Final images of 6 guests before being found dead in Bangkok’s Grand Hyatt Erawan revealed

Three of the six victims at the entrance of room 502 at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, Bangkok, on the afternoon of July 15, 2024. Photo by Grand Hyatt Erawan’s security camera

On Wednesday, Thai media published security camera footage from the hotel entrance, showing images of the six victims entering room 502 around 2 p.m. on Monday, carrying suitcases. According to hotel staff, the group had a checkout scheduled for the same day, hence they packed their luggage and gathered at room 502 to discuss while waiting for their ride.

Earlier, at 1:51 p.m. on Monday, a hotel employee entered the room to deliver food upon request for room service and left after six minutes. The Vietnamese-American Sherina Chong, the occupant of room 502, received the food and was the only person this employee met. The employee offered to make tea for Chong, but she declined. The time from 1:57 p.m. to 2:03 p.m. is believed to be when Chong tampered with the drinks to add cyanide.

Lieutenant General Trairong Phewphan, chief of the Thai police force’s forensic division, suggested that Chong’s motive for poisoning the five victims could be related to debt. She originally planned to meet creditors in Japan but was unable to obtain a visa, so she redirected to Thailand. She entered Thailand on July 5.

One of the six victims pulling a suitcase into the room where she was later found dead from cyanide poisoning on the afternoon of July 15, 2024. Photo by Grand Hyatt Erawan’s security camera

On the afternoon of Tuesday, after the foreign guests failed to check out, a hotel employee came to clean and inspect the room. Finding the door locked from the inside, the employee had to enter through a back door. Horrified by the sight, the employee discovered the bodies and called the police.

The police said the group, consisting of two Vietnamese-Americans and four Vietnamese nationals, checked into the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in two batches: on July 13 and 14. They occupied a total of five rooms, including room 502 on the fifth floor and four on the seventh floor. According to the hotel, seven people booked the rooms, but only six stayed, with five completing the check-in. Two of these individuals were a married couple.

The seventh person is now identified as the sister of one of the victims. However, she returned to Vietnam on July 10 and is not considered related to the incident.

Thai authorities found six bodies in a fifth-floor room of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel on Tuesday night after a call from hotel staff around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The deceased American nationals were identified as Sherine Chong, 56, and Dang Hung Van, 55, while the Vietnamese were Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47, Pham Hong Thanh, 49, Tran Dinh Phu, 37, and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46, reported Khaosod English.

Thai police said on Wednesday that cyanide poisoning was likely the cause of the deaths of the six victims, with the suspected killer identified as Chong, who was also among the dead.

The Grand Hyatt Erawan is a renowned five-star hotel in Bangkok, boasting 350 rooms. It is located in the Ratchaprasong area, a bustling shopping and entertainment district adjacent to the central Siam neighborhood.