A French woman living in Thailand bequeathed a fortune of 100 million baht to her maid before taking her own life due to a terminal illness.
A French national on the resort island of Koh Samui in Thailand’s Surat Thani province has shot herself dead after leaving a fortune worth 100 million baht to a Thai housekeeper who had worked for the Frenchwoman for 17 years, Thai News Agency reported.
The incident occurred on 29 April on the island of Samui in Surat Thani province. Samui police were investigating a shooting at a private villa where the body of French national Catherine Delacote, 59, was found on a couch next to the swimming pool with a through-and-through gunshot wound to the left temple and a bullet exit on the right side.
Apart from a bullet channel and gunshot marks on the left wrist, no other injuries were found on the woman’s body. A 45 mm automatic firearm, a shell casing, a glass of vodka, sunglasses and a packet of cigarettes were found near the body. No signs of forced entry or theft were also found in the house.
According to Nattawalai, the gun found at the crime scene was purchased by Delacote after a burglary with entry into the villa.
CCTV footage taken at the house around 11 am on 28 April shows the French woman working on her laptop while sitting at a desk and then tilting the surveillance camera downwards. The footage was the last shot before the body was discovered.
A worker who had come to service the pool at 8 am found Catherine Delacote’s unconscious body in a pool of blood before calling a supervisor to inform the police. A medical team called from a nearby hospital moved the body to the floor and attempted to resuscitate the woman before police arrived.
According to investigators, the woman had lived on Koh Samui for twelve years with her French husband, but the couple never had children. The couple later decided to divorce as the woman had cancer, which is believed to have led the ailing woman to decide to take her own life.
Nattawalai Phupongta, or Aunt Tim, is a 49-year-old housekeeper from Sakonnakhon province who said she worked for Katherine for more than 17 years while Katherine invested in a business building resorts and villas.
On 28 April, Nattawalai came to clean Katherine’s house as usual. After cleaning, Katherine wished the housekeeper a happy birthday, and Aunt Tim left the villa. On 29 April, Nattawalai learned that she had become unemployed because her employer had shot her.
Nattawalai, who lived in another house, believes that Katherine had committed suicide. The deceased had told Nattawalai that she had cancer. However, the woman did not talk about wanting to commit suicide,’ the maid said. Shortly before her death, Delakot had sent messages to several people that she would bequeath her property to the maid.
Police found out that before the woman decided to take her own life, Katherine had indeed made a will in the presence of a lawyer, bequeathing assets worth more than 50 million baht to maid Nattawalai Phupongta.
Some media reported that the suicidal French national’s assets exceeded 100 million baht. Nattawalai said the assets include five villas, including the villa where Delacote lived, a land parcel of two rai next to the villa, cash, a car and other valuable assets.
Nattawalai later discovered a message on Messenger Line from her employer sent before the tragic incident. Katherine wrote that she had already transferred Nattawalai’s salary for the month, as well as money to pay her current internet, water, and electricity bills. Katherine also informed the former employee that she had transferred 500,000 baht for the upcoming funeral expenses.
Nattawalai said she would never forget Katherine’s kindness and promised to organise a decent funeral.
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