Spanish actor’s son appeals Thai sentence for grisly murder

A Thai police officer escorts Spanish Daniel Sancho Bronchalo on suspicion of murdering and dismembering a Colombian surgeon from Koh Phagnan island to Koh Samui Island court, southern Thailand, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Somkeat Ruksaman, File)

A famous Spanish actor’s son, jailed for life in Thailand for the grisly murder of a Colombian plastic surgeon on a tropical holiday island, has appealed his sentence, his lawyers said Thursday.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a 31-year-old chef, was found guilty in August of the premeditated murder of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga in 2023 on the tourist island of Koh Phangan and of dismembering his body, a lurid case that has gripped Spain and Colombia.

The court on the nearby island of Koh Samui sentenced Sancho, a chef who had his own YouTube channel, to life and ordered him to pay 4.4 million baht (around $130,000) to Arrieta’s family.

The case has generated enormous interest in Spain because the defendant’s father, Rodolfo Sancho, is a well-known actor who starred in the hit TV series “El Ministerio del Tiempo”, or “The Ministry of Time”.

Sancho’s appeal was filed on Wednesday for review by the court in Koh Samui, Spanish law firm B&CH told AFP, without giving further details.

The trial heard that Sancho chopped up Arrieta’s body and put the parts in plastic bags before distributing them around Koh Phangan.

The defence argued that Sancho acted in legitimate self-defence after Arrieta, 44, tried to force him to have sex.

Sancho and Arrieta had agreed to meet in Thailand after getting to know each other online.

Koh Phangan is famed for its white sandy beaches and draws thousands of backpackers to its notoriously wild “full moon” parties.