Eppawala family massacred

14 July 2010 07:10 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 34 Bookmark

A A A

By Supun DIas And Athula Bandara

A family in Eppawala consisting of two children and their parents were found hacked to death at their residence today. According to the police the bodies were recovered after neighbors complained of a strong stench emanating from the house.

The murder was reported from Sandaresgama along the Eppawala-Thalawa main road. Police said that the Magisterial inquiry was conducted at the scene.

One of the victims, a shop manager in Eppawala, had not reported to work since Monday and the shop owner had also informed the police about his absence without prior notice.

A youth who was his wife’s sisters son, who was living in the house with them has disappeared after the murder. He had fled the area in the motorcycle that was used by the shop manager.

“The victims were found dead in different sections inside the house and we can confirm that they were murdered by stabbing and slashing”, police media spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said.

The owner of the shop had telephoned his manager several times but no one had picked up the phone. Meanwhile two cousins of the shop manager had visited the house as they failed to respond to any of the calls.

As they got a strong stench from the house they had taken a chair and broke opened one of the windows. The two cousins had witnessed the shop manager lying dead on the floor inside the house and they subsequently informed the Eppawala police.

Subsequently the police had broken into the house with the help of the neighbors and witnessed the body of the shop manager on the floor of the living room, his daughter in the kitchen and his wife and son inside a room.

The Magisterial inquiry was conducted by the Thabuththegama Additional Magistrate Kithsiri Mahinda Silva who ordered the police to arrest the missing youth immediately.

Eppawala police are conducting further investigations into the incident, SPJayakody said. The victims are K.A Dayarathna (48), Malini Jayasinghe (42), Ajani Udeshika (17) and Dishan Dayarathna (13).