Spanish Chef Daniel Sancho Sentenced to Life for Grisly Murder in Thailand

A Thai court sentenced Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a Spanish chef and YouTuber, to life in prison for the premeditated murder and dismemberment of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga. Initially sentenced to death, Sancho’s punishment was reduced due to his cooperation during the trial.

A court in Thailand on Thursday found Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a member of a famous Spanish acting family, guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced him to life in prison, in a lurid case that involved the victim being dismembered.

The Koh Samui Provincial Court issued an initial sentence of death for Sancho, but in its ruling commuted it to life imprisonment due to his cooperation during the trial, Police Col. Paisan Sangthep, deputy commander of the Surat Thani Provincial Police, who attended the hearing, told The Associated Press.

Sancho, a 30-year-old chef with a YouTube channel, had been charged with the murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a 44-year-old plastic surgeon from Colombia, when both were vacationing on the Thai holiday island of Koh Pha-ngan in August last year.

(With inputs from agencies.)