The deaths of two Thai University of Washington students who were discovered in the Malloy Apartments this week were ruled a murder-suicide.
Kornkamon Leenawarat, a 25 year-old female, died of multiple stab wounds and was ruled of a homicide, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Thiti-on Chotechuangsab, a 32 year-old female, died by a stab wound to the chest and her death was ruled a suicide, the medical examiner’s office announced.
The medical examiner concluded that both women had died on Saturday, several days before they were discovered in the apartment.
The women were both masters degree students in the University of Washington School of Law program.
“This is a heartbreaking loss for their families, friends and our entire community,” UW President Ana Mari Cauce said in a statement released by the university. “I offer condolences on behalf of our University to everyone who is grieving as a result of this tragedy.”
The statement also listed resources for students seeking counseling or other safety assistance.
Leenawarat was the daughter of a family involved in local politics, and she aspired to become a judge, according to The Nation magazine.
Her father, Pawawin Leenavarat, was a former deputy mayor of Thanyaburi municipality, in Pathum Thani Province, according to the Bangkok Post.
According to Bangkok Post, Leenawarat’s brother denied rumors reported in Thai-language media that she had expressed the feeling of being threatened or unsafe when she called back home before she died. Leenawarat would call back home every day, but when the family couldn’t reach her on Saturday, they asked their relative to check on her at her apartment in Seattle, but they were unable to find her.
Picha Pinkaow, the owner of Wann Yen Thai, said that Thai-language media reported that the last conversation Leenawarat had was with one of her friends on Saturday morning. The same day, she was supposed to meet another friend in Seattle in the afternoon, but she didn’t show up. Leenawarat also was supposed to show up on Sunday to help out at her friend’s restaurant. Monday, her family in Thailand start reaching out to friends in Seattle to look for her. On Tuesday morning, she was found dead.
Thiti-on Cotechuansab was listed as a director of Pornsiri Power Limited Partnership, a Samut Sakhon based food-product company, the Bangkok Post reported.
