MONDAY, 03 FEBRUARY 2014 18:30 E-mail Print
Police said today the man whom senior journalist Mel Gunasekara had hired to paint her residence at Christmas time was believed to have stabbed her to death on Sunday when his attempt to rob an empty house had failed because she might have accosted him.
Police spokesman Ajith Rohana told a news conference held at the Mirihana Police Station where the suspect Samson Joseph Anthony (39) was being detained
that the killing was initially rumoured to be linked to her work as a journalist at a leading media organisation but it was not so.
“There were no eyewitnesses so we had to look for clues. We found a finger print inside the house,” he said.
SSP Rohana said the police sniffer dogs had stopped close to where CCTV cameras were installed at the house of a prominent public servant down Subodhipura Mawatha in Battaramulla.
“When we examined the video footage we found that a man chewing betel and wearing a yellow shirt and a light blue denim leaving the area a short while later wearing a black trouser and a blue shirt,” he said. “We found the betel he had left behind. When we showed the images to Ms. Gunasekara’s parents they
identified the man as the mason who painted their house at Christmas time. We traced the suspect through his mobile phone. He was also unable to switch off the BlackBerry mobile phone which he robbed and was in his possession.”
SSP Rohana said the man had later thrown away the battery but with the information obtained from communication towers he was arrested at Dompe.
“He lives in Dompe with his wife and three children,” he said.
During interrogation the suspect admitted to have entered the house from the backyard and was taken by surprise when Ms. Gunasekara accosted him because the family members without fail were known to attend Sunday service between 6.30 a.m. and 8.30 a.m.
The suspect said it was when she had screamed at him that he grabbed the knife lying on the table and stabbed Ms. Gunasekera several times.
“I washed the knife and changed my clothes. I wore a black trouser and a blue shirt belonging to the victim’s brother,” he said.
Ms. Gunasekera is reported to have attended a school function the previous night and had slept over.
Police said investigations had revealed that the suspect had observed the movements of the family for some time before breaking into the house.
Police warned people to be more cautious when employing painters, masons, gardeners and electricians or when allowing sales reps to enter the house without proper identification.
“It is the duty of the police to solve crimes but it is also the duty and the responsibility of all concerned as far as possible to prevent crimes from taking place,” he noted.
The investigations were carried out by police personnel led by Mirihana Special Crimes Operations Unit Inspector Nimal Karunaratne under the directions of Colombo South DIG Sumith Edirisinghe.
“We will produce him Courts and detain him for questioning for 48 hours after obtaining the necessary detention orders,” SSP Rohana said. (Supun Dias and Sanath Desmond)
http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/42528-journalists-killing-suspect-held-for-questioning-.html
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