Rachael Thorn
BBC News Online

A wedding-themed funeral with a white horse-drawn hearse was held last year to celebrate the life of murdered backpacker, Hannah Witheridge.

The Reverend Charles Powles said the funeral for Miss Witheridge, 23, "was meant to be a party", and mourners heard live music by Bill Downs and songs by artists including Cyndi Lauper and One Direction.

The family of the speech and language therapy student asked for no floral tributes, but for people to donate to an animal rescue charity.

Zoe Applegate
BBC News

These are the latest developments this morning:

• Burmese bar workers Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo convicted of murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, and David Miller, 24 and sentenced to death
• Sentences follow five-month trial
• Miss Witheridge's family said it had been an "unimaginably impossible time"
• Mr Miller's brother Michael said result "represents justice"
• Both defendants set to appeal death penalties

Rachael Thorn
BBC News Online

States of Jersey Police, external has paid tribute to the family (pictured below) of David Miller following guilty verdicts and death sentences on Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, for the murder of Mr Miller, 24, from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Hemsby, Norfolk.  

"The courage shown by David's family throughout this exceptionally stressful period has been humbling to all those involved", it said.

Image source, Associated Press

The force said it had received "invaluable guidance" from the National Crime Agency and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office during the investigation into the murders. 

BBC News UK

DNA testing has been central to the murder trial in Thailand, but it is a complex process.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Contrary to popular belief, it does not offer "perfect matches", only statistical probabilities and almost all DNA - 99.9% - is likely to be the same between two people.

However, the distinct 0.1% is made up of what is known as "short tandem repeat" sequences, which are isolated and examined for patterns which offer a statistical likelihood of a match to other DNA samples.

Rachael Thorn
BBC News Online

David Miller, who was murdered in Thailand with fellow backpacker Hannah Witheridge, was described as "a colourful character; a man of life, energy and vitality", at his funeral in Jersey last year.

The Reverend Ian Pallent led the memorial service at Holy Trinity Church, which included a performance of Bob Dylan's song Forever Young.

Mr Miller worked as an intern in the St Helier offices of Australian mining company Consolidated Minerals, and was returning from a placement in Australia when he stopped off in Thailand for a holiday.

Rachael Thorn
BBC News Online

The father of murdered British backpacker Hannah Witheridge, from Hemsby, Norfolk, wept as graphic photos of her body lying on a Thai beach were shown in court during the trial of Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin.

Tony Witheridge bowed his head as bloody images of his daughter's body were shown on the third day of the trial.

A police officer told the court of the severe injuries Miss Witheridge suffered and evidence she had been raped. Mr Miller's body was discovered with severe head injuries several metres away, he said.

BBC Radio 4

The two Burmese men found guilty of murdering Hannah Witheridge and David Miller in Thailand are to appeal immediately against their sentences, the organisation representing them said.

Image source, EPA/Rungroj Yongrit

Andy Hall, an international affairs adviser for the Migrant Worker Rights Network, external, said: "This investigation was a shambles from the beginning.

"We believe that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin were guilty of these horrific crimes."

Victim David Miller's brother Michael (pictured, second from left) said the family had been impressed by the workings of the Thai justice system that delivered guilty verdicts.

Image source, EPA/Rungroj Yongrit

"Over the last few months we have attended many of the court sittings and we have gained real respect for this court," he said.

"The judges have been invariably diligent, attentive, fair and extraordinarily hard-working. This has been a comfort to us."

Jon Welch
BBC News

Michael Miller, the brother of Thai murder victim David Miller, has been speaking of the family's initial doubts at the arrest of the convicted men Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo.

"We saw images of two innocent-looking men surrounded by tough policemen. It was easy to conclude they might just be convenient scapegoats," he said.

"However, we resolved to keep an open mind until we had heard all the evidence."

Image source, Ap Photo/Wason Wanichakon

Rachael Thorn
BBC News Online

Two British tourists killed on a Thai island appeared on more than a dozen security cameras in their final hours, the court in Thailand heard during the case.

CCTV footage showed Hannah Witheridge and David Miller visiting two bars on the island with friends, hours before they died, police told the court.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, who were today found guilty of murdering Ms Witheridge and Mr Miller and sentenced to death, became suspects after they were spotted on CCTV that night on the same beach where the murders took place, AFP news agency reported.

Rachael Thorn
BBC News Online

The family of Thai murder victim David Miller collected their son's posthumous first class degree from the University of Leeds, external where he studied.

The university awarded Mr Miller a degree in civil and structural engineering in July.

He had just completed the third year of his degree and was about to start the fourth year of the master of engineering course. His mother Sue Miller and girlfriend Jessy Howorth collected the degree on his behalf.

The media is responding to the guilty verdicts by looking at the case that put "Thailand on trial".

The Telegraph, external reports how victim David Miller's brother has said "justice has been delivered" but describes the trial as "chaotic at times and dogged by controversy" while the Guardian, external looks at how questions remain for both of the victim's families.

In Thailand, the Bangkok Post, external said the case was watched around the world and "raised questions about the the kingdom’s justice system and tourist safety".

Two British backpackers were bludgeoned to death on the southern island of Koh Tao, in Thailand.

Tributes were left to David Miller and Hannah Witheridge after their bodies were found on the beach on 15 September last year. 

A fundraising page was later set up to raise money for Miss Witheridge's family to attend court proceedings in Thailand.    

From the moment their bodies were discovered on a Thai beach on 15 September last year, the investigation into the deaths of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller has been a muddled affair.

Image source, Reuters

Information from the police has been hazy, contradictory and sparse.

The BBC's south-east Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, has been looking at the "frustrating unknowns" and "serious questions over the integrity of the prosecution case".

Koh Tao is an island in Thailand which covers an area of about 21 sq km (8 sq miles). 

The island was uninhabited after a penal colony was shut down there in 1947 and came late to the tourist boom that swept other Thai islands in the 1980s and 90s.

It has remained far less developed, with a resident population of about 2,100 people, and visitors who come for the diving and slower pace of life.

The two Burmese men found guilty of murdering two UK tourists in Thailand last year had retracted their initial confessions, saying police had tortured them.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo have been sentenced to death for killing Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao on 15 September 2014.

Prosecutors said DNA evidence linked Lin and Phyo to the deaths. But defence lawyers argued that DNA from a garden hoe - allegedly used as the murder weapon - did not match samples taken from the men. They also claimed evidence had been mishandled by police.

The family of Hannah Witheridge has been reacting to the news that two Burmese men - Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin (pictured) - have been found guilty of her murder, saying the past year has been an "unimaginably impossible time".

Image source, EPA

"We have found the trial process extremely difficult and our trips out to Thailand, to attend court, made for particularly distressing experiences," they said.

"We found listening to proceedings very challenging and we have had to endure a lot of painful and confusing information."

Hannah Witheridge's family has revealed the University of Essex has introduced an award for outstanding excellence in clinical placements in her memory.

Image source, Google

Miss Witheridge was studying for a Masters degree in speech and language therapy when she was murdered in Thailand in September 2014.

It will be named the Hannah Witheridge Award for Clinical Excellence and Hannah will be the first recipient. The family said they were "touched by this beautiful tribute".

We've just received a statement from the family of Hannah Witheridge, who say they are once again facing a "whirlwind of emotions and difficulties" following the guilty verdict.

"In these challenging times, we try to concentrate our efforts on remembering our beautiful Hannah for the fun, vibrant and incredible young woman that she was," the statement says.

"We now need time, as a family, to digest the outcome of the trial and figure out the most appropriate way to tell our story.” 

The bodies of British backpackers Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were discovered on a Thai beach on 15 September last year.

Here is a video timeline of the murder investigation.