A Thai court has sentenced Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a Spanish chef and son of a prominent Spanish acting family, to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga.
The Koh Samui provincial court initially handed down a death sentence, which was later commuted to life in prison.
Sancho, 30, who also runs a YouTube channel, was convicted of killing Arrieta, 44, during a vacation on the popular Thai holiday island of Koh Pha-ngan last year. The island, known for its Full Moon beach parties, attracts tourists from around the globe for its vibrant nightlife.
The son of well-known Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and actress Silvia Bronchalo, Daniel Sancho was present in court alongside his parents when the sentence was delivered.
He claimed the murder occurred during a physical altercation after Arrieta allegedly attempted to assault him sexually.
According to Sancho, Arrieta fell and hit his head on a bathtub during the scuffle, losing consciousness and subsequently dying. Sancho pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder but admitted to dismembering Arrieta’s body and disposing of the remains on land and at sea.
According to Sancho, Arrieta fell and hit his head on a bathtub during the scuffle, losing consciousness and subsequently dying.
Sancho pleaded not guilty to premeditated murder but admitted to dismembering Arrieta’s body and disposing of the remains on land and at sea.
In addition to the life sentence, Sancho received a four-month prison term for concealing or damaging a body, reduced to two months for acknowledging the act.
He was also sentenced to two years in prison for destroying the victim’s passport, to which he had pleaded not guilty.
The case, which involved a violent death on a holiday island, connections to a famous family, and disturbing details, garnered extensive media coverage in Spain, with HBO producing a Spanish-language documentary about the events.
The gruesome discovery of Arrieta’s remains came to light when trash collectors found a sawed-off pelvis and intestines in a fertilizer sack at a garbage dump.
Shortly afterward, Sancho reported Arrieta missing, but police soon gathered evidence linking Sancho to the crime and detained him.
Police claimed that Sancho had confessed to the murder, stating that he had planned it because Arrieta allegedly threatened to reveal their supposed sexual relationship, which could disgrace Sancho and his family.
However, Sancho, through his father and legal team, denied having a sexual relationship with Arrieta and argued that the police had distorted his statements.
Surveillance footage presented by the prosecution showed Sancho purchasing items such as a knife, rubber gloves, garbage bags, and cleaning solutions before Arrieta’s death, supporting the charge of premeditated murder.
In his closing statement, reported by the Spanish newspaper El País, Sancho expressed regret for his actions, stating, “I am sorry that a life has been lost and that parents have lost a son.
I am sorry that his family was not able to bury him properly. I’m sorry for what I did after the death.”
