by James Goyder

The crime that Lee Aldhouse is alleged to have committed sent shockwaves through the close knit community of Muay Thai tourists and expats who frequent the Freedom Bar in Rawai.

In the early hours of the morning on Saturday August 14 Aldhouse started a fight with DaShawn Longfellow, a US Marine who had served with distinction in Iraq and was recuperating from an injury he had sustained in the line of duty.

Witnesses in the Freedom Bar, located opposite Rawai Beach, say that after the initial scuffle Aldhouse marched into a nearby 7-11 and stole two knives which he walked out of the store brandishing. CCTV footage was subsequently released showing a man closely resembling Aldhouse demanding the weapons from a startled member of staff who hands over knives usually used for cutting sausages.

A few hours later Longfellow returned to his bungalow after a late night trip to 7-11 only to find Aldhouse had spotted him and followed him back. Another fight broke out but this time Longfellow was stabbed and died from his wounds. His Thai girflriend, who is presumably the prosecution’s star witness, was inside the bungalow but claims when she came out she found Longfellow lying on the ground with Aldhouse standing over him holding two knives.

At this point she began to scream and Aldhouse fled, pausing only to discard at least one of the knives, which will presumably also form a crucial part of the prosecution’s evidence.

A massive manhunt was launched with police in Phuket repeatedly claiming that they were absolutely certain their suspect was still on the island. It wasn’t until a week later that a British newspaper discovered that Aldhouse had been remanded in custody after entering the country at Heathrow. He was only detained because he had breached his license after being released following a prison sentence for armed robbery a few years earlier.

It appears that Aldhouse fled from Phuket with the assistance of his Thai girlfriend and made his way into Cambodia. The girlfriend has subsequently co-operated with police enquiries into his escape and  is also likely to be a witness in the case for extradition. Once it emerged that Aldhouse was in custody in the UK the Phuket police confidently announced that they expected him to be back in Phuket within a week, it now appears that the process could take a little bit longer.

According to a report on the Phuket Gazette website it could take years of legal wrangling before it is decided whether Aldhouse will be extradited to Thailand to stand trial. The fact that Longfellow is a former US Marine who received a Purple Heart has not gone unnoticed by the US authorities who are believed to have offered forensic assistance in order to help the Thai police build their case.

Longfellow’s family and friends will be pleased that, for the time being at least, the prime suspect in his murder is incarcerated. A swift resolution appears extremely unlikely with a third hearing currently scheduled for March 28. The prosecutor in Thailand will presumably have to present compelling evidence of Aldhouse’s guilt as well as offering assurances that in the event of an extradition he will not face the death penalty. Aldhouse’s lawyers, for their part, will surely find no shortage of arguments as to why their client should be allowed to remain at liberty in the UK.

The Aldhouse case is reminiscent of the one involving Belgian Sam Van Treeck who was released on bail while awaiting trial for the murder of Chompoonut Kobram. The Phuket based dive instructor was stabbed almost 150 times in an apartment in Pattaya. Van Treeck fled the country and is currently living as a free man in his native Belgium.

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