s home, so they still saw each other often. He also continued to help his ex-wife with farm work, such as rice fields, tobacco, and maize. This caused tension, as Mrs Pipprinya was frequently accused by Mrs Kiam of stealing her husband.
On the day of the incident, Mrs Pipprinya reportedly rode her motorbike to cut grass in a maize field around 3 kilometres from her home. Witnesses later saw Mrs Kiam ride her motorbike to the same field to confront her. They argued loudly, then witnesses noticed that Mrs Pipprinya suddenly went quiet. Shortly after, people saw Mrs Kiam riding her motorbike away from the area.
Mr Thongchai, the victim’s older brother, heard about the quarrel and rushed to the field. He found his younger sister lying on the ground, already dead from severe injuries, and immediately called the police.
Police officers have since spread out to search for Mrs Kiam, but have not yet located her. Investigators are preparing to request an arrest warrant from Lom Sak Provincial Court so she can be brought in for questioning and prosecuted according to the law.
Police officers have already taken initial statements from witnesses and from Mr Mued, the victim’s husband.
