Key Takeaways

• Daniel Sancho was arrested in August 2023 for the murder of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga.
• He was sentenced to life on 29 August 2024.
• Daniel is the son of Spanish film star Rodolfo Sancho nd Silvia Bronchalo.

The case began in August 2023 when Thai police detained him on suspicions of a mu*der.

Daniel Sancho, the son of Spanish film stars Rodolfo Sancho and Silvia Bronchalo, has been sentenced to life in prison for the mu*der of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, 44.

The gruesome kil*ing took place in August of last year on the tourist island of Koh Phangan.

The 30-year-old YouTube chef had been spending a few days on the island, which coincided with the Fullmoon festival, which attracts ravers worldwide.

The court hearing took place on Thursday (29 August) in Koh Samui Provincial Court, Bangkok. Both his parents were present during his sentencing.

He was found guilty of premeditated mu*der, concealing or damaging a body, and destroying another person’s documents (the victim’s passport).

According to Police Colonel Paisan Sangthep, the original recommended sentence was capital punishment, but it was reduced to life imprisonment due to Sancho’s cooperation during the trial.

He was also ordered by the court to pay €106,000 (4 million bat) to the victim’s relatives, as they were financially dependent on the plastic surgeon.

Following his arrest on August 7, 2023, Daniel initially confessed to the crime.

Still, he later changed his story, claiming that Edwin had tried to se*ually assault him, and during an ensuing scuffle for self-defense, Edwin accidentally hit his head against the bathtub.

Sancho also denied destroying the victim’s passport.

In this version of events, Daniel pled not guilty to premeditated mu*der but admitted to dismembering and disposing of his body on land and sea.

After admitting to the dismemberment of the body, Sancho took the police to seven different sites where he allegedly disposed of them.

The lawyer for the victim’s family, Juan Gonzalo Ospina, said that Daniel was living a “false reality.”

He also claimed that it was proven in court that Daniel had bought knives, plastic bags, and cleaning supplies before the crime even took place and had hidden them in the room where the crime would take place.

The case first came to light after garbage collectors came across a “sawed-off pelvis and intestines” in a fertilizer bag weighing about 11 pounds (5 kilograms).

Following the discovery of the body parts, Sancho himself reported the victim missing to the police, who subsequently linked the two events together and detained Daniel for interrogation.

In an HBO documentary about the case, the victim’s sister, Darling Arrieta, said,

Another lawyer for the victim’s family, Bussakorn Kaewleeled, told reporters that the family is “happy” with the sentencing.

Kaewleeled quoted,

According to Thai law, both parties have a right to appeal, but the process could take up to a year.