The Colombo High Court has sentenced three individuals to death for the murder of a 35-year-old man who was hacked to death using sharp weapons following a verbal dispute in Meethotamulla, Wellampitiya, in December 2017.
The death sentence was imposed by Colombo High Court Judge Rashmi Singappuli on a young married couple and the younger brother of the female accused.
The three accused were charged with the murder of Ruchira Lakmal Perera, aged 35, in the Meethotamulla area of Wellampitiya, on December 11, 2017.
According to evidence presented before the court, the deceased, who lived near the accused and was also a relative of the third accused, had allegedly assaulted the female accused several days before the murder. He had been arrested by the police in connection with the incident and subsequently released on bail.
The prosecution told the court that the murder took place while the victim was returning home after being released on bail.
The post-mortem examination revealed that the deceased had sustained 21 serious cut injuries to his body. Multiple injuries to his head and neck had caused his death.
After considering eyewitness testimony, CCTV footage and medical reports, Judge Singappuli rejected the defence arguments that the killing had been committed in the exercise of the right to private defence and under provocation.
In delivering the verdict, the judge ruled that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that all three accused had committed the murder with common intention.
Evidence presented before the court revealed that the deceased had encountered the second accused and a group of his friends while returning home between 2.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. on the day of the incident.
The deceased had allegedly verbally abused them, saying that they were responsible for what had happened to him and warning them to stay away from him.
The third accused had then arrived at the scene with her husband, the first accused, while allegedly using abusive language.
According to the prosecution's evidence, the first accused was carrying two machetes. He placed one on the ground and attacked the victim with the other. The second accused then picked up the machete left on the ground and joined the attack.
The third accused, upon seeing the victim lying on the ground and realizing that he was still alive, had allegedly urged her husband and brother to kill him, according to the evidence presented in court.
The accused subsequently fled the scene with the third accused's child. Police had arrived after receiving a telephone call and found that the victim had succumbed. Investigators later examined CCTV footage from nearby cameras as part of the inquiry.
During the proceedings, the first accused told the court that the deceased had initiated the dispute by assaulting his wife and her younger brother near their home. He claimed that his wife had been hospitalised for six days following the alleged assault and that the deceased had returned to their home after being released on bail, damaged their fence and verbally abused them.
The second accused admitted that they had made a mistake but claimed that the deceased had attacked them first. He told the court that he had worked abroad for two years to earn money to buy a house and had not intended to commit murder, before asking the court for forgiveness.
The trial was conducted under Section 296 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 32, which deals with acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention.
Having considered the evidence and submissions, the Colombo High Court judge concluded that the charge of murder had been proved beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced all three accused to death.
