Traces of cyanide found alongside 6 victims found dead in Bangkok hotel room, Thai police say

BANGKOK – The head of Thailand’s police forensics division said Wednesday that police had found traces of cyanide in the cups of six people found dead at a luxury hotel in central Bangkok.

The bodies were found Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in downtown Bangkok. After checking hotel records, there were no other visitors in the room apart from the six people found, police said. They were last seen alive when food was delivered to the room on Monday afternoon.

Lt. Gen. Trairong Piwpan, head of the Thai police’s forensic division, said there were traces of cyanide in cups and thermoses police found in the room, but initial results from an autopsy are expected Thursday.

Bangkok police chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang identified the dead as two Vietnamese-Americans and four Vietnamese nationals, and said there were three men and three women.

The alleged motive for the killing may have been linked to money invested by a husband and wife who felt it was not being used properly, said Noppasin Punsawat, deputy chief of Bangkok police, citing information obtained from relatives of the victims.

The Vietnamese and US embassies have been contacted about the deaths, and the US FBI is involved in the investigation, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said.

Asked whether the news would affect a conference later in the day at the hotel with the Russian energy minister, Srettha said it was unlikely. “It was not an act of terrorism or a security breach, everything is fine.”

In 2023, the country was rocked by reports of a serial killer who had poisoned 15 people with cyanide. Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, or “Am Cyanide” as she would later be known, poisoned 15 people she owed money to and became the country’s first female serial killer.

He said the matter appeared to be personal and would not impact the safety of tourists.

Trairong said a mass suicide was unlikely because some of the victims had arranged things for the future of their trip, such as guides and drivers. He added that the bodies were not grouped in the same place – some were in the bedroom, others in the living room – suggesting they had not knowingly consumed poison and waited to die together.