Updated June 27, 2026 — 4:36pm,first published 4:04pmAn Australian man detained at Thailand’s largest international airport has been accused of attempting to leave the country while suspected of murdering a 17-year-old girl and dumping her naked body in a suitcase at the side of a railway.Thai media has reported that Simon Peter Carman, 46, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok about 7pm on Friday local time (10pm on Friday AEST) after authorities connected him to the alleged murder of a teenage girl whose body was found in the coastal city of Pattaya hours later. Carman denies the allegation.Thai police discovered the body of the 17-year-old, identified in news reports as hailing from Kalasin province in the country’s north-east, inside a black suitcase abandoned next to railway tracks.CCTV footage captured her final movements in the early hours of Thursday, according to the Siam Rath newspaper. The footage reportedly shows her entering an apartment complex near Jomtien Beach and holding hands with a foreign man.The pair went up to the 15th floor and, about 15 hours later, a separate CCTV camera showed the foreign man dragging a black suitcase out of the complex and loading it onto the back of a motorbike.According to reports, the man was later seen returning towards the complex without the suitcase on the back of the motorcycle.Australian man Simon Peter Carman, 46, was arrested on Friday night at Bangkok airport in Thailand. Nine NewsPattaya City Police Station said in a Facebook post that the girl’s friend filed a police report after noticing that she was missing. Police attended the apartment and conducted a thorough search, allegedly finding Carman’s passport, but he had left.Police intercepted Carman at the airport attempting to purchase a flight back to Australia.The dumped suitcase was later found about four kilometres away.“She was completely naked, her face showed signs of severe assault, with swelling and bruising covering the entire face, and blood was flowing from her mouth and nose,” Pattaya City Police Station superintendent Anek Sarathongyu told ABC News.Carman was reported to have denied the murder allegation and any involvement in the girl’s disappearance. In Thailand, a murder conviction can carry the death penalty or imprisonment of 15 to 20 years.The girl’s body was found in a suitcase about four kilometres from where she was last seen.Siam RathIn a video captured after his arrest, Carman addressed the victim’s family, and he felt “bad” about the incident.“I feel bad for what happened to your daughter. It was out of my control,” he said. “I know you’ll be very sad, upset, same, same me. It shouldn’t happen, and I hope you’re OK. I know you’re not, but I hope, and please tell other girls … to be careful.”In a separate video obtained by the ABC, Carman was asked by police whether he had killed the teenager, to which he replied on multiple occasions, “No.”When asked about visible marks on his neck in the police interview, Carman told the officers he believed he was bitten by a spider as they “always get in here”.Sarathongyu said police would allege Carman has “fingernail scratches across his body that are consistent with a struggle”.The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Thailand and was unable to provide further comment.Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts on email or turn on notifications in the app.Kayla Olaya is a culture reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners