Closure for relatives as David's killer gets life in jail

THE family of a popular schoolteacher murdered in Thailand have said they can now mourn their loved one properly, after his killer was handed a life sentence.

David Crisp, 56, from Lasswade in Midlothian, was found bludgeoned to death with his throat cut in the northern city of Chiang Mai two years ago.

The only man to face trial for the killing, 23-year-old Akha Hill tribesman Awoei Yaepiang, had his death sentence reduced to life imprisonment yesterday.

He was saved from lethal injection by an early guilty plea.

The sentence marks the end of a two-year ordeal for Mr Crisp's brother Andy and his wife Susan, who have had to endure court wrangles and innuendo about the former Lasswade High School teacher's private life. Mrs Crisp hailed Awoei's life sentence today.

She said: "It's longer than he would have got here. We're just glad it's over now and we can get closure. Every time someone comes on the phone and mentions David's name it brings it all back.

"We hope that the sentence will bring an end to the matter, particularly after some of the nonsense that was printed about him in some sections of the press. Unless you've gone through it yourself, you cannot know how difficult it is.

"We can mourn David now the way he should have been mourned."

After the killing. Awoei was paraded before the press in Thailand, where he demonstrated how he slit Mr Crisp's throat before bludgeoning him repeatedly with a teak vase.He and his accomplices then raided Mr Crisp's possessions.

Awoei was originally arrested with another man, Chatchai Tarasaksit, also 23, but the charges against him were later dropped.

Chatchai is in prison after pleading guilty to handling stolen goods, but it is unclear whether this was related to the possessions stolen from Mr Crisp or a separate charge.

A third man, known only as Mr Jack, was also thought to have been involved in the killing and is still on the run. It is believed he has been hiding in Burma.

Some sources speculated that Mr Crisp, who was also an accomplished composer, had been the victim of a Thai ritual killing but his family later dismissed these reports as fantasy.

Mr Crisp has been honoured with a number of memorial concerts, including one by his former music pupils at Lasswade High and a concert at Edinburgh's Nicolson Square Church by the Open Orchestra, the ensemble he helped to found.

The family is compiling his music manuscripts for publication, a process which they said could take a number of years.

A spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Thailand said: "Awoei Yaepiang was given the death penalty, although because he pleaded guilty the sentence was reduced to life imprisonment."