An armed American tourist was beaten and stabbed to death by four men in Bangkok while begging his much younger Thai ex-girlfriend to take him back in a bloody love-triangle showdown, according to reports.
Stein Heath Cole, 54, was found dead with five stab wounds and two broken legs after four local men – including his former flame’s new boyfriend and her brother – allegedly ambushed him during his desperate bid to reunite with 24-year-old Nan Phawt Ar Cho Monday afternoon, the Mirror reported.
The deadly clash erupted when the California native pulled a kitchen knife while speaking with Cho, prompting her new beau, 26-year-old Saw Nay Lin Oo, her brother, Thien Oo, and two others to grab their weapons and attack, police said.
Cole, who was bludgeoned with a 3-foot metal pipe and a 10-inch knife, was left in a pool of blood – with grisly photos showing him lying dead in the street as police tired to resituate him, the outlet reported.
“This incident was caused by a personal relationship dispute,” Bang Mod Police chief Colonel Sonchai Poonpo said. “The deceased could not accept their break-up and had been following his ex-girlfriend continuously.”
“On the day of the incident, he is said to have produced a knife, provoking the suspects to intervene and attack him. The suspects claimed that they had no intention to kill, but the situation became chaotic, and they lost control.”
One of the alleged assailants also suffered a stab wound during the melee and was rushed to a local hospital, police said, noting the pipe and knife used in the beating were also recovered at the scene.
All four men – the other two identified as Saw Kyaw Win Tun and Saw Kyaw Htunt Paing – were arrested and charged jointly with “assaulting another person, causing death,” the outlet reported.
Cops described Cole as an unemployed, heavy-drinking, aggressive loner who couldn’t accept the split.
“Relatives of the woman did not approve of her relationship with the American man and had been trying to separate them,” Poonpo said.
“He was described as aggressive, prone to outbursts, and a heavy drinker. Both the woman’s family and the American were staying in the same apartment building. There had been previous confrontations between him and her relatives.”
Concerned neighbors, who often heard the couple screaming and fighting, said Cole had lived alone for months in a Thailand apartment after Cho moved out over alleged harassment following the split.
Police said they are coordinating with the US Embassy as the investigation continues.
