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Thai woman killed daughter-in-law and then faked her own death

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She didn't approve of her son's fiancee.

So what did Juree Janngam do?

The 73-year-old hired hitmen to kill her son's fiancee just 16 days before the wedding was to take place.

Juree was found guilty of murder, a crime which carries the death penalty.

However, soon after she was let out on bail, her daughter claimed she died and was cremated, producing a death certificate to prove her death.

But Bangkok police have now said that they are re-opening the case as Juree had been spotted in Hat Yai, a city in Southern Thailand near the Malaysian border, reported the Bangkok Post.

The startling twist in a case which has gripped the Thai capital since eight years ago has now resurfaced.

Juree, a Songkhla resident, was arrested for hiring gunman Narin Janchay, 36, to kill pharmacist Riwprae Chotikarn, on Dec 13, 2007, just two weeks before Ms Riwprae was to wed Juree's son, Mr Wikrom Janngam.

According to the victim's mother, Ms Ruedeemat Singmanee, Juree had opposed of the marriage, saying that Ms Riwprae was from a poor family and only wanted to marry her son for the family wealth.

"Before my daughter died, she said Juree and her daughter stalked and verbally abused her constantly, especially as the wedding day approached," Ms Ruedeemat said.

"Juree even said the wedding must be cancelled or else a funeral will be held instead."

Narin and Juree were both given the death sentence.

However, she appealed against the conviction and was granted bail of 5 million baht (S$197,000).

On Feb 27, 2014, Juree's daughter, Ms Rasamee Janngam, claimed that her mother had collapsed and died after returning from the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) rally in Bangkok three days earlier.

She later claimed that Juree's body was cremated on Feb 28 and submitted a death certificate to refund the bail.

But recently, witnesses had seen Juree at the Hat Yai market, shopping for groceries.

The Supreme Court ordered a probe into Juree's "death" and found that Juree's funeral rite was never held.

The death certificate was issued based on a document Ms Rasamee asked the village headman to issue to prove her mother's "death".

Police superintendent Sompong Suwanwong said he sent officers to look for Juree for three months.

Their investigations found that Ms Rasamee was regularly her mother around the Hat Yai district.

"It is difficult to arrest Juree as some of her relatives are influential in Hat Yai, and may have helped her to elude arrest," he said.

"It is a challenging case but we're confident everything will be solved soon."

Source: Bangkok Post

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