Thai court sentences son of Spanish TV star Rodolfo Sancho to life in prison for murder

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —

The son of famed Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho has been found guilty of murdering a Colombian plastic surgeon at a Thai holiday resort before dismembering the body, a senior police officer told CNN.

Daniel Sancho, a chef who made YouTube videos, was sentenced by a Thai court on Thursday to life in prison for killing Edwin Arrieta Arteaga last year in a hotel room on Koh Phangan, an island off the coast of southern Thailand.

The trial heard that the 30-year-old killed Arrieta after the pair had a fight and put parts of his body in plastic bags before discarding them around the island.

Sancho had faced the death penalty. But the court on the island of Koh Samui commuted the sentence to life imprisonment due to his cooperation during the trial.

He had admitted killing Arrieta, but insisted it was not premeditated saying he had acted “out of his extreme anger,” Police Col. Paisan Sangthep, deputy commander of the Surat Thani Provincial Police, who attended the hearing, told CNN.

“The court saw his confession to the murder was useful during the trial. So the court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment,” Paisan said.

The court found Sancho guilty on all three charges: premeditated murder, concealment of a body and hiding another person’s documents.

Sancho claimed he killed Arietta in self-defense and admitted to hiding his body, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency. Sancho denied destroying Arrieta’s passport, which has never been found.

Paisan said evidence showed Sancho had made preparations for the killing, suggesting it was premeditated.

“Before committing the murder, the defendant had bought a knife, gloves, plastic bags, garbage bags, (a cleaning sponge), cleaver knife