I know it looks like I killed my Thai wife who was found dead in the Yorkshire Dales – but I can prove my innocence

THE Sun tracked down assemblage lecturer David Armitage to his distant Thai location to inquire if helium had immoderate portion successful his wife’s suspicious decease – and helium dodged the question.

Instead, helium hid down the proposal of British Embassy unit not to remark astir the intriguing enigma of his Thai woman Lamduan’s murder.

So I went for the blunter approach: “Let maine enactment it different way, David. Did you termination Lamduan?”

Only past did helium disregard Embassy officials and protestation his innocence.

The portly English lecturer, present 62, said: “Absolutely not. No, perfectly not. I cognize the inferences are determination but I americium conscionable getting connected with my beingness here.”

He promised to reply the remainder of my questions astir the Lady of the Hills case — named aft the unidentified, partially-clothed assemblage was recovered successful a upland watercourse successful the Yorkshire Dales successful 2004 — erstwhile the particulate had settled.

And helium said helium was blessed to talk to cold-case detectives who were taking a caller look astatine the find of what turned retired to beryllium Lamduan’s body.

That was six years ago, and Armitage has evaded each effort to quiz him since — by maine and the police.

But each that could present alteration aft Thai migration officials decided to deport him.

He was detained past week astatine the aforesaid location wherever I confronted him, and was taken to a detention centre successful Bangkok, wherever helium is present contemplating his aboriginal down 20ft fences topped with barbed wire.

Artist’s impression

According to migration sources who person spoken to him, that aboriginal involves the melodramatic program to instrumentality location successful a bid to wide his name.

He is escaped to spell anyplace erstwhile helium leaves Thailand.

But his existent Thai woman and his lad George, a 32-year-old teacher, are said to person persuaded him to instrumentality to the UK truthful helium tin archer constabulary helium had thing to bash with Lamduan’s murder.

A root told The Sun: “George is evidently alert of everything that has happened implicit the past fewer years and everything that has been said — arsenic is David’s girlfriend.

“They person persuaded him to spell backmost to the UK to wide his name.

“He is escaped to spell anyplace erstwhile helium leaves Thailand, but successful world helium lone has 1 enactment — backmost to Britain.

“He had the prime of appealing the determination to revoke his visa wrong 48 hours but helium did not instrumentality it.”

If Armitage does instrumentality and speaks to constabulary it whitethorn yet shed immoderate airy connected a lawsuit which has baffled them for much than 2 decades.

It began connected September 20, 2004, erstwhile hikers doing the 24-mile Three Peaks locomotion stopped for a photograph by a watercourse adjacent 1 of the peaks, Pen-y-ghent, wherever the partially clothed assemblage of a pistillate laic successful the h2o — which was shown successful their picture.

A post-mortem failed to found a origin of death, though she had not been shot, stabbed oregon drowned.

Police were incapable to place her and she was dubbed the Lady of the Hills by locals, who arranged for her ceremonial successful the adjacent colony of Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

A cold-case reappraisal yet led to her recognition successful 2019 erstwhile a comparative surviving successful the UK saw an artist’s content successful a constabulary entreaty and alerted detectives.

As officers were waiting for trial results connected DNA samples taken from her parents Buasa and Joomsri, I travelled to Thailand to talk to her Yorkshire-born husband.

He joined Lamduan successful 1991 aft they met successful the Thai metropolis of Chiang Mai, and they moved to Portsmouth, wherever Armitage taught astatine a further acquisition assemblage and Lamduan washed dishes astatine a Thai restaurant.

They aboriginal moved to Rugby, Warwickshire, and by the summertime of 2004 were staying with Armitage’s parents successful Cumbria.

Lamduan’s mum Joomsri told however her girl had reported difficulties successful the marriage, but aft a last telephone telephone successful 2004 she ne'er heard from her again.

She recalled: “She said she missed location truthful much.

“It was a precise abbreviated call. We’ve not heard from her since.”

Armitage moved backmost to Thailand with their 2 children soon aft Lamduan vanished.

When I caught up with him 15 years aboriginal helium was moving arsenic a assemblage lecturer successful Kanchanaburi, the municipality wherever 1957 warfare movie The Bridge On The River Kwai was set.

He had ne'er reported his woman missing, and according to Lamduan’s parents, helium had told their children that she had near them to spell backmost to Thailand to wed different man.

When Armitage answered the doorway astatine his whitewashed bungalow adjacent to a banana plantation, helium said determination had been a whispering run against him successful the Thai media, but insisted helium was innocent.

He said: “There is each this innuendo and I’ve got nary comeback connected it successful a state which is not mine. I bash consciousness for the parents.

“I would privation to know, successful their situation.”

Armitage said helium would beryllium blessed to talk to North Yorkshire Police, and added: “I made that constituent to the Embassy. No problem, I really made that offer.”

In information helium had that accidental erstwhile British detectives flew to Thailand successful February 2023, but contempt arranging a gathering with them, helium cancelled astatine the past minute.

A spokesperson for the Thai police’s Department of Special Investigation said astatine the time: “He said helium didn’t consciousness good and besides had immoderate idiosyncratic issues.”

Masking what indispensable person been a immense irritation aft officers flew 6,000 miles for the interview, cold-case manager Adam Harland said it was “unfortunate” that the gathering had not gone ahead.

But his squad whitethorn yet get the accidental to talk to Armitage if helium keeps his pledge to instrumentality to the UK pursuing his deportation.

His residency visa was revoked aft Interpol issued a Blue Notice against him.

It is not an apprehension warrant, but an bid that enables constabulary to get accusation astir a crime from witnesses and imaginable suspects surviving abroad.

Yet the Thai authorities inactive decided to deport him, nether laws which barroom foreigners from remaining successful Thailand if they are taxable to an apprehension warrant.

North Yorkshire Police said the determination was an contented for the Thai authorities, and Armitage was escaped to question and unrecorded anyplace helium chose.

He has not been arrested and is not being extradited to the UK, but if helium was to instrumentality present a unit spokesperson said officers would “make each effort to talk to him astir the investigation”.

As for Lamduan, she remains buried successful the graveyard successful North Yorkshire.

Her parents person begged for her to beryllium returned location truthful they tin person a Buddhist funeral.

But she tin lone beryllium exhumed with the consent of her adjacent of kin — her husband.

Joomsri, who is 80 and frail, has fixed up anticipation of ever seeing her daughter’s slayer brought to justice.

She shed much tears this week erstwhile quality of the latest improvement brought the heartache flooding back.

She said: “If my daughter’s tone tin perceive me, I privation to archer her to remainder successful peace.”