YouTube chef, 30, who murdered and dismembered gay lover, 44, jailed for life in Thailand

A YouTube chef who murdered and dismembered his gay lover has been found guilty of premeditated murder in Thailand and sentenced to life in prison.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, a scion of a famous Spanish acting family, has admitted to cutting up the body of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga, a 44-year-old plastic surgeon from Colombia, and dumping the body parts on land and at sea.

Both men were on holiday together in August last year on the Thai holiday island of Koh Pha-ngan, an area known for its monthly Full Moon beach parties, attracting travelers from all over the world for all-night raves.

The Koh Samui provincial court initially sentenced Sancho to death but commuted the sentence to life imprisonment because of his cooperation during the trial, said Colonel Paisan Sangthep, deputy commander of Surat Thani provincial police.

The convicted man is the son of Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre, a prominent Spanish actor, and Silvia Bronchalo, who also worked as an actor. Both parents are 49 years old and were present at the hearing on Thursday.

A handout photo provided by the Royal Thai Police shows Spanish chef Bronchalo sitting next to evidence and a police officer after he was arrested for murder and dismembering the body of a Colombian man.

Thai forensic officers investigate a landfill site while searching for body parts of a Colombian surgeon on the island of Koh Phagnan. August 4, 2023

Rodolfo Sancho, a Spanish actor, is running after a Thai court sentenced his son, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, to life in prison for the high-profile murder

Silvia Bronchalo, who has also worked as an actress, leaves Thai court after her son’s conviction

During his trial on the island of Samui, Sancho claimed that he got into a fight with Mr Arrieta because he allegedly wanted to sexually assault him. He said that Arrieta fell as they were struggling and hit his head on a bathtub, causing him to lose consciousness and die.

He had pleaded guilty to the charge of first-degree murder.

He was given a four-month prison sentence for the charge of concealing or damaging a body, which was reduced to two months for admitting the offence, Mr Paisan said.

He also pleaded not guilty to the charge that he destroyed someone else’s documents, namely the victim’s passport, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison.

The elements of the case – a violent death on a holiday island, celebrity connections and gruesome details – attracted a lot of attention in the Spanish media.

HBO produced a Spanish-language documentary about the events.

The case came to light when garbage collectors at a landfill found a sawn-off pelvis and intestines in a bag of manure, weighing about five kilograms, according to the Bangkok Post newspaper.

Police said the body of Edwin Arrieta Arteaga (pictured) was found dismembered at a garbage dump on Koh Pha Ngnan island

Spanish chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo (center) is escorted to court by Thai police officers from Koh Phangan police station on August 7 last year.

A handout photo provided by the Royal Thai Police shows a Spanish chef, a murder suspect Daniel Jeronimo Sancho Bronchalo, (center) being escorted by Thai police officers during a crime reconstruction at a crime scene on Koh Phangan island, southern Thailand, August 7, 2023

Police officers stand behind a cordon at a garbage dump where Mr Arrieta’s body was found

Shortly after, Sancho reported Mr. Arrieta missing to the police. Subsequently, the police gathered evidence linking the two men, which led to the arrest and interrogation of the man.

The police created a story, claiming to the press that Sancho had confessed to the murder and that he had planned the killing because Mr. Arrieta threatened to discredit him and his family by revealing their alleged sexual relationship.

Sancho said, through his father and his lawyers, that this was a distorted version of what he had told the police. He denied having had a sexual relationship with Mr. Arrieta.