An 18-year-old man named Enzo Bettamio, who had reserved an AirBnb in central London, is facing murder charges for allegedly stabbing his host, Kamonnan Thiamphanit, also known as Angela. The incident occurred shortly after Bettamio arrived in the UK and rented a room from Thiamphanit via the Airbnb app. Bettamio, an international kart racer, was extradited from the United Arab Emirates in April and has been charged with murder.

During a trial preparation hearing at the Old Bailey, the Brazilian-Italian national denied the murder accusation. The court learned that Bettamio, then 16, had flown from Los Angeles to the UK on April 5, 2024, and had used the Airbnb app to book a month-long stay at Thiamphanit’s residence in Stanhope Place near Marble Arch.

On the night of April 5, Thiamphanit was playing board games with friends but left in the early hours of April 6 due to an emergency at her home. An Uber minicab dropped her off at 4:24 am, marking the last time she was seen alive. Approximately 13 hours later, Bettamio allegedly hailed a black cab on Bayswater Road to travel to the airport, where he purchased a ticket to Dubai.

Concerned friends of Thiamphanit alerted the police when they couldn’t reach her, leading to the discovery of her body inside her residence on April 8. A post-mortem examination revealed that she had succumbed to multiple sharp force injuries.

During a court hearing before Judge Simon Mayo KC, Bettamio, who was dressed in a dark Adidas tracksuit jacket with a plaster over his right eye, confirmed his identity and refuted the murder charge. He has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to stand trial on February 1 next year.