A female “serial killer” has been sentenced to death after “poisoning 14 friends who lent her money”.
Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, has been nicknamed “Ms Cyanide” after being sentenced to death for a string of murder charges.
A court in Bangkok found the Thai mother guilty of putting poison in the food and drink of over a dozen of her friends. She reportedly smiled as the verdict was delivered.
One of her victims was Siriporn Khanwong, who Rangsiwuthaporn travelled to the Ratchaburi province in Thailand in April 2023.
The pair shared lunch and moments later, Siriporn collapsed and died on the riverbank while Rangsiwuthaporn watched. An autopsy found that she had ingested cyanide.
The shocking death prompted other families to come forward with horror stories of their loved ones dying after meeting up with Sararat. She was arrested just a month later.
The murders she was accused of date back to 2015, with police alleging that cyanide was used in each, which Rangsiwuthaporn later confessing.
Those killed include friends, an ex-boyfriend and a police officer. A dozen were women and two were men. Only one person survived being poisoned.
Rangsiwuthaporn pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against her but was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Deputy national police chief, Surachate Hakparn, said: “She asked people she knows for money because she has a lot of credit card debt. If they asked her for their money back, she started killing them.
“She had poisoned all 15 victims with cyanide that was placed in drinking water, food or medicines in the form of capsules. Financial problems were the motive for carrying out the cyanide murders.”
Two others involved in the case have also been charged with various crimes. These include Sararat’s ex-husband, a former policeman, and her lawyer.
They were handed prison terms of one year and four months, and two years respectively for hiding evidence to help her evade prosecution.
