Mother-in-law of Thailand's former national sports shooter Jakkrit Panitpatikam confessed on Monday to being the mastermind behind his assassination.

Surang Duangjinda told police that she hired a gunman to kill Jakkrit last month because she could not tolerate seeing her daughter abused by the sharp shooter for six years.

She insisted that her daughter was unaware of the plan.

Jakkrit and his wife had reportedly lived apart since July after the shooter was arrested for threatening her with a gun during a domestic argument.

The 40-year-old former Olympian was gunned down on the night of Oct. 19 by a motorcycle rider while he was driving.

On Sunday, police arrested a suspect who allegedly admitted that he had been hired for 200,000 baht to kill Jakkrit.