Woman’s serial cyanide cases expand to 14 more victims

Prosecutors will be appointed to review 14 additional cases filed against Sararat “Aem Cyanide” Rangsiwuthaporn, who allegedly poisoned and killed her victims with cyanide, said Department of Criminal Litigation Director-General Sanjai Chanphong on Tuesday.
Mr Sanjai said the department had received almost 40,000 pages of documents related to the poisoning cases of 14 victims submitted by Pol Lt Gen Thanayut Wuthijarasdamrong, assistant to the national police chief, and Pol Col Anek Taosuparb, deputy chief of Crime Suppression Division (CSD).
He said prosecutors will be appointed to review the files, and it is yet to be determined whether a single prosecutor or a working group will be assigned.
The timeline for the process has not been set yet.
The suspect is held in custody, with the Criminal Court on Nov 20 sentenced Sararat, 37, to death for poisoning and killing her friend, Siriporn Khanwong, with potassium cyanide.
Sararat faced charges of premeditated murder for the purpose of theft and an attempt to cover up the crime.
The defendant’s ex-husband, Withoon Rangsiwuthaporn, 40, a former police chief of Suan Phueng station in Ratchaburi, was also sentenced to one year and four months imprisonment. At the same time, her lawyer, Thanicha Aeksuwannawat, 36, was given a two-year jail term for helping Sararat conceal evidence.
Withoon and Thanicha, who withdrew from representing Sararat, were temporarily released on a 100,000-baht bail each.
Siriporn’s death was the first case against Sararat to be tried.  
Her crimes allegedly resulted in a total of 15 victims: 14 dead and one who survived.
Pol Lt Gen Thanayut said the probe into the 14 additional cases stemmed from the first verdict handed down on Nov 20 by the court in Ban Pong Police’s jurisdiction in Ratchaburi.
Provincial Police Region 7 has been handling the cases and forwarded the files to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) for further investigations.
He said meetings were held to compile documents, testimonies, and expert analyses, during which the investigation revealed a clear motive and plan.
According to Pol Lt Gen Thanayut, the CIB, together with the Metropolitan Police and Provincial Police, continuously followed up on the cases and deemed it appropriate to prosecute Sararat for all 14 cases.
He said if Sararat had not been apprehended, there could have been more victims, saying her premeditated conduct was cruel and cold-blooded.