(Editor Note: This story has been updated with confirmation of the cause of death)
Authorities reported that a maid discovered six bodies on Tuesday in a luxury hotel in downtown Bangkok. By Wednesday morning, they confirmed all six victims died of cyanide poisoning, NBC News reported.
Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang, Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner, identified the deceased as three men and three women, consisting of four Vietnamese nationals and two Vietnamese Americans.
Two of the guests, Chong Sherine, 56, and Dang Hung Van, 55, had American citizenship according to the Bangkok Post.
The four others were identified as Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47, Pham Hong Thanh, 49, Tran Dinh Phu, 37, and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46.
Traces of cyanide showed up in an initial autopsy. Police say its investigation found the six had invested money together and may have been involved in a dispute over debts.
According to investigators, the corpses were foaming at the mouth, a Lumpini police station officer said, speaking under anonymity since he was not allowed to divulge details.
According to Lt. Gen. Thiti Saengsawang, hotel staff discovered the bodies in a fifth-floor room at the Grand Hyatt hotel after the guests missed checkout time by more than 24 hours.
The guests had initially checked into different rooms over the weekend, but their bodies were found together in one room, with no signs of struggle, as reported by Bangkok Police Chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Saengsawang.
Officials ruled out the possibility of this incident being a robbery. None of the bodies appeared to have been physically harmed, according to the police. In addition, police think “they didn’t harm themselves.”
After visiting the hotel in the evening, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin also told reporters that the event wasn’t a robbery or an unprovoked attack and that it shouldn’t have an impact on Thailand’s thriving tourism sector.
The New York Posts states that investigators tested several drinks that were found inside the room after traces of “suspicious substances” were spotted floating in the cups.
There is no confirmed cause of death, but Saengsawang mentioned that the deaths appeared to have occurred about 24 hours before police arrived on the scene Tuesday evening.
Police are still looking for the seventh person included in the booking, Thiti said at a news conference at the hotel.
“We need to find out the motives,” Pol Lt Gen Thiti said. “What we can prove now is that they are not dead from suicide but from the killing of others.”
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