A shamed ex-Royal Irish Regiment soldier who allegedly admitted killing a sex worker in Thailand during a drug-fuelled rampage has failed to turn up for his murder trial.
Neil Elliott (48), who was kicked out of the Army 28 years ago after robbing a milkman, was arrested and charged with murder in Pattaya in April 2020 after reportedly confessing to killing the prostitute, named as Ms Onn, while high on drugs.
Despite the reported confession he later pleaded not guilty and was released on bail pending a trial which was due to begin on Thursday.
However, despite being required to attend by Thai authorities he failed to appear at Pattaya Provincial Court in the Chon Buri province and the trial has now been rescheduled for April.
No warrant has been issued for his arrest at this stage but his lawyer in Thailand, Donlawat Chaisriha, said one is likely to be issued if he fails to attend the next court date.
Elliott’s lawyer also added the Fermanagh businessman had not been seen or heard of “for a long time”.
The murder trial was initially due to begin in May last year but was delayed to Covid-19 and witness related issues.
Months after being arrested on suspicion of the killing, a bearded Elliott was spotted by several people in the Enniskillen and Monea areas of Fermanagh in November 2020, where he is believed to own several properties.
Earlier the same year it was reported Gardai were hunting him in the Republic of Ireland after being alerted that he was on the run and living in Cavan. (continues)
Sunday Life later spoke to his lawyer who confirmed Elliott had attended a number of preliminary court hearings in Pattaya in the build-up to his trial after lodging not guilty pleas.
He also coughed up bail of 1,000,000 baht — over £25,000 — in July 2021 before leaving Thailand using one of three or four passports he is thought to possess.
Sources say the former soldier is a wealthy man. Companies House records show his electrical firm, which he wound up in 2020, had assets of £400,000 in 2015, including £204,000 cash in hand, with Elliott as the sole shareholder.
Sunday Life spoke to several members of the Elliott family in September 2021 who said they had not heard from him since the murder.
His brother, who did not give his name, explained: “I don’t know where he is. I’ve not seen him. There’s rumours of him being back. I’ve phoned him in Thailand and he’s not answered the phone.
“It’s very strange… unless he handed in a passport and kept a passport to chance his arm, but what would be the point of coming here? He’d only be sent back again. I don’t know what he’s going to do. That man, as you know, is a law onto himself. He’s not going to phone me anyway, definitely not.”
Elliott was jailed and expelled from the Army for robbing a Fermanagh milkman whose hands were tied by an accomplice in January 1992.
Elliott remains well-known in the county despite having lived in Thailand for some time. Locals said he brought a Thai girlfriend back home on a recent visit.
“Elliott has houses scattered all around Fermanagh. One of the houses he owns in Fermanagh is rented out as an Airbnb. It was in the garage at the rear where he staged his illegal poker schools,” one explained.
CCTV images released by Thai police in May 2020 showed Elliott picking up a woman, named locally as Onn, before taking her on his motorbike back to his detached home, which had a large Ulster flag in the window.
Police officers picked up Elliott on a nearby street after he left his property and crashed a motorcycle. They provided scene of crime photographs showing the broken snooker cue he allegedly used to kill the sex worker.
He is said to have admitted binging on a powerful drug called yaba — a mix of speed and caffeine — before attacking Onn. Thai police said: “We found the victim in the bathroom. She had stab wounds on her neck and on her right wrist.
“The suspect met her and took her home. He said they both used drugs, which led to chaos. He attacked her until she was dead.”
