Dharshini’s death: Police tell all after killing of suspect

An army deserter who was found to be behind the gruesome killing of accountant Dharshini Fernando from Modera and assault of other family members three weeks ago, had allegedly planned the killing well in advance, Police investigations have revealed. Thirty-year-old, Chandrajeeva Jayakody from Dambulla had been identified as the killer of 40-year-old Ms. Fernando. But on Thursday he was shot dead by police after he allegedly tried to retrieve a revolver hidden under a banana tree and fire at the police, while he was been taken to the scene of the crime to recover the club used to commit the crime on September 18.

Initially there had been no clue as to who had committed the crime inspite of three police teams being deployed to hunt the killer.

According to police Jayakody who had deserted the Army after 8 years of service had allegedly confessed to the killing of the young accountant and assault of her two children and mother-in law, before leaving to his hometown where he had pawned some jewellery he had stolen from the house, at the Bank of Ceylon branch there.

Colombo North Senior Superintendent Jayantha Kulatilaka said three teams headed by ASP Bandula Wijewardena, SP M.A.K. Nanayakkara and ASP Cecil De Silva had been in charge of tracking down the culprit. He said the police had first identified those who had gone missing from the vicinity of the victim’s home soon after the crime before tracking down the suspect’s ID number from a private contracting company that provided labourers to the Colombo Dockyard. The suspect had worked there as a welding mechanic.

We were then able to track down the jewellery he had pawned at the Bank of Ceylon branch before tracking him back to Colombo where he was apprehended on Tuesday,” he said. SSP Kulatilaka said that the suspect had allegedly confessed to the motive behind his violent act and how he had entered the house which was in a residential area.

The suspect used to walk past Mrs. Fernando’s home every day while going to the Dockyard. He had apparently asked Mrs. Fernando about possible work to be done around the house and on one occasion he had cut grass in the garden.“The third conversation between the two had turned sour after Mrs. Fernando had refused him a job. He claimed this was the motive behind his act,” SSP Kulatilaka said.

Police investigations have revealed that the suspect had picked up a broken leg of a chair that had been dumped in a nearby garbage dump and had hidden it in the adjoining bare plot of land on his way to the Dockyard on the day of the murder; with the motive of committing the violent act on his way home that evening.

Jayakody had left work at 7 p.m. to avoid travelling with two of his fellow workers who lived near his home. At 7.15 p.m. Police say he had managed to skillfully scale the victim’s house wall from the adjoining plot of abandoned land and had climbed in through an open window unprotected by an iron grill before hiding in the master bedroom. However, The Sunday Times has learnt of another version where the suspect is supposed to have entered the house while the daughter was riding her cycle in the front lane while the gate had been left open.

According to police Mrs. Fernando had arrived home about half an hour later only to be attacked by the suspect before he had turned his wrath on her two young children and 65-year-old mother-in-law. The suspect had left the house at 9.15 p.m. after stealing a gold chain, a pendant, gold bangles, rings and Mrs. Fernando’s mobile phone. Mrs. Fernando’s husband arrived home at 10.30 p.m. after attending an Old Boys’ Association meeting at St. Benedict’s College in Kotahena.

The same night, Jayakody had left to Dambulla. The following day, September 19, he had apparently pawned the jewellery for Rs. 37,000 out of which he had deposited Rs. 32,500 into a savings account. Police say he had withdrawn a further Rs.18,000 on September 21 and Rs. 3000 three days later.

SSP Kulatilaka said that the police had an inclination that the crime had been committed by an army deserter or a person with some knowledge in martial arts by the nature of the crime. Two days after the suspect had been apprehended, he had led the police to the bare land where he had claimed to have hidden the murder weapon, before allegedly pulling out a revolver from underneath a banana tree.

SSP Kulatilaka said the suspect had told police he had hidden the leg of the chair which he had used as a weapon to kill Mrs. Fernando and assault three others in the adjoining plot of land immediately after committing the crime. However according to the police the army deserter turned killer had pulled out a loaded revolver with five 9mm bullets from the underbrush before one of the policemen had shot him directly above in the head at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday.

“The police escorted him to the abandoned plot of land and he pretended to look for the murder weapon near a few trees. He then pulled out a revolver and pointed it at a police officer before he was shot,” SSP Kulatilaka said. Two eyewitenesses to the scene on Thursday were also brought before the Additional Magistrate Manjula Tillekeratne, who inspected the scene on Thursday evening.

One eyewitness said his driver had parked in front of the bare plot of land to tend to a punctured tyre when the three policemen had arrived with the suspect in handcuffs. He told the Magistrate that two policemen with T-56 rifles guarded the entrance to the plot of land while others had questioned the suspect.

He said that he had seen the handcuffed suspect bending over and picking up something next to a plantain tree. He had then pointed the object at an officer before a gunshot was heard. The Magistrate ordered both the eyewitness and his driver to be present at the Magistrate Court on October 17 to present their accounts of the day’s events.

Our Dambulla correspondent said that the suspect had married a garment factrory employee six months ago, but had left the place when the police and the military police came looking for him as he was an army deserter. On Friday the suspect’s mother arrived in Colombo to identify and receive the body, but his wife had refused to come .