US national charged with coat-hanger strangling of girl in Cambodia
Posted : Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:17:06 GMT
Phnom Penh - A US national was charged with murder after police were
called when he jumped from his burning apartment and they discovered
the body of a young Vietnamese woman, a court official said Tuesday.
Grant Kim Helling, 46, was charged with the murder of the unidentified
woman Monday, Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor Ouk Savuth said by
telephone.
The alleged crime took place two weeks previously and investigations
were continuing, Savuth said.
The motive was unclear but methamphetamines were believed to be
involved, police said. They said Helling had admitted to strangling
the woman but said he had not realized he had killed her.
Police were still investigating how the apartment had caught fire and
whether it was an attempt by Helling to destroy evidence.
Under Cambodian law, Helling can be held for six months in pre-trial
detention. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The local English-language Cambodia Daily interviewed Helling in
hospital where he is being treated for injuries sustained from his
leap from the window.
"It was an accident ... one of those things you can't avoid - like a
mosquito," the paper quoted him as saying.
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