Somkid Pumpuang (; born May 29, 1964), known as Kid the Ripper (Thai: คิดเดอะริปเปอร์), is a Thai serial killer who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering five masseuses from January to June 2005. After having his sentence reduced to 13 years and being released in 2019, he murdered another woman seven months later, for which he was convicted and sentenced to death.
Early life
Somkid Pumpuang was born in May 29, 1964, in the Thung Song district. When he was eight years old, his father left him to live with his uncle, and during this time, Pumpuang started stealing. One day, after he stole a teacher's bicycle, he was expelled from school. When he was 14 or 15 years old, his uncle found him work at a sawmill in the Thung Song district, where Pumpuang dealt with driving rubberwood. Eventually, his uncle caught him stealing money from his employer, resulting in Pumpuang being kicked out and moving back in with his father in Trang province. He quarrelled regularly with his father and continued to steal. Eventually, he was forced to flee the village after he was attacked by a group of teenagers, causing him to travel around the country.
Murders
From January 30 to June 21, 2005, Pumpuang killed five women in several different provinces, usually by strangulation or by tying them up and holding their heads under water. The killings took place in hotels, and he usually stole items like cellphones from the women.
The victims were the following: Warunee Phimphabutr, café singer: hands tied behind her back with her own bra and drowned in a bathtub in a hotel in Mueang Mukdahan district, Mukdahan province on January 30. A gold necklace, mobile phone, and a motorcycle were stolen. Phongphan Sapchai, masseuse: strangled in a hotel in Mueang Lampang district, Lampang province on June 4. Patcharee Amatanirand, café singer: strangled with a wire in a hotel in Thap Thiang subdistrict, Trang province on June 11. Porntawan Pangkabutr, masseuse: strangled in a hotel in Mueang Udon Thani district, Udon Thani province on June 18. Sompong Pimpornpirm, masseuse: strangled in a mansion in Mueang Buriram district, Buriram province on June 21.
Arrest, trial, and detention
Six days after the final murder, Pumpuang was arrested while leading a young woman to a hotel in Chaiyaphum, where officers from the Crime Suppression Division found a cellphone stolen from the final victim. After linking all five cases back to him, he was charged with five counts of murder and theft; the prosecution sought the death sentence for three of the murders. However, Pumpuang pleaded guilty to four of them (with the exception of Amatanirand), which resulted in an automatic life sentence, coupled with the remaining two life sentences which were sought.
Following multiple grants of clemency over the years, Pumpuang's sentence was eventually reduced to 13 years imprisonment, scheduling his release date for 2019. During his imprisonment, he was described as a model inmate, which contributed significantly to the reduction of his sentence.
Release and new murder
On May 17, 2019, Pumpuang was released from the Nong Khai Provincial Prison and shortly after began dating 51-year-old Rassamee Mulichan, a housekeeper at a local hotel. On December 15 of that year, the couple's neighbors reported that they had apparently been arguing until the evening, when everything suddenly went quiet. After she did not come out of the apartment to leave for work on the following morning, the neighbor called out for Rassamee, but received no response. He then opened the door and entered the household, where he found her body stuffed under the bed. Rassamee had been wrapped up in a blanket and transparent tape, with the former also being tied around her neck, with a cellphone charger tied around her ankle. The neighbor called out for Pumpuang, but again received no response.
At the subsequent autopsy, coroners determined the cause of death to be suffocation, and a police investigation team was dispatched to interrogate witnesses. After being presented with photographs of multiple suspects, the witnesses identified the man they last saw leaving the house as Pumpuang, which was further reinforced by other evidence found at the crime scene itself.