A RETIRED university lecturer has been arrested in connection with the murder of his Thai wife more than 20 years ago.
David Armitage, 61, was held in connection with the Lady of the Hills cold case murder mystery shortly after he arrived back in the UK from Thailand.
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He is being quizzed by detectives over the killing of his wife Lamduan, 36, whose body was found in a mountain stream in the Yorkshire Dales in 2004.
The dramatic breakthrough came just hours after The Sun revealed that Armitage had pledged to return home to speak to cold case detectives in a bid to clear his name.
The retired university lecturer has long protested his innocence over the murder of the mother of his two children.
When The Sun tracked him down to his remote in Thailand in 2019 he said of claims by Lamduan’s family that he was involved in her death: “Absolutely not…no…absolutely not.
“I know the inferences are there but I am just getting on with my life here.”
He was arrested at Heathrow airport on Saturday morning after flying in from Bangkok.
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police, who did not name the man who was arrested, said: “A 61-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Lamduan Armitage in 2004. He remains in police custody for questioning.”
The mystery began on September 20, 2004, when hikers doing the Three Peaks walk found the partially-clothed body of a woman near Pen-y-ghent.
A post-mortem failed to establish a cause of death although she had not been shot, stabbed or drowned.
Police were unable to identify her at the time and she was dubbed the Lady of the Hills by big-hearted villagers who arranged for her funeral in the nearby village of Horton-in-Ribblesdale.
A cold case review finally led to her being identified in 2019 when a relative living in the UK saw an artist’s impression in a police appeal and alerted detectives.
Yorkshire-born David, 61, married Lamduan in 1991 after meeting her in Chiang Mai.
They moved to the UK and lived in Portsmouth where he taught at a further education college while Lamduan washed dishes at a Thai restaurant.
They later moved to Rugby, Warwickshire, and by the summer of 2004 were staying with his parents in Cumbria.
Her mother Joomsri told how she last heard from Lamduan in a phone call in 2004.
She said: “She said she missed home so much. It was a very short call. We’ve not heard from her since.”
Armitage moved back to Thailand with their two children in 2004.
He worked at a university in Kanchanaburi where the famous war movie The Bridge on the River Kwai was set.
He was detained last week by immigration cops in Thailand after his residency visa was revoked.
Although free to travel anywhere once he was deported from Thailand he was said to have been set on returning to the UK to clear his name after being persuaded to by his son George, 32, and his Thai girlfriend.
He has always denied any involvement in Lamduan’s death.
A Thai immigration source told The Sun: “George is obviously aware of everything that has happened over the last few years and everything that has been said – as is David’s Thai girlfriend.
“They have persuaded him to go back to the UK to clear his name.
“He is free to go anywhere when he leaves Thailand, but in reality he only has one option– back to Britain.
“He had the choice of appealing against the decision to revoke his visa within 48 hours but he did not take it.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
The North Yorkshire Police spokesperson added: “We strongly urge the media and public to refrain from speculation about the case to ensure fair justice can be delivered.
“We also urge the media to respect the rights and privacy of those connected to the case, including family members.”
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