Naman Shrestha
HBO Max’s ‘The Sancho Case’ is a four-part Spanish documentary series that explores the brutal murder of Edwin Arrieta in late summer of 2023. As the investigators found the remains of the victim, the YouTube chef, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, came forward with an unexpected admission of guilt. Given the popularity of the perpetrator, the case gained international media attention as he stood trial for his crimes. The show also consists of insightful interviews with the victim’s loved ones and the officials directly or indirectly linked to the case.
Daniel Sancho Bronchalo Alleged That He Killed Edward Arrieta Arteaga in Self-Defense
The son of Spanish actors Rodolfo Sancho Aguirre and Silvia Bronchalo, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo is a YouTube chef who got involved in the gruesome killing of a 44-year-old plastic surgeon from Colombia named Edwin Arrieta Arteaga. It all started when Daniel and Edwin connected with each other over social media in 2022 and allegedly became romantically involved. After a year of getting to know one another, they finally met face-to-face on the Thai island of Ko Pha Ngan during its monthly full-moon celebrations. According to Daniel, things went south that night as they got into a heated argument after Edwin allegedly forced himself onto him.
As per Daniel’s account, during the physical struggle that occurred between them, Edwin fell and hit his head on the bathtub, which led to his demise. He proceeded to dismember his body and put the body parts in plastic bags before disposing of them across Ko Pha Ngan. Not long after, he reported Edwin missing to the Thai police. However, by early August 2023, trash collectors had already come across sawed-off body parts of the victim and reported it to the authorities. Moreover, the surveillance footage of a convenience store revealed that Daniel bought rubber gloves, a knife, cleaning solutions, and garbage bags ahead of the crime. Upon connecting the dots and finding enough evidence that linked Daniel to the murder, the police took him into custody on charges of murdering Edwin and dismembering his body.
During the interrogation, Daniel confessed to killing his Columbian friend but claimed that he did it in self-defense. Besides admitting guilt, the YouTube chef also led the authorities to the seven sites across the island where he supposedly discarded the plastic bags containing the remains of his victim. Although he admitted to hiding the body parts, he denied destroying his passport. Before his sentencing, Edwin’s family preferred that the killer receive a life imprisonment sentence rather than the death penalty. His sister said, “Let him be left in Thailand so he can take time, all the time that God gives him to live, to think about what he did.”
Daniel Sancho Bronchalo is Incarcerated at a Thai Prison
Although pleading guilty to dismembering Edwin Arrieta Arteaga’s body, Daniel Sancho Bronchalo pleaded not guilty to the charges of premeditated murder and destroying another person’s documents. During his trial in August 2024, while the prosecutors presented concrete evidence to prove his guilt for all the charges against him, the defense claimed that the defendant acted in self-defense when the victim allegedly forced him to have sex. Daniel claimed that the reason he did not report his death to the police was that he was in a state of shock and panic. In his closing statement, the killer claimed that he felt guilty and regretted his actions.
He addressed the court, “I am sorry that a life has been lost and that parents have lost a son. I am sorry that his family was not able to bury him properly. I’m sorry for what I did after the death.” On August 29, 2024, the convict was sentenced to two months in prison for the dismemberment charge and two years for the destruction of documents charge. As for the murder charge, he initially received the death penalty, but due to his cooperation during the trial, the judge commuted it to life imprisonment. Furthermore, the perpetrator was ordered to pay 4 million baht in damages to the family of the victim. After spending about a year at Koh Samui prison during his detention period, he was transferred to Surat Thani prison, where he currently serves his life sentence.
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