Italian Decapitated after Jumping from Thai Bridge

By JOCELYN GECKER / AP WRITER

BANGKOK — Authorities said Wednesday that they have identified the body of an Italian tourist who apparently decapitated himself by jumping off a bridge with a noose around his neck.

Billed as the case of the headless foreigner, the mystery of the dead man enthralled the Thai media in recent days.

Clues had trickled in since Sunday's gruesome discovery of the 52-year-old man's head hanging by a rope from Rama VIII bridge in what is believed to be a suicide, Thai and Italian officials said.

His headless body, clad in a white shirt and black trousers, was found floating nearby in Bangkok's Chao Phraya river and authorities confirmed a match.

Forensics experts determined the body showed no sign of assault and that the "force of gravity" appeared to have separated the body and head, said deputy police commissioner Jongrak Jutanont.

"We have no evidence that suggested it was a murder," Jongrak said.

The unusual death near Bangkok's main backpacker district instantly became a front-page story in Thai newspapers. Media speculated that the death resembled a Russian mob-style execution.

The Italian Embassy said their investigation corroborated the suicide theory.

"The first impression that we got—an Italian head attached by a rope to a bridge—we thought it was a mafia-type warning," said Andrea Vitalone, the embassy's police commissioner.

"Our analysis confirms that it is possible that it was a suicide. We are still investigating," he said.

The man was identified as Tosadori Maurizio of Verona who was visiting Bangkok, said Vitalone, adding that he had no criminal record in Italy but appeared to be in financial trouble.

A number of clues helped police determine the man was an Italian national, including clothing by the Italian brand Puma and a bag bearing the name of an Italian hotel, Jongrak said.

A Bangkok guesthouse filed a missing persons report about an Italian visitor, which led police to his room. They found photos of a man resembling the victim, Jongrak said. Forensics experts linked the identity by a distinctive mole on the head that was also visible in the photographs.