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| Sunday, 11 May 2003 |
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Dehiwela's gruesome triple killings Murder at midnight by our Sunday observer crimes desk A pall of gloom hung over the house at the top of Frazer Avenue, Dehiwela that was the home of the Hamer family till they were brutally murdered by a gang shortly after midnight last Wednesday. Seventy-nine-year old Franklin Hamer, his 35-year-old son Dieter and 29-year-old daughter Daisy Ann were stabbed and hacked to death while they slept. Daisy Ann was to be married shortly to Russel Crooms. When we arrived at the house the Government Analyst was inside with a police team so it was not possible for anyone to enter the rooms where the murders had been committed. However, Sunday Observer photographer Priyantha Hettige had been allowed to go into the room occupied by the father and son; he came out and described the gory scene. The bodies of the family had been removed on Thursday morning. A stunned family friend, Garvin Boteju from Gregory Place in Dehiwela said that it is possible that the killers had tapped at Mr. Hamer's door pretending to be friends by calling Franklin Hamer 'uncle'. He said that people in the neighbourhood would often ask the family's permission to pluck coconuts from their land in front of the house. Exactly how the gang would have gained entry to the house was unclear at the time we spoke to the police investigating the murders on Friday afternoon. The family's two pet dogs, named Amma and Aiya, lay on their sides on the verandah looking forlorn and visibly sad. Boteju said that they were stray dogs that the Hamer family had taken in to care for. The dogs had been drugged by the gang before committing their dastardly, criminal deed. It was a small three roomed house almost facing the Petrol filling station down Frazer Avenue at Dehiwela. The main gate at the entrance was closed as we walked towards and noticed an armed policeman inside the compound with several civilians. After we introduced ourselves to the policeman he let us in. The Government Analyst was making his observations at the scene of the crime. After some time we stepped into the rear room where Franklin Hamer and his son Dieter Hamer were chopped to death with a sharp cutting weapon. According to police, Franklin Hamer had several cut and stab injuries on his stomach. His body was dumped under a bed and was covered with a mattress. There were several stab wounds on Dieter Hamer's body too which was lying on a bed covered with a sheet. The whole room was ransacked and there were clothes with dried blood stains thrown all over the place. There was dried blood in the room. There was a black and white photograph of a toddler taken many years ago, kept against a wall on the ground. There weren't any family members left behind to explain or identify the photograph as all of them had perished. The front room was occupied by Daisy Anne Hamer, a Banquet Sales Executive at the Mt. Lavinia Hotel could be seen from the outside compound. Her room was in a mess with clothing and cosmetics thrown about the place. Her body was discovered on her bed with both hands tied with a rope and with several cut injuries on her belly. A spokeswoman for the Mt. Lavinia hotel said that they were shocked and horrified to learn about her death. "Daisy Anne Hamer worked at the hotel for about five years and she was loved by every one. In fact we all knew that she was to marry somewhere next month, " the spokeswomen said. Meanwhile the Police Finger Print experts probing the gruesome triple murder said that they have discovered three finger prints, one on the telephone and two other prints on a cupboard, a senior police officer told the Sunday Observer. The finger prints are important clues for the arrest of the culprits who committed this heinous crime, the officer said. OIC Dehiwela, Police station, Chief Inspector, P.R.P. Senanayake who visited the scene of murder accompanied by the Government analyst A. Jayamana said that at least five persons were involved in the slaying of the Hamer family. It could be the work of contract killers hired by a someone who had a grudge with Hamer family. Two police teams led by Inspector K. Ranaweera has been detailed to track down the killers, he said. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Western Province, K.P.P. Pathirana said the motive for the murder is not known as yet but were investigating several clues. However he was optimistic that the killers would be rounded up soon. ASP Mt. Lavina A. Wimalasena in charge of the overall investigations said that the killing was the work of a bunch of contract killers but no one have been taken into custody as investigations are in progress. The police were also investigating the dispute that the Hamers had with a Chinese restaurant owner adjoining his house, he said. Police sources said that they suspect the killings were linked to a land dispute where a Chinese food parlour and a beer stall was run outsiders in the adjacent building where Hamers lived. Meanwhile the post mortem examination held by the Judicial Medical Officer of the Colombo South Hospital Dr. Amal Wedisinghe reveals that Mr. Franklin Hamer's body had six stab injuries and cut injuries on his stomach. There were injuries on his nose that caused suffocation. Dieter Hamer's body had four stab injuries on his neck and in the stomach areas and Daisy Anne Hamer had five stab injuries. |
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