Six-month dispute over cats and dogs ends with Thai retired colonel shooting neighbour dead, before killing himself

PATHUM THANI (Thailand), Sept 10 — A long-standing feud over pets between two neighbours ended in tragedy when a retired army officer shot his neighbour dead and then took his own life in Bangkok’s Pathum Thani region yesterday.

The Bangkok Post reported that police found the bodies of 64-year-old Col Jaruchart Jarupan and his neighbour Saowagul Sasadoh, 53, at a housing estate in the Khlong Luang district, along with her 30-year-old son, who had been shot in the hand.

Witnesses reported that the two had been arguing again over their fence that morning, after which the retired army officer retrieved a 9mm pistol and fatally shot the woman.

She was struck by five bullets to her cheek, abdomen, hand, and arm, while the colonel died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

The officer’s wife, Anothai Jarupan, said the argument had been ongoing for six months due to disputes over their pets, and she witnessed her husband shoot himself after the attack.

The slain woman’s son, Kritin Natawin, said the feud started when the officer’s adopted cat repeatedly crossed into their yard, where they kept a dog.