Family agony as beach murder girl’s sister dies after an illness
THE family of murdered backpacker Hannah Witheridge have been hit by a fresh tragedy with the death of her sister who had been gravely ill.
Laura Daniels, 30, died in hospital on Monday five years and one day after Hannah, 23, and fellow traveller David Miller, 24, were murdered on a beach in Thailand.
Last month it emerged that two Burmese migrants convicted of the murders face execution after appeals against their conviction were thrown out.
Laura’s parents Tony and Susan announced Laura’s death yesterday, saying they had been left in “indescribable” pain. They said: “Laura had been gravely ill and was being treated in hospital.
“Our hearts are broken – our lives are shattered once more. The pain is indescribable and our family very much need time and privacy during this unbearable time.”
Laura is understood to have married partner Lewis Daniels this year. The reason for her admission to hospital has not been disclosed.
Hannah of Hemsby, Norfolk, was raped before she and David, from Jersey, were battered to death with a hoe on a beach on the island of Koh Tao on September 15, 2014.
Burmese migrants Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, both 25, who were working on Koh Tao were convicted of the murders and Hannah’s rape and sentenced to death.
The pair insisted they were innocent, claiming their admissions came as a result of being tortured.
Defence lawyers also claim the evidence and DNA in the case had been mishandled, making it unreliable. But last month their final appeal against the conviction was dismissed by the Supreme Court in Thailand which ruled that the forensic work was handled by respectable institutions and there was no proof of torture.
Immediately after the hearing, the two migrants appealed to the families of Hannah and David, asking them to cooperate in seeking a royal pardon from the Thai king.
At an inquest into Hannah’s death, held in Norwich in February 2016, her family described her as “a fun, vibrant and beautiful woman”.
Her parents, who are separated, had pleaded with her not to go on her backpacking trip to Thailand because they feared for her safety.
Hannah’s mother Susan, 61, said in a statement how the lives of her family had been “changed forever” by her murder.
She said: “There wasn’t a bad bone in her body.
“She achieved so much and had so much more ahead of her.
“Our family is broken and will never be the same again.
“It will never make any sense. The fact that she is not here affects us every day.”
She said that Hannah had originally planned to go to Europe or Australia before making a late decision to go to Thailand.