Shadows of Siam: Where Smiles Meet Shadows

Aku Bone Media
  • 3.7 (3)
  • TRUE CRIME
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Beneath the golden temples and bustling night markets of Thailand lies a darker truth—one hidden in alleys, abandoned buildings, and quiet countryside homes. Shadows of Siam is a true crime podcast that uncovers the forgotten, the unsolved, and the terrifyingly real stories that lurk within Thailand’s past and present.

  1. 1D AGO

    S3:E8 | Tomoko Kawashita Murder: Unsolved 2007 Japanese Tourist Killing in Sukhothai Historical Park (Loy Krathong)

    Tomoko Kawashita, a Japanese tourist, was murdered at Sukhothai Historical Park in Sukhothai Province during the Loy Krathong period in November 2007. The case remains unsolved, with investigators citing DNA evidence and years of follow-up work—but no publicly named offender. This episode reconstructs what can be verified from documented reporting and official public materials: where Tomoko was found, what authorities said about the evidence, how the investigation expanded over time, and why the case has returned to public attention as the statute-of-limitations deadline approaches in 2027. You’ll hear: The confirmed public anchor points: Nov 25, 2007, Sukhothai Historical Park, with reporting tying the location to the Wat Saphan Hin area. Why investigators leaned heavily on forensic comparisons—and how broad DNA collection efforts became part of the case strategy over time. The modern push to identify a potential key witness, including renewed public appeals connected to an unidentified Frenchman described in 2025 reporting. Content warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and homicide, and some language may be explicit. Listener discretion is advised. A clearly separated section later in the episode is labeled “What We Can’t Prove”—it contains inference only, not allegations, and it is not presented as fact. If you have credible information, do not post it online. Report it to the appropriate authorities. Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation has publicly listed a contact line on its reward notice: 098.451.9989. Follow Shadows of Siam on Spotify—or wherever you listen—and if your app allows it, leave a rating so more people can find the show. Khob khun. Sources (public reporting and official materials): Thailand Department of Special Investigation (DSI) — Reward Notice / case summary and contact details Khaosod English (Jan 17, 2019) The Nation (Oct 29, 2015; Jun 24, 2025) Thai PBS World (Jun 24, 2025) Bangkok Post (Jun 26, 2025) #ShadowsOfSiam #TomokoKawashita #Sukhothai #SukhothaiHistoricalPark #WatSaphanHin #LoyKrathong #ThailandTrueCrime #ColdCase #UnsolvedMurder #TrueCrimePodcast

    47 min

  2. FEB 16

    S3:E7 | Kirsty Jones Murder in Chiang Mai (2000): DNA Evidence and Thailand’s 20-Year Deadline

    Kirsty Jones murder in Chiang Mai, Thailand (August 2000) — a backpacker’s death that became a forensic case with a clock attached. Kirsty Jones, 23, was raped and strangled while staying at a guesthouse in Chiang Mai. Despite arrests and years of investigation, no one was successfully prosecuted. This episode follows the verified timeline: Kirsty’s final days traveling, the night she returned to the guesthouse, and what reporting and official records say about the early investigative turns. It then moves into the core problem that defined the next two decades—DNA without a name—including public, on-the-record concerns raised in the UK about evidence handling, access to materials, and the push for structured DNA screening. Most importantly, the case became a race against Thai law: reporting describes a 20-year statute of limitations, placing the final deadline at August 10, 2020—a point after which prosecution in Thailand would no longer be available for this crime, even if the offender were identified. A clearly labeled Speculation Lane appears later and is kept separate from the verified record. Sources: UK Parliament (Hansard) “Murder of Kirsty Jones in Thailand, 2000” (Westminster Hall debate, June 21, 2007); ITV News Wales reporting (May 5, 2020; Aug 7, 2020); contemporaneous UK press coverage; Chiang Mai Citylife reporting/analysis. #KirstyJones #ChiangMai #Thailand #ThailandTrueCrime #Unsolved #ColdCase #DNADatabase #ForensicEvidence #BackpackerCase #Justice #TrueCrimePodcast #ShadowsOfSiam

    32 min

  3. FEB 9

    S3:E6 | Charoen Wat-aksorn Assassination (2004) — Thailand Environmental Activist Killing, Bo Nok to Supreme Court 2015

    Charoen Wat-aksorn was a local environmental activist in Bo Nok, Prachuap Khiri Khan—best known for standing up to powerful development interests and pushing his concerns into official channels. In late June 2004, after returning from Bangkok where reporting and human-rights documentation place him engaging with a parliamentary process tied to corruption oversight, Charoen was shot dead. Some accounts differ on whether the killing occurred on June 21 or June 22, 2004; where the record conflicts, this episode says so plainly. This episode follows the verified public record through the long justice arc: charges filed, a prosecution framed in reporting and human-rights coverage as a contract-killing case, the death in custody of two alleged gunmen in 2006, and the final court outcome that still shapes how this case is remembered. On October 13, 2015, Thailand’s Supreme Court upheld acquittals in the alleged organizer lane, with reporting describing the evidence as too weak to prove involvement—followed by renewed calls from human-rights organizations to reopen the investigation. Listener note: this episode contains discussion of an assassination and violence targeting an activist. Sources credited in this episode include OMCT / the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (June 2004 urgent intervention on the killing), Amnesty International (public statements and case summaries from 2004 and 2015, including calls to reopen the investigation), The Nation (Thailand) and the Bangkok Post (reporting on the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision and case history), and the U.S. Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for Thailand (summary reference to the case and charges). #ShadowsOfSiam #Thailand #PrachuapKhiriKhan #BoNok #CharoenWatAksorn #EnvironmentalActivist #HumanRights #ActivistKilling #Assassination #Justice #Impunity #SupremeCourt #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #SoutheastAsia

    19 min

  4. FEB 2

    S3:E5 | The Unsolved Murder of Environmental Monk Phra Supoj Suwajo — Fang, Chiang Mai (2005)

    Unsolved Thailand murder case: environmental monk Phra Supoj Suwajo was killed at Suan Metta Dharm forest monastery in Fang, Chiang Mai on June 17, 2005—an attack long linked in reporting to land and environmental conflict, with renewed public calls years later to strengthen or revisit the investigation. In this episode of Shadows of Siam, we walk the verified timeline of the killing, then widen the lens to Fang’s high-pressure land and resource disputes described in longform reporting—context that helps explain why an “environmental monk” could become a target. This episode contains factual reporting on a homicide and may include details that are disturbing. What follows is reconstructed from documented reporting and attributed official statements described in those reports, available at the time of release; some details may change if new evidence emerges. A clearly labeled Speculation Lane appears later, separate from the verified timeline. Listener discretion is advised. Shadows of Siam — Where the land remembers what others try to forget. #ShadowsOfSiam #ThailandTrueCrime #ChiangMai #Fang #UnsolvedMurder #ColdCase #BuddhistMonk #EnvironmentalActivism #HumanRights #TrueCrimePodcast #SoutheastAsia #ThailandHistory

    31 min

  5. JAN 26

    S3:E4 | Jakob Jensen: Missing in Thailand, Found Dead Unidentified in Bangkok Police Custody (March 26, 2025)

    Jakob Jensen missing in Thailand became a public search—posters, sightings, and urgent appeals—until the documented timeline revealed a brutal collision: on March 26, 2025, Jensen, a 41-year-old Danish national, was detained in Bangkok and later died in custody, reported as an unidentified foreigner with no official ID at the time of detention. This episode stays fact-forward and chronological: the early missing-person timeline, the reported custody sequence in Bangkok, and the breakdown that left Jensen unidentified for weeks while the search continued in public. A clearly labeled Speculation Lane appears at the end, limited to process-level possibilities (identification and cross-system handoff), separate from the verified timeline. Sources: ScandAsia; Hua Hin Today; The Thaiger. #ShadowsOfSiam #JakobJensen #Thailand #Bangkok #ThailandTrueCrime #TrueCrimePodcast #MissingPerson #MissingInThailand #BangkokPolice #PoliceCustody #InCustodyDeath #Unidentified #IdentityFailure #Accountability #KhlongToei #PhraKhanong #Denmark #Danish #Investigation #VerifiedTimeline #DocumentedReporting #SoutheastAsia #ThaiNews #CrimeStories #PodcastEpisode

    22 min

  6. JAN 19

    S3:E3 | The Sukhumvit Soi 39 Condo Murder: Prao-Pilas and the Manhunt for Daniel Benjamin Goh Wei-En (Bangkok, Thailand)

    Bangkok condo murder on Sukhumvit Soi 39: 30-year-old Prao-Pilas of Khon Kaen is found dead inside a high-rise bathroom after friends can’t reach her, and police focus on her Singaporean boyfriend, Daniel Benjamin Goh Wei-En, as the case pivots into a northbound manhunt. This episode follows the documented timeline as reported: the last confirmed CCTV sightings, the March 26 discovery, early forensic framing reported in the press, and the reported travel trail toward Chiang Rai / Mae Sai near the Myanmar border. A clearly labeled Speculation Lane appears later, separated from the verified timeline. Sources (reported at time of release): Khaosod English The Nation Thailand Statements and investigative details attributed in those reports to Thonglor Police Station and responding forensic personnel If you value fact-first reporting, follow the podcast wherever you listen, and share this episode with one person who will finish it. Where the land remembers what others try to forget. #ShadowsOfSiam #ThailandTrueCrime #BangkokTrueCrime #SukhumvitSoi39 #Thonglor #Watthana #PraoPilas #DanielBenjaminGohWeiEn #SingaporeanSuspect #CondoMurder #UnsolvedCase #Manhunt #CCTVTimeline #TrueCrimePodcast #CrimeInThailand #BangkokInvestigation #MissingValuables #ForensicInvestigation #ChiangRai #MaeSai

    14 min

  7. JAN 13

    S3:E2 | Two Suitcases in Two Provinces: Unidentified Women Found in Rayong and Chonburi Reservoirs (2025)

    Two unidentified women. Two suitcases. Two Thai provinces—Rayong and Chonburi—seven months apart. In February 2025, a suitcase containing a woman’s remains was reported recovered from water near a golf course in Ban Chang, Rayong. In September 2025, a second suitcase was reported floating in a reservoir near a golf course in Huai Yai, Bang Lamung District, Chonburi—described in reporting as weighed down and secured with items like dumbbell plates, chains, zip ties, and a padlock. This episode follows the publicly documented timeline and the investigative realities of unidentified-victim homicide cases: scene preservation, post-mortem identification efforts, CCTV review, tracing physical objects, and why “pattern” is not the same as “proof.” It also covers the reported parallels noted by investigators and the cross-province coordination that followed—clearly separating what is on record from what remains unproven. Sources consulted include Thai PBS World and Khaosod English, with additional contextual coverage from other Thai and international outlets. #ShadowsOfSiam #Thailand #TrueCrime #ThailandTrueCrime #Rayong #Chonburi #BanChang #HuaiYai #BangLamung #Unidentified #JaneDoe #UnidentifiedWoman #Unsolved #UnsolvedCases #UnsolvedHomicide #HomicideInvestigation #ColdCase #Forensics #CCTV #MissingPersons #CrimeNews #SoutheastAsia #Podcast #TrueCrimePodcast

    33 min

  8. JAN 8

    S3:E1 | The Koh Tao Dive-Boat Fire: The Disappearance of Alexandra Clarke

    After a short break to start the new year, Shadows of Siam returns with a case that turns a routine dive day into a disaster—an offshore fire near Koh Tao that ended with one passenger still unaccounted for: 26-year-old British tourist Alexandra Clarke. On March 16, 2025, Alexandra boarded the dive tour boat Davy Jones Locker for an excursion reported as heading toward Southwest Pinnacle. Reporting and official statements described 22 people onboard in total. As the situation escalated, survivors were forced into the water and rescued by responding vessels and nearby boats. Twenty-one people were accounted for. Alexandra was not. This episode follows the verified public timeline: what was reported about where Alexandra was last seen onboard, what authorities said about where the fire was believed to have started, how the emergency response unfolded, and why the “missing minutes” matter—without inventing details the public record doesn’t support. Some information may change as investigations develop. Sources Used (verified reporting + public-facing official statements at time of release): – The Guardian – Khaosod English – The Nation Thailand – Sky News – ITV News – The Independent – Statements attributed in coverage to Thai maritime authorities and the UK Foreign Office #ShadowsOfSiam #ThailandTrueCrime #KohTao #DiveBoatFire #MaritimeDisaster #AlexandraClarke #MissingPerson #UnresolvedCase #SuratThani #GulfOfThailand #TrueCrimePodcast #SoutheastAsia #InvestigativeStorytelling

    21 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Beneath the golden temples and bustling night markets of Thailand lies a darker truth—one hidden in alleys, abandoned buildings, and quiet countryside homes. Shadows of Siam is a true crime podcast that uncovers the forgotten, the unsolved, and the terrifyingly real stories that lurk within Thailand’s past and present.

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