Who is Jason Matthew Balzer? US fugitive kills pregnant Thai wife during argument over motorbike
An American fugitive was arrested in Thailand earlier this month for the murder of his pregnant wife. Reports said Jason Matthew Balzerhad fatally stabbed wife Pitchaporn Kidchob, 32, before putting her body in a trash can and burying it three miles away from their home.
The 32-year-old was arrested while on the run on a motorbike; he subsequently confessed to the killing.
Daily Mail reports that Balzer had argued with Kidchob before fatally stabbing her in the torso. He claims they fought after she kept nagging him for buying the bike. In a police interview, the outlet reports Balzer confessed: "I was furious when she yelled at me for buying a new motorbike so I stabbed her. I really had no idea that she was pregnant. I quit my job and sold everything to settle down in Thailand with her. But lately, she showed me no affection, refusing to sleep with me and telling me to return to my country."
In 2019, according to Associated Press, when Kidchob had rebuffed Balzer’s attempt to have sex, he allegedly grabbed her arms, hit her in the face and slammed her head repeatedly into a headboard in the bedroom of their apartment before pointing a gun at her and saying “I will kill you”.
RELATED ARTICLES
Who is Jason Matthew Balzer?
The 32-year-old programmer from Longmont, Colorado, has been charged with the murder of his wife, as reported by Thai police Lt Col Somkiat Ruam-ngern. Balzer potentially faces the death penalty if convicted of the crime.
Kidchob was a Thai citizen, and together she and Balzer lived in the home he had bought in her hometown of Nan. The couple met in 2017 in Thailand, after which they got married in the US; Balzer quit his job to move to Nan with Kidachob, as revealed by the Provincial Police Region 5 commander Prachuab Wongsukreports to the newspaper Thai Rath.
Balzer confessed he married Kidchob after she had "given him hope," said Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, the chief of Provincial Police Region 5′s Detective Department. This is also what prompted him to buy her the house where Balzer allegedly stabbed her in a fit of rage when she tried to chase him out of the house. Balzer claims he didn't know at the time that his wife was pregnant; he confessed he then put her body inside a garbage bin before sealing it and dumping her in the woods some three miles away from their home. Balzer then drove on around 100 miles on a motorbike to Chiang Mai, from where he was arrested, the chief said.
Jason Balzer's history of violence
Kidchob was discovered missing by her mother, who went to visit the couple's home and found bloodstains all over. She had been unable to reach her daughter on the phone earlier and immediately alerted the cops, who found her body covered in a bloodied blanket. This isn't the first time Balzer has been accused of domestic violence and holds a heavy criminal record in the state of Colorado. According to the Boulder Daily Camera, in December 2019 Balzer pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree assault in the Boulder District Court. He was sentenced to two years of probation after being originally charged with attempted murder and six related charges. His case got pleaded after his victim backed out of testifying in court.
In 2020 Balzer and a second man were stopped by cops in the town of Mead, reported the Greeley Tribune. The regular traffic stop for possible traffic violation led to cops finding they were transporting 72 guns. Balzer was arrested at the time for 74 violations of a protection order, two felony counts of possession of an illegal weapon, and two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon, the publication reported. He was however released from prison after posting bail.
Balzer arrived in Thailand after allegedly jumping bail in Colorado.