Police are searching for a man suspected of raping and killing a mentally ill woman whose body was found alongside a canal in Takeo province, police said yesterday. “This is not a robbery. We conclude this is a rape and murder to keep it silent,” said Suon Phon, a deputy provincial police chief. “The suspect might be afraid that the victim would reveal it to other people.”
The woman, Khun Ream, who was in her 30s, lived with her parents, who along with other relatives set out to find her after she disappeared on Tuesday while walking in her village in Koh Andet district, Mr. Phon said.
A villager found her body in Traing district’s Chi Khma commune on Wednesday morning, leading police to believe the suspect drove her there and left her body near a rice field after assaulting and killing her, he said.
District police chief Phan Phal said that police have some clues in the case and a suspect, who he declined to identify because he did not want him to know police were on his trail.
