Horror Film Producer and Biker Drowned Insist Police So Murder Investigation Is Off

From ANDREW DRUMMOND,
Bangkok June 13 2011
The sister of a Briton, who was declared drowned in a shallow lake on Koh Samui, has expressed disappointment that a second post mortem has concluded her brother drowned and police will NOT now be continuing with a murder investigation.

Eve Deary, 53, from Waverley, Surrey, said that she still believed there may be prima facie evidence to show her brother Kevin Attew was murdered despite the fact that a second post mortem, this time conducted under the supervision of police at the regional headquarters in Surat Thani, again concluded that he died by drowning.”
“We want to know how Kevin died. At the moment the signals coming back are confusing. But I have been told that is what to expect,” added Mrs. Deary who received the news from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

Kevin Attew on the left with Crispin Paton-Smith and his girlfriend
The second post mortem conducted by Dr. Nantana Jarunet, of Surat Thani Hospital for an investigation conducted by Lt. Colonel Pongkajong Sukasang, says that Kevin Attew had 150 mls of dirty water in his stomach and lungs. It still concluded he drowned.

But unlike the original post mortem conducted in Koh Samui, the second inquest confirmed two ‘impact marks’ on Mr. Attew’s head and five puncture marks on his back, penetrating 3 mm into the skin, and also bruising on his back and neck.

The body of Kevin Attew was found last month in a lake behind Chaweng Resort on Koh Samui in under one foot of water.  A suggestion that he committed suicide by drowning seemed improbable in the light of the fact that the Gulf of Thailand was only a few hundred yards away.  Besides, say his friends and family, Kevin Attew was content with his life.

Kevin Attew ran the ‘Honey Bar’ in Chaweng and was also the founder of the motorcycle club the ‘Koh Samui Pirates’.

The Surat Thani autopsy/post mortem 1
Said Mrs Deary: ‘We have been in touch with organisations like ‘Missing Abroad’ and ‘Homicide Victims Support Services in Britain and they have been very helpful.  But they have warned us we may be in a long fight for the truth and may not even find it at the end of the day.  I am now contacting my Member of Parliament Jeremy Hunt,( the current British Minister of Culture, Olympics, Sport and Media)  to see is he can press the Foreign Office to get more information as to how Thai police came to this conclusion.”
Kevin Attew had had an interesting life before settling in Koh Samui.  He produced a number of films, some of the horror genre, including ‘After Darkness’ starring John Hurt.  He even recorded a promotional video rock stars including Joan Armatrading, before going to LA.  He is reported to have become disillusioned with Hollywood and decided to settle in Thailand.

‘He had had a very interesting life and he seemed to have found perfect contentment in Thailand,’ added Mrs Deary.

‘If he ever had a set-back and would bounce back again as cheerful as ever. He brought out the best in people and was very popular. He is the last person in the world who would have committed suicide and it is hard to see him having any enemies.’

Police had interviewed his Thai partner Aeae Sumpootong, 37, (right) but are understood to have learned nothing to progress the investigation further.

Crispin Paton-Smith, his best friend and a fellow biker said: ‘I have been re-assured on a daily basis that the murder investigation is going on. This does not make sense.  The post mortem reveals Kevin’s other injuries, I still do not know why doctors came to the same conclusion that Kevin drowned.
“I do not believe for a second Kevin committed suicide or fell accidentally into a very shallow lake and drowned himself beating himself up in the process”.

Pictures seen here in Bangkok show several wounds to Kevin Attew’s head. 
COMMENT
The Thai post mortem conclusion below appears to be open to several interpretations. 150 mls of dirty water is not a lot. But the report does not say how much water was found in the first examination. There may be another explanation for the marks other than murder but no explanation is offered. Probably persons in the UK may be shocked at the apparent lack of detail or length but this is similar in format and in length to many post mortems I have seen in Thailand. Despite the marks the pathologists have come to the conclusion that it was his insertion in the water that killed him. The family will be seeking expert advice in Britain.

 
The Surat Thani Autopsy/Post Mortem 2