Hans Peter Mack missing German real estate tycoon’s dismembered body found in Thai rental home freezer after business deal gone bad.
The body of a German real estate tycoon who disappeared last week was found dismembered and stuffed inside a freezer in a rental home in eastern Thailand, according to local reports.
Hans Peter Mack, 62, had been missing since July 4 when his 24-year-old Thai wife said he failed to come home from a business meeting, according to the Bangkok Post.
The businessman’s remains were discovered in the ice chest Monday evening, circa 11pm in the Pattaya home reportedly rented by a German friend of Mack, the Pattaya News reported, citing a neighbor.
German nationals and Thai locals suspected
Banglamung officials confirmed chopped-up body parts placed in trashed bags and then stuffed in the freezer belonging to Mack.
Investigators were led to the house after surveillance video captured the same freezer loaded in the back of a black pick-up truck transported by what appeared to be foreign nationals, the Pattaya News reported.
A neighbor, 35-year-old Rewat Rodchuen, told the publication that a German man named Olaf and a German woman with a disability were living in the home for about three months and were associates of Mack.
Both were taken in for questioning along with a third German and police believe there could be Thai nationals involved in Mack’s killing as well.
Mack was last seen driving in his Mercedes sedan in Pattaya, a coastal city in eastern Thailand, according to a missing person announcement distributed by his family that offered a reward of 3 million baht ($86,000) for information leading to his return.
Mack lived in Pattaya with his Thai wife, and worked as a real estate broker, Germany’s BILD reported. He had been a resident of Thailand for several years.
Before investigators made the grisly discovery, cops found Mack’s E350 sedan abandoned in a condominium parking lot on Sunday morning in Nong Prue, an upscale settlement popular with foreigners northeast of Pattaya, in the province of Chonburi.
According to police, there were traces of what appeared to be a cleaning solvent on the seats, dashboard, steering wheel and other areas of the car, Pol Maj Gen Theerachai Chamnanmor, investigative chief of the Provincial Police Region 2, told the Bangkok Post.
‘There was intention to destroy evidence and the case indicates that Mr. Hans-Peter Ralter Mack’s disappearance was suspicious,’ Pol Maj Gen Theerachai said.
A local food vendor told the publication that she saw two women get out of the vehicle which was parked there a few days earlier.
While the murder motive remained unclear, police indicated that they believed the expat’s death was linked to business.
