Beautician's body found dangling from beam

By Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

She was a beautician who owned a beauty parlour in the suburbs of Colombo. On Sunday when her paramour unlocked the door with a duplicate key and entered her home he found the woman's body dangling from a beam which was tied to a saree. The Bandaragama Police who visited her home said her body was in a highly decomposed state. “She had obviously committed suicide on Friday when there was nobody at home” police said.

The deceased beautician was identified as Nisansala Upamali (31). She lived in her home at a housing scheme at Raigama Namaluwa in the Bandaragama area with her paramour who was employed in a hotel in Colombo.

She was a married woman and the mother of a son aged 9. Her estranged husband lived in the Galle area with her son. The couple having separated a few years ago decided to live separately owing to differences.

Meanwhile, Nisansala cultivated an illicit love affair with a man and lived with her new-found lover at her home for the past two years. It transpired that her lover had visited her home town in Polonnaruwa last Friday leaving behind Nisansala. “It is not known why he visited her village” police said.

A letter alleged to have been written by the deceased woman was found lying at her home. The few lines penned by her read “I love you son very much. I lived this long because of you. Even after my death my thoughts shall always remain with you. Please forgive me for what I have done.” A mobile phone was also found lying in the room beside her body, along with a letter written to her husband in Galle.

However, while cohabiting with her lover it was rumoured that she found a second lover and was carrying on with him on the sly. “This however may have angered her first lover and there would have been several confrontations between them that led her to commit suicide.” Police said.

On November 3 morning Nisansala had sent a SMS message to her lover, while he was away in Polonnaruwa that she intends to go abroad soon.

Meanwhile, the Bandaragama Police suspect that she committed suicide because she was distraught with life with two lovers to share. “She had no financial worries as far as we know” police said.

The Inquirer into Sudden Deaths in the Horana-Bandaragama area, Sumedha Gunewardena visited the scene and took charge of the two letters written by the deceased and instructed the Bandaragama Police to remove the corpse to the Bandaragama Hospital mortuary.

The District Medical Office of the Bandaragama Hospital who held the autopsy said in his report that the death was due to asphyxia due to hanging.

The OIC Bandaragama Police station, Chief Inspector Charles Wickremasinghe investigated the suicide.