Blood Tests Show Cyanide Killed 6 Foreigners In Bangkok Hotel; Police Suspect Murder-Suicide Angle

Thai police on Wednesday said that cyanide poisoning was likely the cause of death of six foreigners whose bodies were found in the room of a Bangkok hotel, with one of the dead the suspected killer.

Addressing a press conference, police said cyanide was found on drinking glasses and a water container and interviews with relatives of the dead revealed there had been a dispute over debt.

The six were of Vietnamese origin, several with US passports. Bangkok police chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang identified the dead as two Vietnamese Americans and four Vietnamese nationals and said there were three males and three females.

Thai investigators said the bodies were foaming at the mouth, an officer from the Lumpini police station told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The victims had booked several rooms at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel under seven names, and some were staying on a different floor from the room where they were found dead, Thiti said.

Police are still looking for the seventh person included in the booking, Thiti said at a news conference at the hotel. He said there were no signs of a struggle. The residents of the room where the bodies were found were supposed to have checked out earlier Tuesday and their luggage had already been packed, he said.

The bodies were discovered by a maid who went to the room after they failed to check out and found it locked from the inside, Thiti said. There was food that had been ordered earlier from room service that was left uneaten, but drinks had been consumed, Thiti said. He would not confirm a cause of death, but said the deaths appeared to have occurred about 24 hours before police arrived on the scene Tuesday evening after being called by hotel staff.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin went to the hotel in the evening, and later told journalists that the incident was neither a robbery nor a random assault, and that it should not affect Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry. Earlier, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said U.S. officials are aware of the reports of the deaths of two US citizens in Bangkok. “We offer our sincere condolences to the families on their loss. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance to those families,” he told reporters in Washington.

(With agency inputs)