Body of Kiwi woman found in Phuket returned to Australia as probe continues

The body of Kiwi woman Karla Anne Drescher has been returned to Australia after her tragic death in Phuket. Photo / LinkedIn

The body of the Kiwi woman who died in Thailand last month has been returned to Australia amidst continued uncertainty about her cause of death.

Karla Drescher, 47, was returned to Darwin yesterday after she was tragically found unresponsive in her Phuket hotel room on October 27, news.com.au reports.

Though her son Travis Deveraux was happy his mother’s body was back on Australian soil, he said the incident was “still very hard” for him as uncertainty continues to cloud the manner of her death.

Anxious for answers, he claims he was told Drescher’s sudden death “had nothing to do with medication and she just stopped breathing”.

He may now have to wait as many as eight weeks for the “healthy and not unwell in any way” woman’s cause of death to be confirmed.

The Daily Mail reports Karon Police are still investigating the incident.

With no signs of injury at the scene, initial reports suggest they believe Drescher may have died of an accidental overdose of medication and alcohol sometime between 6.30-8.20am.

Drescher spent the night with a 49-year-old German traveller on October 26, the Phuket News reports, the man waking to find she was no longer breathing.

Her companion admitted the pair had consumed a “large amount” of alcohol as they visited a local Kata Beach bar before returning to Drescher’s hotel room.

Devereaux also said the way he found out about his mother’s death was “very wrong”, receiving “no contact from police or anyone” until he called her hotel.

He said his mother was his “best friend”, who he had been in contact with regularly during her solo trip, and became alarmed when he had not heard from her.

A GoFundMe set up to return Drescher’s body and cover the costs of her funeral has raised A$42,754 ($49,000) to date.