Police in London are facing public criticism of their slow response to calls from worried friends of a 27-year-old Thai woman who was found stabbed to death in her home in a £4-million property in Westminster.
The victim has been identified as Kamonnan “Angela” Thiamphanit. She was found dead on Monday morning in Stanhope Place, near Hyde Park.
British media reports quoted neighbours as saying they heard screams before her body was found.
Police are still looking for a suspect.
The Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Thursday evening that the dead person was a Thai who had been stabbed.
The Thai embassy in London has contacted the victim’s relatives and is following up the case closely with police, the ministry said.
According to the Daily Mail, officers were contacted on Sunday evening by a friend of the 27-year-old who was concerned about her welfare, but they did not go to the scene until 13 hours later.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that they had received a call at 7.05pm on Sunday and another one from the same person at 9.34 pm, the BBC reported.
“The woman was initially graded as a medium risk missing person prior to the discovery of her body,” the force said in a statement.
Officers went to the home on Stanhope Place at 8.30am Monday. When they forced entry they found a woman dead with “a number of stab injuries”. A post-mortem investigation found the cause of death was “sharp force trauma”.
Neighbours told the Daily Mail that Kamonnan lived at the address in the affluent neighbourhood in the City of Westminster. Located just a stone’s throw from Hyde Park, the £4-million (185 million baht) property housed the Ethiopian Embassy until four years ago but had since been converted into a number of Airbnb units, they said. It was not known what parts of the property had been rented by the victim.
The five-bedroom terraced home that dates from the 1820s is set over three floors. A hotel owner in the street said the property was rented but was unaware of the identity of the occupier.
Neighbours said they heard two “high-pitched screams” and then a harrowing silence hours before the body was found.
It is thought the victim might have known her attacker as the house has a video entry system at the front door, and there was no sign of forced entry before officers entered on Monday morning.
The Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, said it had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of the investigation.
Det Ch Insp Adam Clifton said: “I would appeal to anyone who has information that could assist us, no matter how insignificant you think that may be, to come forward and speak to us.
“Kamonnan’s family and friends have been devastated by this murder and we must ensure whoever is responsible is held to account.”
Kamonnan Thiamphanit was found stabbed to death in a room in a £4-million home on Stanhope Place, an affluent neighbourhood in the City of Westminster in London. (Photo: Anthony O’Neil via Wikimedia Commons)