British cold-case case officers have travelled to Thailand to speak with the husband and family of a woman found dead in the Yorkshire Dales almost 19 years ago.
Hikers discovered the body of Lamduan Seekanya, in a stream near Pen-y-ghent, about 65 kilometres northwest of Leeds, in 2004.
For 15 years her identity was unknown until her family in Thailand came forward and DNA proved it was their daughter.
As well as her parents, police are hoping to speak to husband David Armitage who now lives in Thailand, the BBC reported.
“To understand Lamduan’s life we need to speak to the people who knew her,” said Adam Harland, manager of the investigation team that arrived in the country on Sunday.
“We can’t move forward without understanding from Lamduan’s family all the aspects about her life and particularly the last few months of her life.”
A post-mortem carried out after Lamduan, 36, was found on Sept 20, 2004 failed to establish how she died. Her body was discovered face-down in a stream wearing just socks and jeans. A ripped bra hung from her left arm. A T-shirt was found nearby. Her shoes were never recovered.
Advanced decomposition meant pathologists could not establish a cause of death but concluded she was not stabbed, bludgeoned or shot. Hypothermia was also ruled out.
Local people paid for her burial in the churchyard in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and she became known as “The Lady of the Hills”.
A cold case review was started in 2016 and scientific advances meant police were able to piece together a more detailed picture of who she was and came to the conclusion she had been killed.
In 2019, there was a major breakthrough when Lamduan's parents in Udon Thani read a BBC story about the case and believed the woman could be their daughter who vanished in 2004. DNA testing subsequently confirmed Lamduan’s identity.
Lamduan met Mr Armitage in Chiang Mai while he was teaching English at Kanchanaburi Rajabhat University. They moved to the UK in 1991 after they were married in Thailand and had been living in northern England before her death.
Mr Armitage, who later returned to Thailand, has previously said he was not involved in his wife’s death, according to The Sun.
The investigation has been at a standstill for three years because attempts by police to travel to Thailand were delayed by the legal permissions needed and travel restrictions imposed due to Covid.
