KORAT – Police in northeastern Thailand have reported that a woman whose relatives first believed she had died from COVID-19 was murdered. A postmortem examination revealed she had been suffocation.
Pol Col Paibul Khunkham, head of Non Daeng police station, told Thai Media that officers found Ms Dokmai Praditja, 50, dead in her bedroom in Ban Samphaniang, Non Daeng district, last Wednesday night. At first, her family believed COVID-19 was the cause since she had recently tested positive and there were no signs of violence.
Her body was sent to Non Daeng Hospital for an autopsy. The forensic team there saw marks around her neck and confirmed she died from suffocation. Police then requested a second autopsy at Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital.
Doctors found she had broken ribs and had died from suffocation. These findings confirmed that Ms Dokmai was killed, Pol Col Paibul said.
Dokmai’s family explained that she lived with her husband, her father, and her son. After catching COVID-19, her son went to stay with her ex-husband in the same village. Her father, 78, had trouble hearing, and her current husband had travelled to Yasothon in March to help his mother with rice farming.
Last Wednesday, Dokmai’s ex-husband visited her home to collect more school uniforms for their son. He arrived to find the door locked from the inside and called her relatives. They broke in and found her body.
Samarn Praditja, her 53-year-old sister, said Dokmai was lying face down with her ankles crossed.
Mr. Thanawat Panyanam, her husband, aged 43, returned from Yasothon. He shared that he and Dokmai had been together for nearly ten years and worked as labourers. He last spoke to her by phone before her relatives told him about her death that night.
According to Pol Col Paibul, officers interviewed 15 people and have now narrowed their focus to three suspects.
As of 11 June 2025, Thailand has reported 439,527 Covid-19 cases for the year, with 130 deaths since January, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC).
On 9 June 2025, the DDC recorded 14,716 new infections and nine more deaths, bringing the yearly totals to 420,937 cases and 112 fatalities. Most deaths have involved people in risk categories, especially those aged 60 and above or with existing health problems. Pneumonia has been a major cause of many deaths.
The data shows a sharp rise in cases during the rainy season, with Bangkok seeing the most cases, followed by Chon Buri, Rayong, Nonthaburi, and Samut Prakan.
The Omicron NB.1.8.1 variant is behind many of the recent outbreaks and has spread quickly. Despite rising numbers, the death rate remains low at about 0.02 percent, with most patients showing only mild symptoms.
