A 48-year-old farmer was arrested in Kompong Thom province’s Sandan district on Tuesday for allegedly murdering his wife and year-old stepdaughter in a jealous rage, a police official said on Wednesday.
Kon Ky, 48, had allegedly beaten his wife, Kean Nech, 35, to death with a wooden club before breaking his stepdaughter’s neck on Monday night and then burying their bodies after a day of heavy drinking, according to district police chief Oung Maly.
“He drank too much rice wine and argued with his wife. He used a wooden club to beat his wife to death and then broke the girl’s neck,” Mr. Maly said.
“He killed the victims because he…suspected his wife was having a relationship with her neighbor.”
Locals in Meanrith commune witnessed Mr. Ky burying the bodies near his house on Monday evening and notified police, Mr. Maly said, adding that officers arrived the next morning and exhumed the bodies.
They found Mr. Ky later that day hiding in a hut in a nearby forest, he added, and was questioned on Wednesday at the district police station.
