British woman 'hit and dragged' before drowning

A British woman whose body was found in the sea near the Thai resort island of Koh Samui had been beaten and dragged before drowning, a forensics doctor said today.

A jet skier yesterday found the body of Katharine Horton, 21, still wearing an evening dress, in the sea near Lamai beach on Koh Samui, said police Maj. Tanongsak Aksornsom.

He said Horton’s friends told police that she left on Sunday to go for a walk, but never returned to her room.

Police Lt. Col. Dr. Pattana Kitkailart, who performed the autopsy on Horton’s body in Bangkok, said she had been hit on the head and body and dragged before drowning.

Pattana said further lab tests were being conducted.