Gay masseur murdered in Chelsea (From This Is Local London)

Gay masseur murdered in Chelsea

12:28pm Wednesday 28th July 2004 in

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A gay masseur from Thailand was found strangled and stabbed to death in his Chelsea flat.

Today Scotland Yard appealed for information on the murder of 32-year old Mr Niphan "Nikki" Trikhana, a Thai national who came to the UK in 2001.

Speaking outside the scene of the crime this afternoon, Detective Inspector Bill Jephson told This is Local London that Trikhana had only moved into the luxury flat two weeks ago, on 13 July. He had previously lived on Bembridge Road in Notting Hill.

Trikhana had last been seen on 15 July and his decomposing body was only found several days subsequent to his death.

DI Jephson said though the police were not prepared to speculate about a motive at this stage, they were following a line of inquiry which could include the murdered masseur's clients.

Police do not believe it to have been a homophobic attack.

Trikhana, a part-time English student, has not yet been formally identified, but his parents in Bangkok have been informed of his death.

The masseur's landlord discovered his fully clothed body on the afternoon of Friday July 23 in a flat in Cranley Place, Chelsea SW7, where he lived. The victim had stab wounds and a ligature around his neck.

A post mortem carried out at Westminster Mortuary gave the cause of death as strangulation.

Police were unforthcoming with details of the murder to prevent crank claims of responsibility.

DI Jephson, head of the Hendon incident room investigating the murder, said: "We are keen to hear from any friends, or anyone who knew Nikki, either as a student or as a masseur, to contact police.

Anyone who may have seen him prior to his death is asked to contact police as we wish to establish his movements leading up to his murder."

People with information can call the incident room on 020 8358 0200 or, if they want to stay anonymous, Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Anybody who prefers to speak to a gay police officer can request this through the incident room, police said.