Son of Spanish Actor Sentenced to Life in Thailand for Brutal Murder

Son of a Spanish star was sentenced to life in prison in Thailand for the murder and mutilation of a Colombian surgeon.

Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, the 30-year-old son of well-known Spanish television actor Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre, has been sentenced to life in prison for the August 2023 murder and mutilation of Colombian plastic surgeon Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the Thai island of Koh Phangan. This case has garnered significant attention in Spain.

Sancho was convicted guilty of premeditated murder, concealing a corpse, and property destruction by a court on the nearby island of Koh Samui. Due to Sancho’s cooperation throughout the trial, the court later modified the death penalty that had been originally imposed to life in prison. Sancho has also been ordered to compensate Arrieta’s family with 4 million baht, or roughly $118,000 or £89,000, in damages.

Spain took a keen interest in the case, and many of its journalists went to Thailand to cover the trial. Chef Sancho, who has his own YouTube channel, first claimed to be acting in self-defense, telling Spanish news outlet EFE that he had been Arrieta’s “hostage” because he felt she was enamored with him.

The gruesome facts of the killing became public when authorities found portions of Arrieta’s body in a Koh Phangan trash. When Arrieta, then 44, was questioned further, Sancho confessed to the homicide after first reporting her missing. According to Thai media, detectives discovered premeditation evidence, such as Sancho’s purchases of cleaning supplies, rubber gloves, and knives.

A horrifying development occurred when Sancho took authorities to seven locations on the island where he had dumped Arrieta’s severed remains in plastic bags. According to reports, the two men decided to meet up in person on the island after connecting online.

Sancho acted in self-defense, according to the defense, which said that Arrieta had tried to coerce him into having sex. Sancho said that the plastic surgeon “tried to rape [him]” in a statement that was published by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

The attorney for Arrieta’s family, Bussakorn Kaewleeled, expressed delight with the decision, saying that the family was happy with the life term as well as the monetary award.

Sancho is from an acting family: his grandfather, the late Félix Ángel Sancho Gracia, was an actor, as was his mother, Silvia Bronchalo. In addition to shocking the Spanish public, the case has sparked debate regarding the conditions surrounding this tragic event on a well-known tourist island in Thailand.