Gruesome murder of a school teacher

By Jayampathy Jayasinghe

It was a shocking and a gruesome murder of a respected woman teacher at St. Joseph's College, Nugegoda last Tuesday. The two assassins entered her house at Old Piliyandala Road Nugegoda and without any remorse attacked her and her eleven-year-old daughter with a sharp instrument. The assassins had repeatedly stabbed the teacher's head before fleeing away in a trishaw. The victim in this case is Subashani Seneviratne (47).

The incident took place around 5.30 p.m. while she was at home with her daughter and her son. While Mrs Seneviratne was being attacked her son who was in the upper floor that time rushed to the ground floor on hearing his mother scream. He had seen two men around 30 years rushing from the house. He later told police that one man had his hair dyed in a peculiar colour.

When he entered the downstairs room he found both the mother and sister lying in a pool of blood on the floor. The assault took place while her husband was away from home. He was a Director of the Industrial Development Ministry. Unfortunately he had even left behind his cellular telephone that day at home. He learnt of the catastrophe only when he returned home that day around 11 p.m. By that time everything was over. Both his wife and the daughter had been despatched to hospital. According to police while the assassins were attacking the mother and her daughter there weren't any body at home to defend them except the young boy.

In the meantime when the neighbours rushed into the house after hearing the commotion they found Mrs Seneviratne and her daughter bleeding profusely. They promptly despatched them to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital at Kalubowila. The same evening Mrs Seneviratne was transferred to the intensive care unit of the National Hospital Colombo where she succumbed to her injuries around 11.30 p.m. However her daughter is reported to be out of danger. Fortunately the son was not injured in the attack.

OIC Crimes, Mirihana Police, Chief Inspector, R. K. D. S. Wijewardena said the motive for killing is not clear yet. Several persons who match the descriptions given by the son have been questioned and the investigations are proceeding. "We are probing whether it was a contract killing or simply the work of some burglars. However despite emergency numbers 119 and 118 no one had informed police about the attack until someone had rung up a senior police officer who informed us," he said.

Prior to the assault the two assassins had arrived at the house of Mrs Seneviratne and had made inquiries from a carpenter attending to some repairs outside the house whether the chief occupant was at home, referring to Mr. Seneviratne. When he told them he wasn't at home they left and returned later and had attacked the school teacher.

The carpenter a native of Ruwanwella told police he was in the bathroom when the two assassins returned. Police have detained the carpenter for further questioning in this regard.

Meanwhile police have got to know the two assassins had visited a couple of homes in the neighbourhood inquiring about the residence of Mrs. Seneviratne.

Police said they haven't traced the Trishaw nor the two assassins so far. One could not simply imagine in a congested and a populous town like Nugegoda how killers could simply walk into a home kill some body and then getaway without any one noticing them. Was the job the work of some professional assassins. If that is the case by whom and for what purpose.

What baffles the police is that the killers have not stolen any valuables from the home. Investigations are being directed By DIG P. Pathirana of the Western Province South.

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