Update on the two British tourist who were murdered in Thailand

The two British tourists Hannah  Witheridge from Norfolk and David Miller from Jersey are thought to have been murdered while walking home from a beach party on the Thai island of Koh Tao
A manhunt is under way on a Thai holiday island after two British backpackers were hacked to death.
Hannah Witheridge, 23, a university graduate from Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, were attacked with a garden hoe after a late night party on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand.
Miss Witheridge, who was travelling with three female friends, had been on the island for only three days.
She met Mr Miller, who was travelling with two male companions, hours before they were murdered.
Their semi-naked bodies were found on the blood soaked sand at Sairee beach, close to the Ocean View resort where the two groups of friends had been staying.
It is understood that they went to a party on the beach with about 50 other backpackers and tourists.
They were last seen leaving a bar together early yesterday morning. Local reports say their bodies were found at 6.20am by a group of Burmese workers who were cleaning the beach after the party.
Local police chiefs said they were still trying to piece together the circumstances that led up to the murders.
One theory is that it may have been sexually motivated.
Police on the island, which attracts thousands of backpackers each year and is famed for its world-class scuba diving, also said they were keen to speak to one of the British friends who had been travelling with Mr Miller.
The friend is thought to have left Koh Tao soon after the murders.
Police Colonel Songsak was brought in from the neighbouring island of Koh Phangan to help local officers investigate the case.
“We wish to interview David Miller’s friend,” he said. “But we cannot give out his details at this stage.
“His name has been circulated. They all arrived together on August 25. We need to talk to him as a matter of urgency.”
Detectives said the Briton was believed to have left the island on the first available ferry to the mainland and was thought to be heading for Bangkok.
Police temporarily detained another friend of the victim after he was found to have injuries to his hands.
However, he was released after providing what the police described as a “satisfactory explanation”.
Last night Miss Witheridge’s family was being comforted as they tried to come to terms with her murder.
Locals in the coastal village of Hemsby, eight miles north of Great Yarmouth, where she grew up, described her as a lovely girl who was a keen and successful equestrian rider. She was awarded a degree in education from the University of East Anglia before undertaking postgraduate work at the University of Essex.
Her father, Tony, who runs a holiday company from his home, was too upset to comment last night as he returned to his house accompanied by police officers. Mr Miller is understood to have been travelling through Asia and Australia and had been in Thailand since August.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it was aware of the deaths and was seeking information from the local authorities. Koh Tao, which has stunning beaches and azure waters, is popular with divers but is smaller and quieter than neighbouring Koh Phangan, which draws hordes of backpackers to its hedonistic “full moon” party.
The murders are likely to heap more misery on Thailand’s lucrative tourism industry which has struggled in recent months after a prolonged political crisis ended in a coup.

A shocked employee at the budget seaside resort where the victims had been staying said: “It is the first time this has happened on the island. I have never seen anything like this.”