1 00:00:00,960 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: From the studio who brought you the number one podcast, 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: The Pikedon Massacre. This is Death Island, just a few 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: miles off the Thailand coast. The island of Kotau looks 4 00:00:17,360 --> 00:00:19,680 Speaker 1: like a postcard. It's almost like if you were going 5 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,480 Speaker 1: to imagine a paradise island, they'll draw a picture of one. 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,160 Speaker 1: That's what Kata looks like. Young tourists from all over 7 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:29,560 Speaker 1: the world visit the pristine beaches and crystal clear water, 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,960 Speaker 1: but underneath the surface lies something sinister. In the last 9 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: two decades, dozens of tourists have died mysteriously on the island. 10 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: A dark cloud has come over the island and cast 11 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: its shadow death, mystery, and danger. I'm journalist Connor Powell. 12 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: Even while making this podcast, another death on the island 13 00:00:55,000 --> 00:01:00,160 Speaker 1: just happened. One thing is certain in this beautiful place, 14 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: no coast is clear. This is Death Island. Last night 15 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: murdering someone in find Squeat and saying there's no witnesses 16 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:19,759 Speaker 1: a production of Kati Studios and iHeartRadio. On January twenty first, 17 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,720 Speaker 1: twenty fifteen, twenty three year old Christina Ainsley was found 18 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: in her room at the InTouch Resort the Young Fair 19 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 1: haired woman was faced down with blood coming out of 20 00:01:30,959 --> 00:01:35,760 Speaker 1: her nose. Christina had been dead for at least twenty 21 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:40,760 Speaker 1: four hours. The average temperature is eighty five degrees, and 22 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 1: decomposition had begun rapidly. Tai Police claim they found no 23 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: signs of a struggle or other DNA in the room. 24 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: Officials also withheld CCTV footage that had been captured outside 25 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: of her hotel room. Her family, who lovingly refer to 26 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: her as Chrissie, are convinced something doesn't add up. According 27 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,520 Speaker 1: to the man who was allegedly the last person to 28 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: see her alive, Christina didn't die the way ty police 29 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: say she did. Christina had been asking locals about other 30 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,239 Speaker 1: mysterious deaths on the island and take pictures of Syree Beach, 31 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: where previous bodies were discovered. Did Christina's inquiry into the 32 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:29,119 Speaker 1: other backpackers deaths cause her to fall victim herself? Welcome 33 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: to Death Island, a production of Katie Studios and iHeartRadio, 34 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: Episode two, The Case of Christina Ainslie. I'm Connor Powell, 35 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: an investigative journalist at Katie Studios, with Stephanie Lydecker, Courtney 36 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: Armstrong Andrew ar Now. And Jeff Shane Well, Kotau, there's 37 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:54,079 Speaker 1: no doubt about it is a beautiful part of the world. 38 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: It is absolutely stunning. It's a tiny island, a long 39 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: way away from anywhere. Really, it's very remote. It has 40 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: lush green jungle, beautiful white sand and some of the 41 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: most amazing diving in the world in the sort of 42 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: crystal clear waters. And if you want a holiday away 43 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: from it all, with beautiful beaches, sunshine and a very 44 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 1: laid back lifestyle, it is the place to go. But sadly, 45 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: over recent years a dark cloud has come over the 46 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: island and cast its shadow, which is one of death 47 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:32,480 Speaker 1: and mystery and actually I think danger really for youngsters. 48 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: And if I was in my twenties now and a 49 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: backpacker and thinking about going to Thailand, I may think 50 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: twice about going to Cotau. That's reporter Jonathan Samuel Are. 51 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,680 Speaker 1: If you're a British backpacker, just come from the UK. 52 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: UK is an incredibly formal place. We love queues, we 53 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: love uniforms, we love things to be done properly. You 54 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: go to co Tau it feels the absolute complete opposite 55 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: of that. You know, it's super, super relaxing, you'll realize 56 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 1: that there's very little boundaries, no boundaries in terms of 57 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: how much you could drink or what else you could do. 58 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: Here's Stephanie and Connor. In twenty fifteen, twenty three year 59 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: old Christina Ainsley traveled to the lush island of Katau 60 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 1: for a trip of a lifetime. She was a British 61 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: student and a political activist who was basically taking a 62 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: break from her studies to go travel. Christina Ainsley arrived 63 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:28,279 Speaker 1: in Kotel Bright, inquisitive and politically active, but within a 64 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: few weeks of arriving on the island, Christina was found 65 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: dead in her bungalow. The official explanation from Thai authorities 66 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,720 Speaker 1: was that Chrissie died in her hotel room from mixing 67 00:04:38,839 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: antibiotics for a chest infection, tramadol, and alcohol. She was 68 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: labeled just another Western tourist who partied way too hard 69 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 1: and stumbled upon a tragic death. That's what Christina's father 70 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: was told Born Ainsley. That's exactly what they said about Christie. 71 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: That she died because she drunk too much alcohol and 72 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: she had taken an overdose of prescriptive drugs over their 73 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: own and not blaming anyone else at all. We didn't 74 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: know anything of the bad part of katar I. You 75 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:11,560 Speaker 1: didn't known anything about the corupt and they were the 76 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: police force over there. We trusted them as you would 77 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:18,280 Speaker 1: in most western countries in America or New Zealand or 78 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 1: here in the UK. You'd trust the police force, and 79 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: we accepted initially. Can you just tell me a little 80 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: bit about your daughter or who she was. She was 81 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 1: born in New Zealand, but she she left there when 82 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,880 Speaker 1: she was only baby and was essentially brought up in 83 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 1: the UK. She was very popular at secondary school, very 84 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: very intelligent, top of a class and she always championed 85 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: the underdog. So whether you were having trouble, you were 86 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 1: gay and you're having trouble telling your parents or getting bullied, 87 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: she always would help them. If they were underachieving, she'd 88 00:05:56,040 --> 00:05:58,919 Speaker 1: go and help them with their work. And she was 89 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 1: very very kind hearted and very well thought of, and 90 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: the same applied when she went to university. She was 91 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: she excelled at university. Besides being academics. She had a 92 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:13,400 Speaker 1: mischief aside to her as well. She had organized to 93 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: go out at lunchtime with a bottle of wine as 94 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: she got older, and they said, where you going to 95 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: get that from? She just pulled up from her bag 96 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:21,720 Speaker 1: that she had they didn't know, and she'd pull a 97 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,880 Speaker 1: couple of champagne glasses along with it and then in 98 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,040 Speaker 1: the sun having a picnic. So yes, she was She 99 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,240 Speaker 1: was lovely. I think she would have ended up either 100 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: as a politician or as a journalist because she was 101 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 1: very inquisitive. She had enlisted to do a master's degree 102 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: and she was accepted to that and to Queen's College 103 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: over here, and unfortunately we've got the leader of acceptance 104 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: just after she died. The Type Police reported Christina Ainsley's 105 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: cause of death as respiratory failure due to the consumption 106 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: of narcotics together with various types of medicine and alcohol. 107 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,679 Speaker 1: Is it possible she got quite up in the party 108 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: scene on Katao. People who knew Christina well don't think so. 109 00:07:06,520 --> 00:07:10,600 Speaker 1: We met through mutual friends at a party in around 110 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: twenty twelve. I think I don't remember exactly which party 111 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:16,960 Speaker 1: because I've been to a lot of parties with her, 112 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: but we were part of the same sort of social grouping, 113 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: sort of libertarian young conservative. Lisa Wade was one of 114 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: Christina's good friends from back home. She was different. She 115 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: wasn't afraid to be different in her opinions, but quite 116 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: upfront about what she believed and why she believed those things. 117 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,120 Speaker 1: She would very very engaging, so people would sort of 118 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:44,120 Speaker 1: flock to her in a way. She'd always be talking 119 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: to somebody. She sort of seemed to be almost a 120 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: bit of a magnet that drew everybody together. Really, she's 121 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: a very, very fun person. She could talk about the 122 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: whole past of topics. I remember one of the first 123 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: things after obviously we heard what happened over entire land 124 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 1: was that, oh my god, she's not going to find 125 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: out what happened at the game end of Game of Thrones, 126 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: because she was a huge Game of Thrones fans. She 127 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 1: strikes me the tape person who was drinking and talking 128 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: and engaging with people in the bar. Right. Yeah. It 129 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 1: wasn't sort of you know, just going out and sitting 130 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: at the bar and you know, getting drunk. It was 131 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: the social aspect of it. Absolutely, when you first heard 132 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: about her death, what was your immediate reaction? I couldn't 133 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:27,240 Speaker 1: process it. My boyfriend at the time that told me, 134 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: and I thought he was joking at first. He'd be 135 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: running up and it was it was a strange time 136 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:34,959 Speaker 1: for him to cool because it was the middle of 137 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:38,080 Speaker 1: the day and he just said, Chris, he's dead. I'm like, 138 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: don't be silly. He goes, no, really, look on Facebook. 139 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: Don't think it really hit me until the funeral that 140 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:46,080 Speaker 1: she was gone. I'd seen her a couple of weeks 141 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,200 Speaker 1: before she'd flown out. It was at her birthday party. 142 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: It was a matter of days later, and the idea 143 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: that she could have been, you know, so full of life, 144 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,959 Speaker 1: so vivacious, and to think, you know, how could she 145 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: not be here anymore, and how can we not see 146 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: her again? How can you be one moment she'd post 147 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,960 Speaker 1: and all these gorgeous pitches on Twitter from a beach 148 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: in Thailand, and then a matter of hours later begotten. 149 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,559 Speaker 1: Do you remember at the funeral, people seeing the explanation 150 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 1: of her death didn't seem legitimate or raising questions did 151 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: that come later? Did that come immediately that time? I 152 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 1: remember very early going it's how how this doesn't make sense. 153 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: It's still very much a lot of unanswered questions because 154 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: of what we knew about her. I would want an explanation, digging, 155 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:32,199 Speaker 1: you know, strictly from Christina's perspective christie perspective, she wouldn't 156 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: have knowingly overdosed on something like that. I can't imagine 157 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: if she hears the ill that she was drinking that 158 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: much she wants stupid doesn't make sense. On the surface, 159 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: this looks like a terrible but all too common accident, 160 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: a young woman who overdoses while partying on the island. 161 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:54,400 Speaker 1: But when we dug deeper, we realized there is more 162 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,679 Speaker 1: to the story. Our investigation into Catau has covered dozens 163 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: of mysterious death on the island. With Christina's body decomposing 164 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: for twenty four hours before any post mortem exams were done, 165 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: a compromised toxicology report, and nowhere to conduct further tests 166 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 1: on her body, there was no where to get answers 167 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: on whether Christina's death was drug related. However, her father, 168 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: boy and Annesley, believes there was foul play involved in 169 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:27,439 Speaker 1: his daughter's death. One detail from the Royal Thaipe police 170 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:33,199 Speaker 1: report caught his eye. I'd received the tie police report 171 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 1: of Chrissy, and one thing that stood out to me 172 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,840 Speaker 1: was that they said they put much emphasis on CCTV 173 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,320 Speaker 1: and they said that she had been seen at various bars, 174 00:10:44,360 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: and then she was at a bar with a European 175 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: guy and they went back to her room. I think 176 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 1: it was five o'clock in the morning, and then he 177 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: was seen leaving the room on think CTV and going 178 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: to his place on CCTV at six, so he were 179 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 1: here for an hour and they even identified them and 180 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: said what country is from. And then he left the 181 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,599 Speaker 1: island at midday, so that was six hours after he 182 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,560 Speaker 1: left Chris's room, and they said that he was scheduled 183 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: to leave on that day and they said that after that, 184 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: Christina was not seen alive on CCTV in the island, 185 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 1: and I thought, well, surely they're going to interview the 186 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: guy at of interview. They've they've identified them, they know 187 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: what countries from, so police cooperate in the world and 188 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: they can just ask the police and the country is 189 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:37,680 Speaker 1: from to interview them. But they never did, and that's 190 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:39,800 Speaker 1: when it started the ring alarm bell. So that just 191 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: made me suspicious the summit wrong here, and I also 192 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: asked when I learned about the CCTV, I asked for 193 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: footage of the CCTV again, not because I was really 194 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:56,120 Speaker 1: overly suspicious, because simply because it was the last a 195 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:58,720 Speaker 1: live footage of our daughter alive. It would have been 196 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 1: nice to have It seemed as if the police were 197 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: trained to use CCTV to point the finger at this 198 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: other man, but then they didn't do anything to even 199 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,560 Speaker 1: investigate him. Correct exactly. So my wife and I managed 200 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: to track him down through social media and we missaged 201 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:21,280 Speaker 1: him and the arrange to talk to him. Since the 202 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:25,000 Speaker 1: Tie police didn't interview the last person to see Christina alive, 203 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:32,480 Speaker 1: boy tracked him down and interviewed him himself. He said 204 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: he didn't know anything about the CCTV about himself. He said, 205 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 1: no one's ever interviewed me, and I'm not a detective 206 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:40,840 Speaker 1: or anything. But as I was speaking to him, I 207 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: was thinking, I don't think you've got anything to do 208 00:12:42,840 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: with us, because he was so forthcoming. You can tell 209 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: when people are hedging, and I'd caught him on the 210 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 1: hop too, so he had a twenty four hours to 211 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,600 Speaker 1: think about. It was me calling and I asked him 212 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: about how Chrissy was, because I said that she died 213 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,880 Speaker 1: of prescriptive overdose and he said, that's absolute bullshit. He said, 214 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: when I left her, she was absolutely coherent and she 215 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:09,400 Speaker 1: was very loosen. They said there was no hint of anything. 216 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:14,200 Speaker 1: Has anyone raised that as a possibility that maybe somebody 217 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 1: who tried to spike a drink? Yes, I have. I've said, 218 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: you've got to Whatsaid Island because they do spike them. 219 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,319 Speaker 1: And I've thought that myself. I thought, you know, after 220 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: the sky left, did anyone break into the room and 221 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: force her to take these drinks or put them in 222 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:29,960 Speaker 1: a drink or do something. I've thought that. I've got 223 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: no evidence of that, but I've thought about it. But 224 00:13:32,400 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: I've heard, as you have, of many cases, particularly women 225 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:40,760 Speaker 1: being spiked and raped on that island. As questions multiply 226 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 1: in Christina's case, another plausible theory comes to late. It 227 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:47,880 Speaker 1: seems she might have been asking too many questions about 228 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: a double murder that had happened Uncle Thou right before 229 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 1: she arrived. Hannah Withidge and David Miller were two young 230 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: backpackers from the UK. The pair were brutally beaten to 231 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: death in twenty fourteen Uncatao on their way back to 232 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: their ocean view bungalows on Syree Beach. It was just 233 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 1: outside the same hotel that Christina would stay out three 234 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 1: months later. We'll dig more into Hannah and David's case. Later, 235 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: after the high profile murders of Hannah and David, you 236 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,480 Speaker 1: think the police might take it a little bit more serious, right, 237 00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: Christina's father thinks it's possible she was murdered. Hannah and 238 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: David had only lost their lives four months before. And 239 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,520 Speaker 1: the other thing that then rose my suspicions was there 240 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: were several people talked to us and said Chrissie as 241 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: I said, she was a very inquisitive maybe was going 242 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: to be a journalist, loved to find out the truth. 243 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 1: And she went on to the beach where Hannah and 244 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: David were and started asking questions and taking photographs. And 245 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,920 Speaker 1: she advised by her friends and around her and even 246 00:14:52,040 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: this boy I spoke to that you shouldn't be doing that. 247 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:57,720 Speaker 1: It's very very dangerous to do it. Don't do it. 248 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: So that gives me another reason for her to be eliminated. 249 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: Do you think she was just asking the wrong questions 250 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: and raising things that the people on sorry Beach and 251 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: around the island may not want have had probed. Yeah, 252 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,360 Speaker 1: I think she was doing that because because although she 253 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,240 Speaker 1: was traveled, I think at the time she was a 254 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: bit naive she believed all people were good and she 255 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,840 Speaker 1: couldn't see how any harm would come to her. I 256 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:25,760 Speaker 1: can imagine there and no, she would have been actively 257 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:31,800 Speaker 1: asking questions, Let's stop here for a break, We'll be 258 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:46,520 Speaker 1: back in a moment. Soup. Buchanan used to run a 259 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 1: newspaper on Kutao and wrote a book on the mysterious 260 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: deaths on the island. The book is called The Curse 261 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:58,480 Speaker 1: of the Turtle, The True Story of Thailand's backpacker murders. 262 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: On her assue what her impression of Christina was from 263 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: her research. If you're at a party in Christina is 264 00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 1: there's going to be a good party. But she was 265 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 1: very curious. She was she was very confident, she wasn't 266 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: afraid of asking questions, and she was trying to break 267 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,240 Speaker 1: into journalism. I think she was just very curious and 268 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 1: was going around asking questions about the murders. Even the 269 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: hacker group Anonymous has questions about Christina's case. Christina and 270 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: Newsley twenty three, another British backpacker, also died on the 271 00:16:28,400 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: island of Kotau just a few days after she arrived. 272 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: In perfect health. Christina was by herself visiting Kotaw and 273 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 1: she was found dead in her room at the in Touch, 274 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:41,200 Speaker 1: a resort in Kotau. It is ironic that the owner 275 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: of the in Touch resort just happens to be none 276 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: other then Montruottu Witchayan. According to this report, Montrouottu Witchayan 277 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: the initial suspect for the David Miller and Hannah with 278 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: a Rich rape and murder case. The autopsy report put 279 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,560 Speaker 1: christine as death as natural causes. However, Christina was found 280 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: faced down with blood running out of her nose and 281 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: mouth after being found by a hotel Kleina. Also, we 282 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,320 Speaker 1: noted that Christina's parents had to track down the last 283 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,160 Speaker 1: known person who had seen their daughter alive, as they 284 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,400 Speaker 1: say the type police were not interested in helping them 285 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:23,280 Speaker 1: any further. Anonymous does not claim to be forensic pathologists, 286 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: saw medical experts, but this case is of interest to 287 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:30,400 Speaker 1: us as it involved Katau Island and the first suspect 288 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,679 Speaker 1: in the David Miller and Hannah with a Ridge case. 289 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,160 Speaker 1: The more we dug into the investigation, the cloudier gets 290 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: was Christina asking the wrong questions on an island where 291 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: two British backpackers were just murdered months earlier, And Who's 292 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: Mantra to Vichian. He was never arrested for any crimes, 293 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: but his name constantly comes up when asked about the deaths. 294 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:57,520 Speaker 1: The mayor of Kotao, chiant Taurassical, said the tourists who 295 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,720 Speaker 1: died were in many cases responsible for their own deaths. 296 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:06,280 Speaker 1: Tombstone made a documentary film on the mysterious deaths on Katao. 297 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: He thinks some of the deaths on the island could 298 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: be attributed to the lack of infrastructure. People go there 299 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,240 Speaker 1: for an adventure, okay, but the island is not equipped 300 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,600 Speaker 1: for the misadventure that they encounter. You have an island 301 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: that is built for fun. Drink as much as you want. 302 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: There's lots of drugs there. People drive incredibly recklessly. The 303 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 1: roads are covered in potholes, and they have of car 304 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,280 Speaker 1: accidents all the time. And so this island is built 305 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: for fun, but it has none of the infrastructure in 306 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,600 Speaker 1: order to do it safely. I think you could see 307 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:43,520 Speaker 1: that as the backdrop to everything that's the island has 308 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: become notorious. Four Bear in mind that there's no hospital 309 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,480 Speaker 1: if you get into trouble. Bearingly, money in the number 310 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 1: of people. They are getting very drunk and taking drugs 311 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: there on the island, having a wonderful time in many respects. 312 00:18:56,640 --> 00:18:59,480 Speaker 1: It's not surprising that the Islands has become the tourists 313 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: for some really sad, tragic insidance because it has outgrown 314 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,480 Speaker 1: what it offers on the surface, which is immense fun 315 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,560 Speaker 1: of all sorts, but there's nothing underneath. They're kind of 316 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:14,719 Speaker 1: safety net police aren't up to the job. Boyne Ainsley 317 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: has questions regarding the death of his daughter, so I 318 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 1: asked for blood samples to be taken from her so 319 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: that we could just confirm how she died. Christina's father 320 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,640 Speaker 1: asked the TIE authorities to conduct toxicology reports. They were 321 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: not forthcoming on the blood samples. After months of trying 322 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: to get answers, the TIE authorities sent over an autopsy 323 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,920 Speaker 1: report and then we consequently got the list of samples 324 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: and her blood from Thailand, and they listed what she 325 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 1: had in her body, which was alcohol, trebidol codeine. But 326 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:54,399 Speaker 1: interestingly enough, there's no quantities listed. All Helsted was the 327 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,400 Speaker 1: name drugs in her blood, but no quantities at all, 328 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:01,040 Speaker 1: so you couldn't tell whether she died from that or not. 329 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,400 Speaker 1: And I thought that's really strange. Wouldn't you analyze how 330 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:10,160 Speaker 1: much is in a bloodstream? But there wasn't. If they 331 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:14,160 Speaker 1: had taken blood samples relatively soon, there should be percentages 332 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: of a more detailed breakdown. Do you think that the 333 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: what they told you was in her blood system was 334 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 1: legitimate or do you think they just pulled that out 335 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: of thin air to give you a report. I think 336 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: they either pull it out of thin air and they 337 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:32,040 Speaker 1: substantiated that by having packets of the prescriptive duckets in 338 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 1: the room, or they just found that the prescriptive drug 339 00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: packets were in the room and they said that was 340 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 1: what was in the blood right without analyzing the blood 341 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,199 Speaker 1: at all. I'm curious in terms of the documentation you got, 342 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,719 Speaker 1: can you describe was it thorough in terms of notes 343 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,800 Speaker 1: or was it really very basic in terms of what 344 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,439 Speaker 1: it provided. The Tie police report I just do not 345 00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: believe at all, because all of it just seems to 346 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: be fabricated, because it was very long and went into 347 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,680 Speaker 1: a lot of detail, and now we're going to think 348 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: about it, it's almost too much detail, and it's as 349 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: if they're trying to invent a story. But what did 350 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,120 Speaker 1: get me was they got dates on that wrong initially, 351 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: so a lot of the effects they put on there 352 00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:19,159 Speaker 1: were incorrect and went against each other, so I'd have 353 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: to go back for clarifications. Boyne gave us a copy 354 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:26,439 Speaker 1: of the autopsy report that the Royal Type Police put together, 355 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:31,280 Speaker 1: Andrew asked forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan to examine it. 356 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,440 Speaker 1: I think that that's the watchword. Was there commingling of drugs? 357 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:39,520 Speaker 1: Was there commingling with alcohol or any other substance that 358 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 1: might be intertwined in there. So there's not really any 359 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:49,840 Speaker 1: concentrations of anything listed. How strange is it to receive 360 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: a toxicology report without any amount or concentrations of the 361 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,200 Speaker 1: drugs found in somebody's body. It's something that would certainly 362 00:21:57,200 --> 00:21:59,199 Speaker 1: bring up the red flag because why wouldn't you do 363 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:02,280 Speaker 1: your due diligence If you're going to get an qualitative amount, 364 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:04,399 Speaker 1: take the next steps. It will take a few weeks 365 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 1: and get it done. It doesn't make sense because you're 366 00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,120 Speaker 1: you're already putting the manpower toward drawing the tops going 367 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,639 Speaker 1: through the examination. Why not further verify Because one of 368 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,199 Speaker 1: the big parts in our reports here in America is 369 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:19,719 Speaker 1: that we do what's referred to as a histology report. 370 00:22:20,119 --> 00:22:23,680 Speaker 1: It's even a further more detailed report on the tissues. 371 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: They're examined microscopically and we break down each organ system. 372 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:31,440 Speaker 1: That's one of the reasons we do autopsy, so that 373 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,959 Speaker 1: we can collect samples of each organ group, everything from 374 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:38,320 Speaker 1: bone to brain, to heart to you know, just everything, 375 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,800 Speaker 1: and we look at it microscopically. That's part and parcel 376 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 1: of this too, But that doesn't exist to any significant 377 00:22:45,560 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: degree here. As a matter of fact, I think they 378 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,000 Speaker 1: give all of four full sentences to all of the 379 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,600 Speaker 1: tissues in her body. That would be a great fine 380 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,120 Speaker 1: for me. And the fact that there are no quantitative 381 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: levels is why wouldn't Thie authorities list the amount of 382 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: substances found in Christina's system. Christina's friend Lisa Wade, also 383 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: has questions about how Thie authorities handled Christina's death. One 384 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:13,880 Speaker 1: of the initial reports said that they had found her 385 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:16,879 Speaker 1: sort of twenty four hours later in her beach shallow 386 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:19,720 Speaker 1: and then left her body in a boiling hot temple 387 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:22,960 Speaker 1: like it's Thailand in the middle of what was their summer. 388 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: Why on earth would you do that? The handling of 389 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,479 Speaker 1: it raises significant questions, definitely, but I'm sure they realize 390 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: the importance of forensic investigations and preserving a body for autopsy, 391 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: but that didn't seem right. I couldn't understand why that happened. 392 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 1: Large Thie Islands and the mainland have cold storage morgue areas, 393 00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: but Kataw is too small island for the cold storage, 394 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,639 Speaker 1: and our dead bodies are taken to temples as a 395 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:55,159 Speaker 1: safe and holy place. It's meant as a place of 396 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,160 Speaker 1: honor for the dead, but it is awful for investigations. 397 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: We ask forensic expert Joseph Morgan about how leaving Christina's 398 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,720 Speaker 1: body in a hot temple for twenty four hours could 399 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,919 Speaker 1: affect the toxicology report. I think that the problem that 400 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 1: you run into, particularly with Christina's death, is the fact 401 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:20,240 Speaker 1: that the findings will be greatly compromised by the environmental 402 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,320 Speaker 1: impact on the bodies. You know, when you begin to 403 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 1: think about how long she had been down, the fact 404 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: that she was essentially exposed to arguably from a climate standpoint, 405 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 1: some of the most harsh conditions when it comes to 406 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 1: relative humidity and heat, drug levels and toxicology a come 407 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: moot point because it's so very hard to get within 408 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,320 Speaker 1: an accurate range at that point in time. Brain is 409 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:51,840 Speaker 1: compromised by decomposition, the heart is compromised by decomposition, but 410 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,359 Speaker 1: yet they can't see any signs of inflammation found the 411 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,680 Speaker 1: lungs are decomposed. Everything's going to be decomposed when they're 412 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:03,400 Speaker 1: doing the biological stamp for blood alcohol. And I think 413 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: that the way they're probably gleaning this information is they're 414 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,119 Speaker 1: taking more than likely tissue. Well, they're drawing up blood. 415 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 1: If the blood is decomposing as well, does that affect 416 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 1: the accuracy of the testing since it's decomposed, Yes, it does. 417 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 1: And they're talking about the ethyl alcohol level, which that's 418 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 1: the alcohol that we specifically look for ethyl alcohol. They're 419 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 1: saying that there's point zero eight six present in the system. Well, yeah, 420 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: there is, because there's decomposition going on. As we decompose, 421 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 1: our body actually creates alcohol. And again, you kind of 422 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: have to be as an investigator, as a forensic pathologist, 423 00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: they have to be very keen to this to understand 424 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 1: the subtle differences between what's real as a result of 425 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: something that they ingested anti mortem before death, and what 426 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,960 Speaker 1: is what we refer to as a decompositional artifact and 427 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: that's something that rises as a result of decomposition. So 428 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: things change in the body as we essentially begin to 429 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: putrify and decompose, and so the organs are compromised. Even 430 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: our chemistry to a great degree is compromised. So you 431 00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: can't quantify it because the numbers are so skewed because 432 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: the decomposition changed, there's no way to read into it. 433 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:37,199 Speaker 1: Let's stop here for another break. Since Christina's body was 434 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,879 Speaker 1: decomposing before the toxicology exam was conducted, the alcohol levels 435 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:45,400 Speaker 1: listed in her blood are compromised. That means we can't 436 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: get a clear indication of what percentage or amount of 437 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 1: alcohol or other substances were in her system. Our initial 438 00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,359 Speaker 1: thoughts were to get it back as soon as I could, 439 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: like a viewer, and Maggie, my wife, could see who 440 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,280 Speaker 1: when she came home, and bearing in mind that she 441 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: had been in the heat in that room for thirty 442 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,199 Speaker 1: six hours, so I wanted to get her in as 443 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 1: presentable a state as I could, and I asked for 444 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,680 Speaker 1: her to be embalmed, and I did not realizing the 445 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 1: embalming process in Thailand is a kaok. It's done with 446 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,399 Speaker 1: formaldehyde that used to be done years ago in the 447 00:27:21,440 --> 00:27:25,639 Speaker 1: Western World, Andrew spoke to forensic expert Joseph Scott Morgan 448 00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 1: about the embalming process. Chris's father mentioned that the Tie 449 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 1: coroner embalmed her with formaldehyde before she was sent home. 450 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 1: Is this typical and what effect is the use of 451 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,920 Speaker 1: formaldehyde and embalming have on obtaining results for a tax report. Well, 452 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,440 Speaker 1: there's a price that you pay from a toxicological sample 453 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 1: when all of the fluids are removed from the body 454 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:54,080 Speaker 1: and that's replaced with formaldehyde or embalming fluid. I think 455 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: that really some of the only tests that you could 456 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,439 Speaker 1: do would be like to go into hair follicles and 457 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,880 Speaker 1: things like that to look for things like heavy metals. 458 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:05,800 Speaker 1: But according to international law, in order to get Christina's 459 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 1: body home, it needed to be embalmed for transportation. With 460 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:14,679 Speaker 1: the transportation of a body internationally, the airlines is not 461 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:17,680 Speaker 1: going to accept it unless it's embolved. But in most cases, 462 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:21,919 Speaker 1: when you're talking about embalming a body, what has to 463 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:29,320 Speaker 1: happen is that the body is essentially perfused and the 464 00:28:29,440 --> 00:28:32,359 Speaker 1: blood is drawn out generally through gravity, but you have 465 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 1: a pump that's working so that that positive pressure is 466 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: pushing all of the blood from the body, and then 467 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:50,760 Speaker 1: behind it is coming embalming fluid. And then when it 468 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,640 Speaker 1: gets systemically into the body and you have it going 469 00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: through all of the vessels in the body, it's going 470 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: into the soft tissue as well, so those areas and 471 00:29:00,560 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: organs are compromised at that point, brain, liver, kidneys, anyplace 472 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: else that you can think of. And also in the 473 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:09,560 Speaker 1: UK post morton there was nothing. They said the blood 474 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: samples that they eventually sent me were useless because they 475 00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: delayed so long getting them to them, they couldn't get 476 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: anything out of them. But there was one more detail 477 00:29:18,920 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 1: about Christina's death that boin things could provide a clue. 478 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,440 Speaker 1: We've eventually found out. She's found in the room, lying 479 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:28,200 Speaker 1: face down. She had blood coming from a nose and mouth. 480 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: Andrew asked Joseph Morgan about that detail, and what about 481 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,520 Speaker 1: with an overdose, what kinds of things would you see 482 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: finding someone who's passed away from that. One of the 483 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:45,080 Speaker 1: things that we'd look for, particularly with overdoses and specifically 484 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: with the application of certain drugs that impact the respiratory system, 485 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,640 Speaker 1: is that this leads to kind of heavy congestion that 486 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:56,200 Speaker 1: goes on in the lungs and the individual is actually 487 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 1: in a congestive failure. When you look at their lungs, 488 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: first off, when you go to wal them, they're very heavy. 489 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:06,960 Speaker 1: They're normally heavy, and so what you'll see is people 490 00:30:06,960 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: will present with what's called a frothy edemitus cone. Many times. 491 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: It's kind of an odd thing to see. You see 492 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:18,760 Speaker 1: it with drugods, and you see it with drownings. But 493 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,000 Speaker 1: what happens is the lungs and then the head becomes 494 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,959 Speaker 1: so very congested that these little vessels are compromised pressure wise, okay, 495 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 1: because everything's backing up, and these little vessels essentially give way, 496 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:36,920 Speaker 1: and you'll have this leaking that occurs. You'll see it 497 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,960 Speaker 1: kind of leaking out of the mouth, leaking out of 498 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:45,040 Speaker 1: the nose. Many times, the head is appreciably darker. It'll 499 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:48,520 Speaker 1: have almost an eggplant like appearance. That's the color that 500 00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:51,960 Speaker 1: many people change to because of the congestion, and that 501 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,840 Speaker 1: gives you an indication that somebody's in congestive value. Joseph 502 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:59,560 Speaker 1: went on to explain that someone having respiratory issues and 503 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: chris Nina's case a cold might result in the same findings. 504 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:08,520 Speaker 1: If Christina died of an overdose. Her lungs would have 505 00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: been much heavier than average. Did you see anything in 506 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: the autopsy to indicate them? Not necessarily. Of course, you've 507 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:21,640 Speaker 1: got decomposed tissue that you're that you're doing with as well, 508 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:26,160 Speaker 1: so it's greatly compromised. So no evidence of overdose based 509 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 1: on the weight of her lungs. Days before her death, 510 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: Christina tweeted that she was taking antibiotics. Could this have 511 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: been a factor? After reading the toxicology report? Did any 512 00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:42,640 Speaker 1: of the medications stand out as antibiotics she would have 513 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:46,360 Speaker 1: been prescribed for a chest infection? Not particularly. I think 514 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: that that's one of the narratives that they have put 515 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:53,200 Speaker 1: forward throughout this, you know, this entire investigation Christina's death. 516 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 1: I think that they try to put this aff on 517 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,680 Speaker 1: antibiotic ingestion combined with other drugs and that sort of thing. 518 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: Antibiotics can make you sick, but to the point of 519 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 1: being fatal at her age. I think that that's super bizarre. One. 520 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: Which drugs do they say we're in Christina? According to 521 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,520 Speaker 1: the report? Two? Based on what's written here, could they 522 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:17,280 Speaker 1: be the cause of death? So far? According to what 523 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: Joseph has read, from the autopsy report provided by the 524 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,719 Speaker 1: Royal Type Police. Benzo diazepan was found in Christina's blood. 525 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:29,720 Speaker 1: It is often found in anti anxiety medications. The traumadall 526 00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,360 Speaker 1: is kind of interesting, I think, because this is an 527 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 1: analgesic medication that's used for reduction of pain, and it's 528 00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:40,160 Speaker 1: a dangerous drug. It's used to deal most of the 529 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: time with chronic pain. If you're dealing with depression or 530 00:32:45,160 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 1: anxiety and you're taking benzos and you combine that with 531 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:53,240 Speaker 1: something like traumadoll, that can be a real problem. The 532 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:58,560 Speaker 1: police said that she died from a combination of alcohol 533 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 1: and medications. Do you think that they've actually disproven that 534 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,240 Speaker 1: with the evidence in the tax report? Well, no, because 535 00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: they're not giving us any quantitative amounts. I think a 536 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:13,240 Speaker 1: right thinking person would ask, well, you're saying that that 537 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:18,280 Speaker 1: is this lethal combination, Okay, validate that for me. Tell 538 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:23,959 Speaker 1: me specifically how much of traumadol that she have on 539 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,400 Speaker 1: board since you've found it, Because there is a certain 540 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:30,800 Speaker 1: amount of traumadol that you could have on board that 541 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,920 Speaker 1: is not going to wind up killing you if you 542 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,680 Speaker 1: combine it with alcohol. Also, since you're talking about organs, 543 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:40,360 Speaker 1: decomposing and all these sorts of things, and we know 544 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:44,880 Speaker 1: and post mortem that embodies produce alcohol as a result 545 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: of the process of decomposition. Are you factoring that in? 546 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,040 Speaker 1: For me as a death investigator, I would have to 547 00:33:53,040 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 1: have more to sink my teeth into before I could 548 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:00,479 Speaker 1: actually state in the affirmative that her death was in 549 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 1: fact related to this mixture that they're putting for. What's 550 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: your professional opinion? With the limited evidence we have, you 551 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:14,520 Speaker 1: cannot simply dismiss Christina's death as simply an accident. Here again, Lisa, 552 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:20,480 Speaker 1: we'd I appreciate why parents are interested in investigating a 553 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:23,759 Speaker 1: potential criminal angle, and obviously it can't be excluded. You know, 554 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,840 Speaker 1: I would want an explanation to I think everybody would 555 00:34:26,840 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 1: want to know what happened to their friends, their family, 556 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: their loved ones if they died in dubious circumstances abroad 557 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,839 Speaker 1: and the authorities weren't helping them in that regard. But 558 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,640 Speaker 1: it doesn't sit right. I will just continue to dig 559 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:43,440 Speaker 1: away and get more and more and hopefully I can 560 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,120 Speaker 1: at least find the truth. And we think we know 561 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,080 Speaker 1: who's to blame. It's just a measure of pin pointing it. 562 00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 1: Getting justice will be another issue. What is clear is 563 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,799 Speaker 1: that tai police don't conduct much of an investigation and 564 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,000 Speaker 1: quickly rode off Chrissie's death. As you know, the reckless 565 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:05,279 Speaker 1: tourists drinking and taking drugs. As boy Nansley tells us, 566 00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:07,759 Speaker 1: he and his wife Maggie were not the only ones 567 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:11,400 Speaker 1: who have last loved ones on Katao. Short that the 568 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:15,040 Speaker 1: after Chrissy died, the people that had already lost people 569 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,440 Speaker 1: on coat got hold of Maggie and said we were 570 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:21,120 Speaker 1: a group, and Maggie joined it, and then I consequently 571 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: joined it, and that's when we started to find out 572 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:28,160 Speaker 1: about the corruption on the island. And I think together 573 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,960 Speaker 1: we've all tried to make people aware in the world 574 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,520 Speaker 1: of the dangers of going to this island. We're trying 575 00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:37,439 Speaker 1: to get the foreign and conwalth offers to get their 576 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,480 Speaker 1: house in order to help in anyone, not just Thailand, 577 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,480 Speaker 1: but we're also trying to make people aware of the 578 00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 1: dangers of kotour and hopefully shut that island down or 579 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 1: shut the mafia families over there down so that they 580 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 1: can't trade anymore and people just do not lose their lives. 581 00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:59,439 Speaker 1: Despite the pleas from families who have last loved ones 582 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,960 Speaker 1: on the island, and the growing number of suspicious fatalities. 583 00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:07,800 Speaker 1: Katau remains a popular destination for travelers. As we continue 584 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:12,120 Speaker 1: digging deeper, the stories emerging from the island get more disturbing. 585 00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:17,600 Speaker 1: More on that next time. If you have any information 586 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 1: about Christina Ainslie, please contact us at producers at kat 587 00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:26,680 Speaker 1: dash studios dot com. For more information and relevant photos. 588 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram at Katie Underscore Studios. Death Island 589 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:37,520 Speaker 1: is produced by Stephanie Lydecker, Connor Powell, Andrew Arnow, Jeff Shane, 590 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:42,640 Speaker 1: Chris Cacaro, Gabriel Castillo and me Courtney Armstrong. Editing and 591 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:47,600 Speaker 1: sound designed by Jeff Tis. Music by Vanacore Music. Death 592 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:51,320 Speaker 1: Island is a production of iHeartRadio and kat Studios. For 593 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 594 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.