Australian accused of killing Thai teenager and putting her body in a suitcase speaks for the first time from jail: 'I don't understand what's going on'

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:09, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 00:13, 24 August 2026 An Australian truck driver accused of murdering a teenage girl in Thailand has broken his silence from behind bars to protest his innocence. Simon Peter Carman, 45, from Perth's southern suburbs, could face the death penalty over the alleged murder of Tunchanok Donhomla, 17, also known as Cake. Her naked body was found dumped inside a black suitcase near railway tracks on the outskirts of Pattaya on June 27, two days after she was last seen alive on CCTV with Carman in the foyer of his condo complex. Carman was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport just minutes before he tried to board a Jetstar flight to Perth. He insisted that he acted in self-defence and alleged that the teen attacked him with a knife during an argument over money. 'I feel deeply sad. I obviously wish that it did not happen, but it was unavoidable,' Carman told ABC's Foreign Correspondent from Pattaya Remand Prison. 'All of was trying to do is restrain her from stabbing me. 'Even when I had her pinned down, she still had a lot of force, trying to stab me.' Simon Peter Carman has denied killing 17-year-old Thai teen Tunchanok Donhomla The Australian truck driver (pictured behind bars) has claimed that he acted in self-defence The teen's naked body was found inside a black suitcase dumped near railway tracks outside Pattaya on June 27 - two days after she was last seen He claimed that he repeatedly asked the teen to 'put down the knife' during a physical struggle before she eventually 'went limp'. Carman added that he felt a lot of remorse for Tunchanok's family. He said he had no idea at the time that Tunchanok was a minor, claiming that she followed him back to his accommodation. 'I honestly do not know why she followed me home,' he added. Carman vowed to fight the charges, which included murder, concealing and moving a body, and taking a minor aged between 15 and 18 for sexual purposes.  'I am hoping and praying that I can get released, if not on bail, because I have done nothing wrong,' he said. 'I have not done anything wrong. I shouldn't be here … I do not understand what's going on.' He also revealed that he still does not yet have a lawyer and that the only visitors he has received while behind bars were representatives from the Australian embassy.   Carman was arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport just minutes before boarding a Jetstar flight to Perth  Carman alleged that Tunchanok Donhomla (pictured) died while trying to stop her from stabbing him As police prepare to wrap up their investigation, an autopsy revealed that Tunchanok 'had a brain injury and she suffocated'. 'She had no other injuries,' Colonel Anek Srathongyoo from Pattaya City Police said. 'We also collected Simon (Carman's) DNA and matched it to DNA found on Cake's.' Prosecutors now have until September 18 to indict Carman.   Nine days before her death, Tunchanok travelled from her home in Thailand's north about 600km to the bustling city of Pattaya. She wanted a holiday to 'see the beach' and visit friends, promising her family to return soon. Tunchanok had given friends Carman's address after the pair met up on Jomtien Beach in the early hours of June 25. A concerned friend then reported the teen missing the next day to police and later confronted Carman at his condo when she vanished. By then, Carman had already allegedly suffocated Tunchanok and dumped her body in the suitcase a short scooter ride away. A murder conviction in Thailand can result in the death penalty or a jail sentence of 15 to 20 years. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.