SUSITHA FERNANDO 
Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
Gallows for Kotakethana ‘Serial Killer’
Ratnapura High Court judge Lanka Jayaratne imposed the death sentence on a convict who was indicted for double murder at Kotakethana in Ratnapura.
Prosecuted entirely based on DNA evidence by Senior Deputy Solicitor General (SDSG) Lakmali Karunanayake, court found accused Neil Lakshman guilty of the murder of a mother and daughter in Kotakethana in 2012.
The accused was indicted for raping the daughter and committing the double murder. According to the evidence the house where the murders were committed was set on fire to destroy all evidence.
The Kotakethana area became notorious for a series of mysterious killings and during the trial it transpired that the multiple murder was also connected to the first ever ‘serial killer’ reported in Sri Lanka.
The victims had been brutally killed, attacking them on their heads with a sharp weapon.
Considering the seriousness of the offence, the Attorney General had filed a direct indictment without a non-summary proceeding.
At the beginning of the trial, the offences had been read out to the accused and he had pleaded not guilty. While the prosecution was led by Senior DSG Lakmali Karunanayake, attorney-at-law Chaminda Kohupitiya was appointed as a crown counsel as there was no lawyer to appear on behalf of the accused.
Relating to the same murder incident, a trial had been imitated against three accused before the Colombo High Court earlier but after the prosecution, all three accused had been discharged. However, three years after the incident, the accused had been arrested based on DNA evidence.
Senior Deputy Solicitor General (SDSG) Lakmali Karunanayake
Comments - 17
Recommended
You May Also Like
