December 4, 2015
BANGKOK (AFP) - The prime suspect in the murder of an Australian former Hells Angels member has been arrested in Cambodia, police said Friday, after an American was charged in neighbouring Thailand over the kidnap and killing.
Wayne Rodney Schneider, 37, was kidnapped on Monday by several men outside of his house in Pattaya, a sleazy Thai resort town renowned for its go-go bars and links with organised crime.
Security guards saw the Australian beaten unconscious and then thrown into the back of a van.
A day later police discovered his corpse in a hastily dug grave in woodland outside of the city. His neck was broken.
Cambodian police said the prime suspect Antonio Bagnato, a 27-year-old Australian national, was arrested in the Cambodian capital where he is thought to have fled after the murder.
"He was arrested on Thursday afternoon at a hotel in Phnom Penh," Chhay Sinarith told AFP, without giving further details.
Thai police believe Bagnato was out drinking with the victim shortly before his disappearance.
They also confirmed a 21-year-old American man -- who has not been named -- has been charged with the kidnap and murder of the Australian.
The man "confessed" to driving the vehicle but "said he did not kill the victim... and did not know anything about the murder", Pattaya's police commander Sukthat Pumpanmuang told AFP.
Three other suspects are being hunted by police in Thailand. It was not immediately clear if Bagnato will be sent to Thailand.
The Australian victim had been in Thailand for around one month at the time of his murder.
Thai police have yet to establish a motive but have ruled out a link to drug dealing.
Pattaya, which is 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Bangkok, is notorious for its racy nightlife and seedy underbelly.
Australian newspaper reports said Schneider had previously had brushes with the law in his homeland, linked to his Hells Angels membership.
Australian outlaw biker gangs are believed to have established a growing presence inside Pattaya in recent years.
