Prime suspect in woman's murder at £4m Hyde Park mansion 'has fled abroad', inquest told

17 April 2024, 10:57

A killer who stabbed a woman to death at a £4m mansion near Hyde Park has likely fled the country, an inquest heard.

Kamonnan Thiamphanit, 27, was found dead at the central London property she had been renting as an Airbnb.

The victim, known to her friends as Angela, knew her attacker and had let them into the Bayswater flat, police believe.

Her body was found at the property in Stanhope Place at around 8.30am on April 8.

DCI Alison Foxwell told the hearing at Westminster Coroner’s Court on Tuesday: “Angela which is what she was known as while here in the UK had been renting out the property as an Airbnb.

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“We believe that the person who attacked her was known to her, this isn't a stranger attack but at some point after the 6 April at 6.15am she was attacked in the address and sustained a number of stab injuries.

“We are asking the CPS whether we have sufficient evidence to extradite somebody from outside the UK,’ she added.

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following the murder.

Police forced entry to a property in Stanhope Place, Bayswater, at approximately 8.30am on Monday April 8.

On Sunday, officers were contacted twice by friends of Ms Thiamphanit who were concerned about her welfare.

This was graded as a medium-risk missing person inquiry before officers forced entry and discovered the body of the 27-year-old on Monday morning.

Ms Thiamphanit had suffered stab injuries.

The IOPC has confirmed the Metropolitan Police referred itself to the watchdog on Tuesday.

Commander Owain Richards, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "We received two calls from Kamonnan's friends on Sunday April 7, raising concerns that they had not heard from her for some time.

"One just after 7pm and then another one just after 9.30pm on the Sunday evening. We initially graded the missing person inquiry as a medium-risk, prior to forcing entry and discovering her body on the following Monday morning.

"As her friends had contacted police and then we subsequently found, tragically, the body, we have made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is a standard referral in these cases to understand a review of what happened and whether there's any lessons to be learned in relation to that."

A spokesperson for the IOPC confirmed the matter "should be investigated" and "this should be carried out by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards".

They added: "We advised the force that its investigation should, in our view, review the police response against policy and procedure and identify whether there were any missed opportunities to find Ms Thiamphanit sooner and potentially prevent her death, however we noted that the timing of her death is unclear at this stage so there may be a possibility that she was already deceased prior to the police being contacted.

"The force was reminded that should its investigation identify any conduct matters for any officers or staff, then a further referral should be considered."

The family of Ms Thiamphanit, who had Chinese, Hong Kong and Thai nationality, live overseas and have been informed.