Boyfriend of woman found dead in £4m mansion wants more Airbnb checks
The boyfriend of a woman found dead at a £4 million mansion she planned to let to the suspect on Airbnb, has said the site must strengthen identity checks.
Kamonnan Thiamphanit, 27, known as Angela, was found with fatal stab wounds last month at her home in Bayswater, Westminster.
The Metropolitan Police said her killer is believed to have fled the country and now her family has spoken out over fears he could be a danger to other young women.
Ms Thiamphanit’s mother Fiona Fu travelled to London this week for her daughter’s funeral and met with detectives for an update on the manhunt.
There have not been any arrests made and the Met said that inquiries are ongoing.
The force has issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, who it has not named.
Ms Thiamphanit, who had dual Chinese-Hong Kong and Thai nationality, had been living in the UK for around nine years, having originally come to study at university.
Before her death, she had been running a successful Airbnb business in central London, where she would redecorate homes and rent them out.
Her family suspects that Ms Thiamphanit was killed by an unknown man who messaged her on Airbnb, the holiday rental app, inquiring about subletting her newly leased five-bedroom townhouse for a month.
After Thiamphanit agreed to meet the man on April 5, she stopped responding on her phone to her boyfriend.
An inquest heard that Ms Thiamphanit died from multiple stab injuries at some point after 6.15am on April 6.
Speaking to Mail Online, her long-distance boyfriend Chris Zeng, who accompanied Ms Fu to the funeral, said she had not told him much about the man who wanted to rent her property, only that “he seemed to be very rich”.
The 27-year-old said: “Angela was an innocent, single woman who was killed in cold blood and this man is still free.
“Airbnb need to examine how effective their identity checks are because who knows, he might do something like this in another country using the same method?
“While he is still at large, women are in danger, and we don’t want anyone else to suffer like we are.”
‘Moved in straight away’
Mr Zeng said that the suspect had suggested to her daughter that “he and Angela deal with each other directly” as he wanted to move in quickly and was concerned that Airbnb might not approve the booking because of its strict “potential party risk” policy, which aims to prevent properties being used for parties.
Ms Fu, 63, added: “The man suggested that he and Angela just deal with each other directly.
“He said he would bank transfer her £30,000 the following day and moved in straight away.”
In a statement to MailOnline, Airbnb said: “We were saddened to learn of this shocking incident and while it did not take place during an Airbnb reservation, we are supporting the police with their investigation.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Following consultation with the CPS, police obtained a first instance warrant (often referred to as an arrest warrant) and every effort is being made to bring the suspect before a court in the UK as soon as feasibly possible.
“The family have, and will continue to be, supported by specialist officers throughout the process.”
The force had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct after Ms Thiamphanit’s death as it had downgraded her missing status to “medium” risk.
