YouTube chef facing the death penalty for killing and dismembering gay lover in Thailand says he had been a ‘hostage’ to his ‘obsessed’ boyfriend

• Chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, is also the son of a pair of Spanish film stars
• He has admitted to murdering and dismembering Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44

A social media star chef has been arrested in Thailand on suspicion of murdering and dismembering a Colombian surgeon who kept him ‘hostage’ on a tourist island, police said.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, who is also the son of a pair of Spanish film stars, has been charged with premeditated murder – which carries a possible death penalty – and with concealment of a body to cover up the death, Saranyu said.

Details of the killing emerged last week when Thai media reported that plastic bags containing body parts of a man, later identified by police as Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, were found at a landfill on Koh Pha Ngan, an island famous for its monthly ‘full moon parties.’

Thai media have cited police as saying that Sancho, who came to Thailand for a holiday, told the authorities that the two had a romantic relationship and that he tried to break up with the ‘obsessed’ victim, but that he refused. 

Police said Sancho came in to report a missing person after the body parts were found and was subsequently detained. 

He later confessed to killing and dismembering Arrieta, 44, and then dumping the body parts in the landfill and the sea, although he denied that it was premeditated, police said. 

A Thai police officer escorts Spanish Daniel Sancho Bronchalo on suspicion of murdering and dismembering a Colombian surgeon from Koh Phagnan island to Koh Samui Island court, southern Thailand, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023

A handout photo made available by Royal Thai Police shows Spanish chef Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, 29, sitting next to evidence and a police officer, after he was arrested for murder and dismembering the body of a Colombian man

Thai police forensic officers investigate a garbage dump site as they search for parts of the body of a Colombian surgeon in Koh Phagnan island

Police say the body of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga (pictured) was found dismembered in a rubbish tip on the island of Koh Pha Ngnan on Thursday

Sancho’s arrest warrant was issued by the Koh Samui Provincial Court on Saturday.

Saranyu declined to elaborate when asked about the motive, but said it was likely due to a personal relationship between the suspect and the victim. 

Sancho meanwhile told Spanish news agency EFE Arrieta was obsessed with him and had kept him ‘hostage’.

CCTV footage showed by local broadcaster Thai PBS showed Sancho and Arrieta on a motorcycle together days before the remains were discovered. 

Regional police chief Surapong Thanomchit told the public broadcaster that Sancho was seen buying a knife, garbage bags and cleaning solutions before Arrieta’s death.

Sancho is the son of Rodolfo Sancho and Silvia Bronchalo, famous Spanish actors. 

Sancho’s uncle, Felix Sancho, told journalists in Spain: ‘A little respect for the family is all we ask for, because this is so painful.’

And a family spokesperson asked for ‘maximum respect, both for Daniel Sancho himself and for the whole family, in these delicate moments of maximum confusion’.

Spanish chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo (C), is escorted by Thai police officers to the court from Koh Phangan police station on Monday

A handout photo made available by Royal Thai Police shows a Spanish chef, a murder suspect Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, (C) is escorted by Thai police officers during a crime reenactment at a scene in Koh Phangan island, southern Thailand, 06 August 2023 

A handout photo made available by Royal Thai Police shows a Spanish chef, a murder suspect Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, (R) is escorted by Thai police officers during a crime reenactment

Police officers stand behind a cordon at a rubbish tip where Mr Arrieta’s body was found

The Spanish Embassy in Bangkok said it was aware of a crime involving a Spanish man but declined to give further information because of data protection legislation.

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on its website Sunday thanking the Thai police for their investigation and said it is providing assistance to the family of the victim.

Koh Pha Ngan is famed for white sandy beaches and draws thousands of backpackers to its notoriously wild parties.

In 2014, another tourist island Koh Tao was rocked by the double murder of two young British backpackers.

Two Burmese nationals are serving sentences of life imprisonment for the murders, but rights groups have accused Thai authorities of using the men as scapegoats.

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