Journalist Mel Gunasekera murdered -- UPDATES

'Naraka baas' who came to paint house ....
murdered Journalist Mel .....
Suspect arrested in Dompe
Officers of Mirihana Special Investigation Unit were clever enough to arrest the killer of Journalist Mel Gunasekera, murdered with her throat slit in the kitchen of a house in Gemunu Mawatha, Battaramulla in the morning of Sunday the 4th of this month. The arrest was made at about 8 in the night in Dompe area with not even 24 hours passing after the tragic incident.       

As revealed by the police,the 40 year old Journalist, a spinster was murdered because the suspect who came to the house found his plans had misfired. The murderer of Miss Mel had admitted to police that it was he
who committed the killing. He was a baas who had come to this house for a number of weeks to paint the house. The painter-baas who had come to this two-storeyed house at Subuthipura in Battaramulla for sometime had been aware that the householders attended the religious service in church every Sunday for sure and that nobody was in the house on that day of the week. He had planned his robbery on Sunday knowing that it was the ideal time for his motive. 

Though Miss Mel used to usually go to church on Sunday, for some essential matter she had not done so this particular day while her mother, father and brother had attended church.

The suspect who had thought that everybody had gone to church had opened the main gate of the house and entered the premises and at that very moment he had got caught to Miss Mel who had come down from the top floor. It did not take time for her to understand that the painter-baas has come with the motive of robbing the house. The suspect who got confused at that moment had run into the kitchen and had brought two knives with him with the ulterior motive of concealing the evidence of having murdered her. She had instantly passed away as a result of stab injuries on her neck. The murderer admitted that he could succeed in his plans only half-way and that he was able to steal only Rs. 1200 and Miss Mel's Blackberry mobile phone.            

Householders were able to know that the murder had been committed only after they returned home after church. They were struck with shock on seeing Miss Mel sprawled across the kitchen floor and had immediately summoned the police.   

What a neighbour in the nearest vicinity said was that a loud wailing noise was heard at that particular moment and since the noise stopped abruptly, no attention was paid thereafter.

The police were also interested in making inquiries about CCTV cameras installed in houses close to the house where the murder took place.  

When viewing the video clips of a camera installed in one of the houses and on checking the time when Miss Mel was alone in the house, it was possible to observe how a certain person was moving towards this house and how he left that house.  The police who questioned the householders of house where the murder took place, the person seen on the video happened to be known to them. The police were able to get at a vital clue this way about the murder. What the householders said was that the person seen on the camera was their paint-baas. The police then were able to locate the address of the paint-baas who came from Dompe area.

The police who launched a secret operation of ambushing the house around 8 in the night were able to arrest the suspect easily. It is reported that when the police got at him, he was highly intoxicated. The Blackberry phone belonging to Miss Mel too was found in his possession. Though he admitted of the killing, it was difficult to extract the truth from him because of his jumbled talk. The police however suspected what he said about robbing only Rs.1200.

The suspect is presently under police custody and a team of 6 police officers have been deployed to conduct further investigations in this connection.   


-- Journalist Mel had been murdered when householders had attended church service.
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