A mother has admitted to murdering her 15-year-old autistic daughter at a rented apartment in Chatuchak district of Bangkok, saying she could no longer take care of her alone following the death of her husband.
Pol Lt Ukrit Suthiraphongsit, an investigator at Thung Song Hong police station, said he was alerted to attend the scene around 3am Tuesday.
In a rented room on the third floor of an apartment building on Ngam Wong Wan Road, police found a 52-year-old woman seated and crying by the body of her dead daughter, who was on the bed, Pol Lt Ukrit said. He identified her only by her first name, Yolwadi.
On the bed were about 30 tablets of Diazepam and a chain about 1 metre long.
Ms Yolwadi told investigators her daughter had been receiving treatment for autism since 2006. She had been taking care of her alone since her husband died about three years ago.
Living alone with an autistic daughter, she had no choice but to chain the child insde the rented room while she was away at work for fear the girl would otherwise wander away outside.
Ms Yowaldi said she took two sleeping pills every night to cope with the stress of raising an autistic daughter by herself.
On Monday she returned to the room about 9pm, having resigned from her job.
She told police she lay down on the bed with her daughter for a while, and then wrapped a strip of cloth around the girl's neck and tightened it until she was dead. She thought ending her life this way would ensure she suffered the least.
The mother said she dozed off by the side of her daughter's body and when she woke up later went out to buy three bottles of beer to wash down several sleeping pills, but only ended up vomiting them out, police said.
Ms Yowaldi told police said she passed out and when she regained consciousness decided to call police to confess. She appeared intoxicated when they arrived.