Forensics join Thai murder case

Kirsty Jones had been raped and strangled

A team of officers from Dyfed-Powys Police are preparing to fly out to Thailand this week to help track down the killer of backpacker Kirsty Jones.

Ms Jones, 23, from Tredomen near Brecon, was found raped and strangled in a guest house in Chaing Mai on 10 August last year.

More than 12 months later, Thai police have failed to catch the killer.

Ms Jones planned to travel to Australia

Ms Jones parents - Sue and Glyn - believe the involvement of the British officers will lead to a breakthrough in the case.

Forensic experts from the Welsh force hope to find new leads by examining DNA evidence collected by Thai police from the murder scene.

A Liverpool University graduate, Kirsty Jones had been staying at the £1-a-night Aree guesthouse for a short time.

On the night she is believed to have been raped and strangled, a fellow traveller and the guest house owner heard a commotion in her room but dismissed it as an argument.

Travelling alone, she had plans to make her way to Australia and was at the start of a two-year world backpacking tour.

In the initial investigations into her death Thai police arrested the hostel owner Andrew Gill, 33, after releasing a number of other suspects.

Evidence was disturbed in the hostel bedroom

He had always vehemently denied any involvement in Ms Jones's death and was subsequently released without charge.

DNA tests on 11 suspects had ruled them out of any direct involvement in her death leaving Thai authorities with no real suspect.

Throughout the inquiry Thai police have come under heavy criticism for their handling of the inquiry which culminated with the chief investigator being removed from the case because of the lack of progress.

Richard Livsey - at the time MP for Brecon and Radnorshire - called for intervention from British police and said the hunt had been handled "unprofessionally".

At one point, a television crew was able to enter the guesthouse room before officers had sealed off the crime scene.

There were also allegations of brutality made against the police by one of the Thai suspects.

Ms Jones was body was found at the Aree guesthouse

Following on from a trip made by colleagues in June this year, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Wilkins of Dyfed-Powys Police is flying out with a team of forensic experts to examine evidence already collected.

"Officers will be returning to Thailand this week and assisting them in specialist forensic matters, namely DNA profiling," he said.

"The Thai police are not handing the investigation over to us. Primacy remains with the Thai police and we are going back in a supporting role."

Back in Wales Kirsty's parents Sue and Glyn have welcomed the involvement of their local force in catching their daughter's killer.

"I think it's a breakthrough that the Thai authorities are now working with the Dyfed Powys Police," said Glyn Jones.

"I'm very, very pleased that they (Thai police) are now willing to co-operate, and we are looking forward to a conclusion."