Spaniard Daniel Sancho given life sentence for the murder of Colombian doctor Edwin Arrieta

On Thursday, a Thai court sentenced Daniel Sancho, son of the well-known Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of Colombian doctor Edwin Arrieta on the tourist island of Koh Pha Ngan, a lawyer for the victim's family announced.

In statements reported by AFP, Bussakorn Kaewleeled, the lawyer representing the family of the Colombian surgeon murdered and dismembered a year ago, said that "the plaintiff is satisfied with the sentence because he will be in prison for life."

The Spanish chef was also ordered to pay $119,000 in compensation to Arrieta's family.

Daniel Sancho's Conviction: The Troubling Relationship with Edwin Arrieta, Excessive Parties, and the Dismemberment

Daniel Sancho, son of Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, pleaded guilty in August of last year to the murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, 44.

The 30-year-old defendant was facing charges in Thailand of premeditated murder and concealing body parts to prevent recognition of the corpse. Also for the destruction of the victim's passport. The sentence he faced ranged from 15 years in prison to life imprisonment and even the death penalty. Finally the court has opted for life imprisonment because of the collaboration of the accused to clarify the facts, although Sancho's lawyers immediately announced that they will appeal the sentence.

Spanish citizen, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo admitted last year that he is guilty of the murder and dismemberment in Thailand of his Colombian friend Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a 44-year-old plastic surgeon with whom he met in the Asian country after an intimate friendship. At the time, Sancho claimed he did so because he felt hostage to the surgeon, as if in a "glass cage," and in a situation in which Arrieta had allegedly tried to sexually assault him.

In August 2023, Sancho was in a hotel room with the deceased, whom he would have dismembered after having participated in a Full Moon Party, events well known in Thailand for bringing together hundreds of young people and in which there is no shortage of alcohol and drugs.

"I am guilty, but I was Edwin's hostage. He held me hostage. It was a glass cage, but it was a cage. He made me destroy my relationship with my girlfriend, he has forced me to do things I would never have done," assured the accused, who at the time of the arrest was working as a chef in a catering company.