Kickboxer Lee Aldhouse Charged With Murder

A British kickboxer could face the death penalty in Thailand after being charged with murdering an ex-US Marine at a popular holiday resort.

Lee Aldhouse, originally from Birmingham, told media crews he was being mistreated as he was taken to court in Phuket in the south of the country.

Prosecutor Chiengsan Panya said Aldhouse could be facing execution or a lengthy jail sentence.

He told the court: "The prosecutor has decided to proceed with charges against the suspect.

"According to the law article 288, the suspect can be executed, or serve life in prison, or be imprisoned for 15 years and 20 years."

The 29-year-old is accused of stabbing to death 23-year old Dashawn Longfellow after an argument in a bar on August 14, 2010.

Police launched a manhunt for Aldhouse following the murder and he was arrested four days later at London's Heathrow Airport.

He was flown to Thailand from the UK earlier this month in the first-ever extradition of a criminal suspect from Britain to Thailand.

Local media said Aldhouse had been living for several years in Phuket and was a semi-professional kickboxer who fought under the nickname 'Pitbull', while Mr Longfellow had also been studying the sport

The victim's mother said her son served in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he was injured when a roadside bomb exploded under his truck.

He was awarded the Purple Heart for his injury.