British police assist Thai murder inquiry

British police are to fly out to Thailand to help local officers finally catch the killer of a student who was murdered 12 years ago.

Kirsty Jones, from Tredomen near Brecon in mid Wales, was raped and strangled at a guest-house in the Asian country in 2000.

Despite a number of arrests, no-one has ever been charged over her death.

Today, Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed two senior officers will be flying out to Thailand at the weekend - and insist the case can be cracked.

Chief Constable Ian Arundale said: "The Thai authorities are aware of our commitment to discover the truth and secure justice for Kirsty and the Jones family.

"Senior officers are still firmly of the view that this is a case which can be brought to a successful conclusion.

"It is an unusual case and we feel that even almost 12 years later, we can provide assistance to the police in Thailand to help catch the offender."

Farmer's daughter Ms Jones, a Liverpool University graduate, was found dead in a room at the Aree guest house in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, more than 430 miles north of the country's capital Bangkok.

She was three months into a two-year around-the-world trip.

Her mother Sue Jones vowed never to give up the fight to see her daughter's murderer caught - which came following questions over the way Thai police had handled the case.

Detective Chief Superintendent Steve Wilkins is the lead officer on the case from Dyfed-Powys.

He said: "We are attending a meeting next week (w/c February 20) with the Thai Authorities to discuss the current position of the investigation as well as their main lines of enquiry, in particular the forensic evidence.

"I believe the DNA profile that they have should be the focus of the investigation, and we are willing to assist them in interpreting its value.

"We think the answers to this case rest in Thailand, in particular in Chiang Mai.

"Back in October 2010 we responded to a Letter of Request from Thai Attorney General.

"We are still waiting for responses to some issues that we raised relating to the work that we carried out.

"This work included the re-interviewing of a number of witnesses who are now residents in the UK as well as cross boarder collaboration with the Scottish Crown Office and other Police forces and agencies.

"We also traced a number of witnesses living in Thailand and one living in India."

PA