Mother of Belgian backpacker found 'eaten by lizards' on Thai 'death island' questions suicide verdict

The mother of a young Belgian backpacker found dead and reportedly half-eaten by lizards at a notorious Thai resort dubbed “death island” has questioned a police account that her daughter hanged herself.

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Elise Dallemange, 30, was found dead in the jungle of Koh Tao island eight days after she said she was leaving to return to Belgium.

The death on Koh Tao, which occurred in April but was only made public on Thursday, is the latest in a string of seven cases of tourists found dead on the island in the last three years.

In the most high profile case in 2014, British tourists Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24, were found brutally murdered on the beach.



Despite police saying Elise committed suicide, no note or message was found

Two Myanmar nationals were arrested and charged with their murders. They now face the death penalty, although the police handling of the case was strongly criticised.

Investigators have now been ordered to reopen the investigation after Dallemange’s mother Michele van Egten cast doubt on their initial conclusion.

Dallemange had been living at a yoga and tantra retreat in between travelling around Asia, India and Australia for two years. She lived with a self-proclaimed “guru” and had joined a group linked to the Indian Sathya Sai Baba movement, which has been accused of being cult.



Dallemange had been living at a yoga and tantra retreat while on a two-year trip CREDIT:FACEBOOK

The young backpacker told Ms van Egten on April 17 that she was coming home, and booked a ticket to Bangkok.

Her distraught mother now claims she does not believe police reports that Dallemange hanged herself from a tree. Reports suggest that no suicide note was found.

“We fear somebody else was involved,” she said. “I cannot accept why my daughter should have killed herself.”

She added that her daughter had been “normal” during their last conversation and that “no signs of depression were visible.”

Koh Tao police chief, Lieutenant Colonel Chokchai Suthimek, was angry when contacted by The Telegraph.

“There is no sign of murder,” he said, referring to the autopsy report which has not yet been sent to Ms van Egten. In an earlier press briefing he said forensics showed Dallemange died from lack of oxygen as a result of a rope. He denied she has been eaten by animals.

“They call this death island non-stop. They paint it that way,” he said. “We work so hard. When there is a dead body we’re not just sitting on it.”