There have been plenty of murders in recent times too. Here are two from earlier this year:

Millionaire couple found dead on Thailand’s notorious Death Island

This island paradise is notorious for the unexplained deaths of people who visit there. And it’s just claimed another two victims.

After checking into the resort, the couple headed down to the pool for a swim while Ratish went for a walk on the beach.

A short time later, Ratish returned to the resort to find the bodies of his parents floating in the water.

He called for help from staff but his parents were both dead when their bodies were pulled from the water.

“The CCTV in the area had not been working for several months due to lack of maintenance but officers are now collecting evidence from the cameras installed in other parts of the hotel,” he said.

https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-u ... 82253afcdb

Death Island’s victims

Nick Pearson, 25, from the UK. On New Year’s Day in 2014, he was found floating in a bay beneath a 15m cliff. He had no broken bones. Police ruled out foul play but his family believe he was murdered.

Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, from the UK. In September 2014, the couple were found bludgeoned to death close to where they were staying. Ms Witheridge had been raped. Two Burmese bar workers were found guilty of their murders the following year and sentenced to death.

Police said Belgian tourist Elise Dallemagne committed suicide on Koh Tao but her family believe otherwise.

Dimitri Povse, 29, from France. On New Year’s Day in 2015, he was found hanging in a bungalow. Police ruled his death a suicide but couldn’t explain why his hands were tied behind his back.

Christina Annesley, 23, from the UK and born in New Zealand. In January 2015, she was said to have died of natural causes after mixing antibiotics with alcohol. No toxicology report was conducted. Her family are suspicious.

Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, from Russia. In March 2015, she vanished from her hostel, with her mobile phone, passport and camera left behind. She is still missing.

Luke Miller, 24, from the UK. In January 2016, he was found at the bottom of a swimming pool at the Sunset Bar at Sairee Beach. His family has accused police of a cover-up.

Elise Dallemagne, 30, of Belgium. In April 2017, she was found hanged in the jungle. Questions surround her death.

Don't let this thread get buried.

"I have been wondering why her letters stopped." - post on scubaboard.com dated 14 February 2005.
The mystery over the death of Yoshie "Sharlyn" Sazawa is deepening following press releases from the Royal Thai Police containing apparently false information about the location of her body. It also appears that Sharlyn's family were misled on her relationship status when they went to Thailand searching for answers. She had been estranged from her "husband", Michael of Big Blue Diving and was living alone.
NOTE: At the time of her death, Sharlyn was reportedly in conflict with several parties on and around Koh Tao - both Thais and foreigners - and I am in no position to suggest who might have been responsible for Sharlyn's untimely death if she was in fact a victim of foul play.
Sharlyn is just one of a string of foreigners who died on Koh Tao in suspicious circumstances or as conspicuous victims of murder.

Tribute to 佐沢義恵
YOSHIE SAZAWA (aka Sharlyn) in a memorial book - translated from Japanese to English. The memorial book also included some lyrics from the popular Japanese song "Nada Sosou" (Great Tears are Spilling). A link to a cover performed by singer Rimi Natsukawa 涙そうそう - 夏川りみ

19th August 1964 : On the year of Tokyo Olympics, Sharlyn was born in Tokyo, Shinjuku, Okubo Hospital as the first daughter of Sazawa Eiichi and Kiyoko. She lived with her family between the age of 3 and 8 in Malaysia, Sarawak State and went to Saint Mary Middle School in Kuching city. After she went back to Japan, she enrolled in Komaba Elementary School in Meguro.
March 1976: Graduated from Komaba Elementary School.
March 1979: Graduated from Komaba Junior High School.
August 1979: Went to United States, Kansas, a state in the Midwestern of the U.S. alone by herself. Sharlyn enrolled in Salina South High School for 3 years and never went back to Japan during that time.
July 1982: Graduated from Salina South High School. Friends of hers started calling her 'Sharlyn' from this time.
January 1989: The last year of The Showa Era, when medias around the world came together, Sharlyn had been hired as a translator by the broadcaster of CBS TV named "Nancy" and attended the interviews together. In the same year, NTT (joint company of Japan and America in Cincinnati) hired Sharlyn as an English translator and she worked there for four years.
1994: Sharlyn departed from the United States to Koh Tao (Tao island in Thailand, Koh means island). She started scuba diving for the first time and earned the license as an instructor. Since then, she had been working at "Big Blue Diving Center" as a pro instructor. She taught many young Japanese and foreign divers.
2003: Divers in Koh Tao had increased significantly and that affected the sea, coral and sea turtles so Sharlyn and her dog, Pringle, rode a bike together around the island to do volunteer jobs in order to help save the environment and animals.
25th June 2004: She passed away in Koh Tao, the beautiful island that is full of emotions. Her funeral was held in Bangkok on June 30, in the temple of Koh Tao on July 2, right after that her family embraced her body back to Japan. On July 31, Sharlyn's family held a Christian funeral for her in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Shalyn rests peacefully near the Tokyo Dome baseball pitch. "Lots of Love" The Eternity of your dreams.
END
Note: It is believed that 25 June 2004 is the date that Sharlyn's body was found in the jungle. According to her friend Kawika, Sharlyn vanished on 18 June 2004 and was found on 25 June 2004. Multiple sources advise that Sharlyn was found outside in the jungle after disappearing for many days. Many also state that searches had been conducted for her. However, in November 2021 a Royal Thai Police major general issued a series of press releases stating (apparently falsely) that Sharlyn was found in her house and committed "suicide by stress" (being a Google translate term).
When Sharlyn moved to the USA to study, she did so at the invitation of her friend, Kristen Hanson and Kristen's parents, Sharon and David. She was therefore living with an American family during those school years. It seems that Sharlyn was already fluent in English prior to attending school in Salina, Kansas.
Lyrics from the song that appear in Japanese in the memorial book:
"As I turn pages in this old photo album, I whispered thank you
The one who always, always comforted me in my heart
On both shiny days and rainy days, the smile that comes into my mind
fades away in my memories,
but on the day I searched for a glimpse of that smile, I cried.
It became my new habit to wish upon the first star,
looking up into the evening sky I looked for you with all my heart
in the sadness or in joy, that smile that I think of,
If you can see me from where you are,
I'll continue to live with the faith that someday we will be able to meet again."

starting to map a trip through Thailand for next year... still can't decide if I want to go to koh tao... currently leaning towards heading there to do my PADI, but might be easier just to do it on phi phi or phuket... to do a complete detour n go check out Ko Chang

"Will you still want to visit Koh Tao?"
by aspiring writer, Merilyne C Milton (13 September 2021 - 9 min read). Merilyne describes herself as a girl from Borneo and founder of Anything Asia.
The short article balances the many attractions that Koh Tao has to offer with warnings of the many murders and unexplained deaths that have occurred in the past 21 years. To her credit, Merilyne performed more research than most professional journalists who have written about Koh Tao. Hence, she mentions casualties that have often been overlooked in the mainstream media.

Dedication to 24 outsiders who perished on Koh Tao including 4 with business interests on the island.



Bernd Grotsch (Berno)
Anthony Cardullo (Tony Lotus)
Yoshie Sazawa (Sharlyn)
Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban)

Ian Yarwood wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 7:39 am Dedication to 24 outsiders who perished on Koh Tao including 4 with business interests on the island.



Bernd Grotsch (Berno)
Anthony Cardullo (Tony Lotus)
Yoshie Sazawa (Sharlyn)
Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban)

Do your clients know about your fetish-like obsession with Koh Tao?

I ask again; what is your motivation for this obsession? Did you lose a friend or relative there?

I remember when the couple was killed / raped.

The Burmese community was quite upset over what they thought was senseless arrests of innocent boys.
Soon after the arrest the Thai police announced they were worried that the two boys would commit suicide in jail before facing court.
We were just waiting for the suicides at that point but never happen.

And when they made the reconstruction of the crime it was essentially the police just leading them around and telling them what they did and where.
They seemed just scared and confused.

Most of my friends on the Island were Burmese and nobody believed in the official narrative.

Owner of BIG BLUE DIVING KOH TAO dies reportedly from injuries received in a "motorbike accident."

Michael Spjuth from Sweden had been in a de facto relationship with YOSHIE SAZAWA (SHARLYN) but they became estranged and she vanished on 18 June 2004. Her body was found in the jungle of Koh Tao one week later.

Ian Yarwood wrote: ↑Fri Dec 31, 2021 12:48 pm Owner of BIG BLUE DIVING KOH TAO dies reportedly from injuries received in a "motorbike accident."

Michael Spjuth from Sweden had been in a de facto relationship with YOSHIE SAZAWA (SHARLYN) but they became estranged and she vanished on 18 June 2004. Her body was found in the jungle of Koh Tao one week later.

she vanished on 18 June 2004. Her body was found in the jungle of Koh Tao one week later.

2004? And you are peddling your conspiracy theories in 2022?