End of the tragedy

Police solves the mystery of the murder of Mrs. Tilaka Mendis in Seeduwa:

Two months ago the Seeduwa police launched a manhunt following the brutal killing of Mrs Tilaka Batuwanthudawe Mendis, a retired teacher whose body was found inside her kitchen with her neck slashed with a sharp cutting instrument.

The police were baffled when they visited the scene and found they could not figure out the motive for killing a respected school teacher. Could it be the work of some drug addict who desperately needed money to keep his drug habits alive? Or was it a contract killing executed by a ruthless gang, wondered OIC Seeduwa Police Station, Inspector Saman Sigera.

Meanwhile officers of the Police Finger Print Bureau who visited the home had found several finger prints in the house. According to police, however it was rather strange that nobody living close by heard the cries of the old lady while she was being attacked.

Even police officers from Seeduwa investigating the murder were equally baffled about the behaviour of the killer.

The killer who had broken into the house during the afternoon had not removed any cash, gold jewellery or any other valuables from the house. But then why did he kill her and for what purpose?

What was the motive behind killing an innocent old woman who minded her own business? Nobody could have done such a dastardly act in a neighbourhood close to the Katunayake Airforce Camp with several Service vehicles plying on the road every now and then. However the Seeduwa police kept an open mind and after painstaking investigations was able to crack open the case.

Everyone in the neighbourhood was shocked when they discovered the killer, who turned out to be a 16 year old schoolboy from the Kurana area. Both the suspect schoolboy and his mother were personally known to the retired teacher who had helped them financially on numerous occasions.

They were in and out of Mrs, Mendis's home owing to their close intimacy. The boy's father had died some time ago and the mother had a uphill task of bringing up her son.

On 8th October, 2007, the boy had visited Mrs. Mendis's home around noon while she was chopping some vegetables in the kitchen, preparing dinner for the family. When she spotted the boy in the kitchen, she greeted him and offered him a cup of tea.

While talking to the boy she casually inquired the purpose of his visit. The boy at this stage had solicited Rs 500 from the lady. The lady however discouraged the idea and told him that she does not have cash to part with.

The suggestion however infuriated the boy. He was in a rage by now because he could not get what he wanted. Unable to control his temper, the next thing he did was to pick up an axe lying in the corner of the kitchen.

Using sheer physical force he dealt a severe blow on the teachers head using the butt of the axe. When she slumped to the ground he quickly grabbed her knife with which she was chopping vegetables and slashed her neck. The boy thereafter disappeared from the house, knowing that the police will finally hound him one day. The suspect boy thereafter left his mother and went into hiding.

It was around 8.30.p.m. that day that her daughter and the son in law returned home. They were surprised that someone had opened the front door which their mother kept closed.

The couple rushed in and found their mother's blood spattered body lying in a corner of the kitchen. There were several stab injuries on the neck, head and the body. The couple cupped both their faces with their hands in horror and in disbelief.

They just could not fathom what had happened. Mrs Mendis was the mother of two children. Both her daughter and her son-in-law were executives in the mercantile sector. Her only son is employed in Dubai in the Middle East.

Under the supervision of Inspector Saman Sigera, a team of police officers began questioning several persons in the area who were in touch with the retired lady teacher.

They also came to know about the close rapport that the boy and his mother had with the teacher. But for some unknown reasons the school boy was missing from his home.

Although he was a student of a local school in the area, he usually kept away from school. Nobody in the village knew his whereabouts.

However police kept surveillance on his home. Last week someone in the neighbourhood tipped off the police that the boy was back at home. A team of police officers late in the night visited the home and arrested the suspect who was evading arrest.

While he was interrogated at the police station, the boy confessed to having committed the gruesome murder. According to police the boy has taken psychiatric treatment previously. The suspect was produced before court last week and remanded till completion of investigations.

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