Episode 226: Tomoko Kawashita - Japanese Tourist Murdered In Thailand In 2007

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond (plus bonus series!) in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast ______________🇲🇾 December 7, 2017. Dutch-Malaysian model Ivana Smit, 18, is found dead on the 6th floor balcony of a Kuala Lumpur high-rise. She had fallen from the balcony of an apartment on the 20th floor. After being ruled misadventure for eight years, the investigation into the young woman’s untimely death has been reopened. Will her family finally have answers as to what actually happened to Ivana? 

🕳️ Announcing ‘Rabbit Holes’ - a monthly side series of Unknown Passage. Join the Patreon from $1 a month for access to main episodes as well as Rabbit Holes instalments. https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast Cases covered so far on this varied side series since its launch last year…​The Murders of Carol Clay & Russell Hill​The Alec Baldwin Trial ​The Easey Street Murders ​Violet Jessop & Arthur Priest ​The Delphi Verdict & Juries ​Cursed Objects​The Disappearance of Trevor Deely ​Ivan Milat & The Backpacker Murders​Karen Read ​The Abduction of Joanne Ratcliffe & Kirste Gordon ​Bali & Drug Smuggling ​The Abduction & Murder of Frauke Liebs ​The Idaho 4 ​Donna Adelson​The Mary Morris Murders ​The Disappearance of Juan Pedro Martinez​The Unsolved Murder of Penny Bell Plus many more to come!

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast _____________🇹🇭 November, 2007. Japanese tourist Tomoko Kawashita, 27, visits Thailand for a solo vacation. She makes her way to an ancient historical park in the country’s north in time to experience a national cultural festival. There, in the tourist park, Tomoko was murdered. 18 years to the day I record this. Her killer remains unidentified, and Thailand has a 20 year statute of limitations on murder.

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast ______________🇵🇹 June, 1996. German six-year-old Rene Hasee disappears on a quiet beach in Portugal’s Algarve region while holidaying with his mother and stepfather. One minute he was walking in front of them, the next he was gone forever. Almost 11 years later, a British three-year-old would become the most famous name in the world, after also vanishing in the Western Algarve. Are the two cases connected? This week on Unknown Passage we look at a number of unsolved cases in the Algarve.

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast_________________🇨🇳 June, 2008. 22 year old Canadian model, Diana O’Brien, arrives in Shanghai to commence a three-month contract with a Chinese modelling agency. Within days she realises she wants to go home. Within 12 days of her arrival, she is violently murdered in the stairwell of her apartment. Diana’s case laid bare the dangers associated with modelling in many unregulated foreign markets, and she isn’t the only young woman to fall victim in China’s largest city.

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast___________________🇬🇧 September, 2016. Scottish airman Corrie Mckeague, 23, disappears after an alcohol-fuelled night out in a quaint English market town. Despite considerable searches and media attention, the expectant father’s body has never been found. What became of Corrie Mckeague?

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast______________🇧🇷 The wilds of the Brazilian Amazon. British explorer Percy Fawcett vanishes while on an expedition to find the “Lost City of Z”. Inspired by the story of El Dorado, Percy had made many trips to the Amazon, and felt he was close to finding what he called “Z” when he disappeared, along with his son and his son’s best friend. For exactly 100 years, the fate of Percy Fawcett has remained a mystery. Today, we dive into its origins, Percy’s life and whether or not he was close to discovering an ancient civilisation.

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast_______________🇳🇿 August, 2019. Australian surfer Sean McKinnon flies to New Zealand to meet up with his Canadian fiancée and to enjoy a holiday. While sleeping in their campervan, Sean and Bianca are attacked and Sean is shot in cold blood in front of the love of his love. Sean’s death forever impacted his family, friends and community, and his life was taken by someone who was the opposite of everything Sean was. This is the story of Sean McKinnon.

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast__________________🚢 August, 1993. A lone man is found floating in a life raft in the North Sea. He claims the ship he worked on caught fire and he’s been floating for two days in the ocean. The transport ship, the Bärbel, is soon found, It is partially burnt out, but the interior is covered in blood. Soon the man’s story of a fire onboard changes, but he maintains he is a victim in what happened. What is the truth of what happened on the Bärbel?

All episodes from 169 onwards are Patreon-only. I explain this on my last public episode. I will continue to update this feed and the website so that people know the Patreon is active. Listen to all episodes 169 and beyond in the Patreon feed. Join the Patreon community from $1 a month here: https://www.patreon.com/unknownpassagepodcast________________🇦🇺 December, 2017. 70 year old Irishman Paddy Moriarty lives a very routine life in one of Australia’s most remote and sparsely populated towns, Larrimah in the country’s Northern Territory. His days involve working before spending his afternoons on his perch at the local pub. His kelpie Kellie is never far away. That is, until Paddy and Kellie one night vanish from their home. It’s been almost eight years since Paddy Moriarty and his dog disappeared, presumed murdered, and his case remains open and unsolved. 11 residents. 11 suspects. Simmering town tensions and motives to murder abound in this Outback murder mystery.