The body of a German real estate tycoon who disappeared last week was found dismembered and stuffed inside a freezer in a rental home in Thailand, according to local reports.
Expat Hans Peter Mack, 62, had been missing since July 4 when his 24-year-old Thai wife said he failed to come home from a business meeting, according to the Bangkok Post.
His remains were discovered in the ice chest Monday evening in the Pattaya home reportedly rented by a German friend of Mack, the Pattaya News reported, citing a neighbor.
Banglamung officials confirmed that the chopped-up body parts which were placed in trashed bags and then stuffed in the freezer belonged to Mack, according to the local outlet.
Investigators were led to the house after surveillance video captured the same freezer loaded in the back of a black pick-up truck transported by what appeared to be foreign nationals, the Pattaya News reported.
A neighbor, 35-year-old Rewat Rodchuen, told the publication that a German man named Olaf and a German woman with a disability were living in the home for about three months and were associates of Mack.
Both were taken in for questioning along with a third German and police believe there could be Thai nationals involved in Mack’s killing as well, according to the outlet.
Before investigators made the grisly discovery, cops found Mack’s car abandoned in a condominium parking lot on Sunday morning.
The Mercedes-Benz E350 had traces of either coolant or bleach on its seats, dashboard, steering wheel and gearbox, Pol Maj Gen Theerachai Chamnanmor, investigative chief of the Provincial Police Region 2, told the Bangkok Post.
“There was intention to destroy evidence and the case indicates that Mr. Hans-Peter Ralter Mack’s disappearance was suspicious,” Pol Maj Gen Theerachai said.
A local food vendor told the publication that she saw two women get out of the vehicle which was parked there a few days earlier.
Mack’s family had offered a three-million-baht reward — which equals about $85,900 in US dollars — for information leading to his safe return.
His wife, Piraya Boonmak, said that he had failed to meet her for a lunch date they had scheduled. When she tried to call him, he didn’t answer and texted her that he’d call her back.
After more attempts to reach him, he reportedly texted that he was still with a business client at 10 p.m. — but Boonmak said Mack never texted her in their five years together, Thai PBS World reported.
