PHUKET, Thailand (8 Aug 2005) -- A man has confessed to brutally killing his British girlfriend on the Thai resort island of Phuket and said he slashed his wrist afterward out of guilt, police have said. Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot, 32, was hospitalized with serious wounds from his apparent suicide attempt but will be charged with the premeditated murder of Debra O'Hanlon, 31, as soon he has recovered sufficiently, police said. He turned himself in to police Wednesday night with his injury unbandaged and badly infected, and was later admitted to the hospital, suffering from extensive blood loss, police said. The couple were seen having a heated quarrel a few days before the battered body of O'Hanlon was found Tuesday in the guesthouse room she had been renting, police said. O'Hanlon had a broken neck, stab wounds in the back of her head, and bruises all over her face and body, said police Col. Theeraphol Thipchareon, who added that it appeared she had struggled with her attacker. The couple used to operate a bar in Phuket, a popular beach destination for Western travelers, but their business collapsed after December's Indian Ocean tsunami hit the area, killing thousands of people and crippling the tourist trade, police said. The couple then returned to England, but Chetwynd-Talbot returned to Phuket in May to rebuild his business and O'Hanlon joined him last month, police said. | | Paul Chetwynd-Talbot and Debra O'Hanlon. According to O'Hanlon's passport, she was born in Northampton. A copy of Chetwynd-Talbot's passport, found in the victim's room, showed that he was born in Bristol in 1973, Padungpong said. |
