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>It wasn’t the pilot or co-pilot, since the aircraft control was too erratic.

If you are referring to the “erratic” descent from 450 to 230, I have a theory about that.

For just one or two men, the pilot and/or copilot for example, to disable or kill all the passengers and crew without any of them resisting or trying to make cell phone calls, the most effective way would be depressurization at altitude. There are a lot of safeguards against that happening.

The cabin is pressurized by engine power.

I think the pilot, supplied with extra O2 from all the crew cabin masks and maybe some emergency bottles, took the plane as high as it could go for both altitude and lack of oxygen. Then the pilot cut the engines off. The pressure would inevitably leave the passenger cabin in a few minutes. The masks would drop but that O2 would last passengers less than 10 minutes if they got them on at all.

Meanwhile, the pilot let the plane glide erratically from 45000 feet to 23000 feet, which would take up to a half hour, long past the survival of any of the passengers.

I haven’t heard anyone else with that theory.

They wouldn’t have to cut the engines off. They would just have to turn off the packs.

From an experienced air traffic controller of more than 30 years.

The changing altitudes could have been ... to avoid being identified by other traffic, and since he's turned off his transponders (not the same as ELTs, which can not be turned off) he does NOT want to be noticed, and a descending or a climbing aircraft isn't seen as unusual.
After he passes the traffic he's concerned about, then he changes his altitude again, in a different direction from what his aircraft was headed to before passing the traffic he was concerned about.

But take a look at that flight path in reference to a high altitude flight chart around LANGKAWI (and look northwest for "P628" Jet Route heading Northwest.
Once you compare the IFR HI Chart to their flight path, it makes sense.

interesting theory but he could not maintain 450 elevation on that equipment with engines cut long enough to kill the passengers. would take like 15 min lacking O2 to kill someone
If masked dropped and they have 10 min O2 they could live or be knocked out and comea round when he dropped to 23. I do see your theory however. How to kill off the cabin without people fighting to get control of the plane or signalling by cell or email..... hmmmm

For just one or two men, the pilot and/or copilot for example, to disable or kill all the passengers and crew without any of them resisting or trying to make cell phone calls, the most effective way would be depressurization at altitude. There are a lot of safeguards against that happening.

Agreed -- depressurize to knock them out and even kill them. But there are NOT many safeguards against this. And the cell calls are not going to happen at those high altitudes, unless they are using onboard phones (maybe in the headrests of the back of the seat in front of them).

I think the pilot, supplied with extra O2 from all the crew cabin masks and maybe some emergency bottles, took the plane as high as it could go for both altitude and lack of oxygen. Then the pilot cut the engines off. The pressure would inevitably leave the passenger cabin in a few minutes. The masks would drop but that O2 would last passengers less than 10 minutes if they got them on at all.

Sounds plausible right up to the "shut the engines off" part. That would be (relatively) dangerous. They could easily take over the pressurization manually, and bring the cabin altitude up to as high as they need, up to their cruising altitude.

"Less than 10 minutes" is being generous -- even with their supplemental oxygen the passengers could be forced unconscious in less than five minutes at altitudes around 40,000 feet. Not to mention the cold temperatures if the packs were partially shut off.