Kotakethana double murder accused sentenced to death
October 15, 2019 12:21 pm
The accused in the double murder of a mother and daughter in Kotakethana in 2012 has been sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court today.
Lokugam Hewage Dharshana, also known as ‘Raju’, was found guilty over the stabbing to death of a mother and her daughter in Kotakethana, Kahawatte in 2012, a gruesome double murder that sparked widespread outrage in the country.
Colombo High Court Judge Vikum Kaluarachchi, delivering the verdict following a long trial, stated that the charges against the defendant have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Reading out the 221-page verdict, the High Court Judge declared that the accused will be given the death penalty.
The Attorney General had filed a case against Lokugam Hewage Darshana alias ‘Raju’ and his wife Ashoka Chandani Kumari alias ‘Batti’ for the murder of 52-year-old Nayana Nilmini and her daughter Kavindya Chathurangi (17).
Colombo High Court had previously ordered the acquittal and release of the second defendant, Ashoka Chandani Kumari, due to the lack of evidence against her.
Suspect sentenced to death over gruesome double homicide
Written by Staff Writer 15 Oct, 2019 | 1:59 pm
Colombo (News 1st): An accused named Lokugamhewage Darshana also known Raju was sentenced to death over the gruesome murder of a mother and daughter aged 52 and 17 respectively in the Kotakethana area in Ratnapura in 2012.
High Court Judge Vikum Kaluarachchi delivered the verdict today (October 15). This double homicide took place on January 31st, 2012.
Though there were no eye witness accounts, the judge announced that the DNA reports that were submitted and the circumstantial evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that the murders were committed by the accused.
The High Court ordered that the death sentence be given for two separate charges against the accused.
The judges’ verdict, which was 221 pages, notes that the severity of the cut wounds on the bodies of the two victims could be ascertained based on the bloodstains seen on the roof of the house where the murders were committed. It further notes that the attack had been carried out, with the intention of committing murder.
The High Court Judge added that this is a verdict that he has taken a long period to prepare in his 25-year career.
Kotakethana murder case Accused sentenced to death
16 Oct 2019 –
Accused had been identified as the one who had carried out the double murder
By Farook Thajudeen and Yoshitha Perera
The Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced Lokugam Hewage Darshana alias Raju to death after being found guilty of murdering a 52-year-old woman and her 17 year-old daughter at Kotakethana in July 2012.
When the case was taken up by Colombo High Court Judge Vikum Kaluarachchi, informed Court that the trial had identified the proof for the charges filed against the accused and he had been identified as the one who had carried out the double murder. The Colombo High Court had earlier acquitted Ashoka Chandani Kumara alias ‘Batti’ on the basis that there was inadequate evidence to convict her.