Pair confess to killing Britons in Thailand

Two Burmese immigrant workers have confessed to killing two British tourists on a Thai holiday island last month, police said.

The battered bodies of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were discovered on a beach on Koh Tao on September 15.

Autopsies revealed that Witheridge, from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, died from head wounds, while Miller, from Jersey, was killed by severe blows to the head and drowning.

A bloodstained garden hoe was found near the scene.

Major General Kiattipong Khawsamang said that two of three Burmese workers questioned by police had admitted murdering the couple.

He said the other man denied involvement.

The officer said police were still interrogating the suspects. “So far, accounts from the two men matched and they confessed they killed the tourists,” he said.

Another officer, Lieutenant General Panya Mamen, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, said two of the suspects had raped and killed Witheridge and the third man had been a witness to the killings.

Last week, the Royal Thai Police said they were “confident” of making a significant breakthrough in the case after coming under fire for their handling of the investigation.

Officers have collected 200 DNA samples from people on the island after two different semen samples were obtained from Witheridge’s body.

Lieutenant General Jaktip Chaijinda said that police will wait for the results of DNA tests from the suspects to see if they matched the samples.

Those DNA results are expected by today at the latest, according to reports.

Miller’s father, Ian, has said he believes his son intervened in an attempt to rescue Witheridge.

Last week, police said a reward of 700,000 baht — roughly €16,933 — was being offered for information leading to the arrests of the killers.

Around 150 officers were posted to Koh Tao as part of the murder investigation.