Husband of woman found dead detained in Thailand

Lamduan Armitage remained unidentified by British police for 15 years and became known as the Lady of the Hills

Police in Thailand have detained the British husband of Lamduan Armitage, the Thai woman whose body was found in the Yorkshire Dales more than 20 years ago.

Walkers discovered her half-naked body in a stream near Pen-y-ghent in 2004 and she remained unidentified for 15 years until her family saw a BBC News report and came forward.

David Armitage, who has been living in Thailand since her death, did not report his wife missing and has not managed to be interviewed by Thai or British police about her whereabouts.

He has now been detained in Bangkok while Thai authorities prepare to revoke his visa.

Mr Armitage, who has a resident visa, was detained on Thursday at his house in Kanchanaburi before being transferred to the Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre.

He did not file an immigration petition meaning he no longer has the right to stay in Thailand and will either move back to the UK or go to another country, the BBC understands.

A group of walkers had posed for a picture when they noticed Lamduan's body in the stream

The investigation into Mrs Armitage's death is being conducted by North Yorkshire Police.

A spokesperson for the force said it was aware of Mr Armitage's detention and added: "We understand it relates to his visa status and residence in Thailand and is entirely a matter for the immigration service of the Royal Thai Police.

"Should Mr Armitage be deported, we understand that he will have a choice as to where he goes, which will include return to the UK.

"Should that occur, we will again make every effort to speak to him about the investigation."

The BBC has not spoken with Mr Armitage but he has previously said he was not involved in his wife's death, according to The Sun.

Mrs Armitage, nee Seekanya, was known as the Lady of the Hills during attempts to identify her.

A post-mortem examination carried out after her body was found on 20 September 2004 failed to establish how she died.

There was no sign of violence and hypothermia was ruled out, but detectives could not answer two main questions; who she was or how she met her death.

The mother-of-three lived with her husband in Portsmouth, Rugby and Preston between 1991 and 2003

A cold case review was started in 2016 and scientific advances meant police were able to piece together a more detailed picture of who she was and concluded that she had been killed.

Three years later there was a major breakthrough when a Thai family read about the case and believed the woman could be their daughter who vanished in 2004.

This led North Yorkshire Police to carry out DNA testing in order to confirm her identity.

It was established she had moved to the UK in 1991 with Mr Armitage after they were married in Thailand and they had been living in northern England before her death.

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