Man sentenced to death for beheading mother-in-law; 10 years for attempted murder of wife

An accused who was found guilty of beheading his mother-in-law and causing serious cut injuries to his wife was sentenced to death by Ratnapura High Court Judge Nayana Seneviratne.

The verdict was given after a trial held without a jury, with the accused, Kasun Warnaka Kahangama, a resident of Kotugodella, Balangoda, being found guilty of the murder and attempted murder.

The accused, a trishaw driver, had committed the crime on the afternoon of November 4, 2011 on a public road.

The accused had legally married his wife but had never taken her to live with him. She had subsequently left him over another matter. On the day of the incident, he had cornered her on the road and said he needed to speak to her. When she refused, he had pulled out a sharp weapon and used it to behead his wife’s mother who was accompanying her, before inflicting severe cut injuries to the neck of his wife.

State Counsel Shashikala Kumari, who led evidence for the prosecution, presented to court the murder weapon as well as a DNA report that matched hair and blood samples on the murder weapon with those of the deceased victim. Attorney-at-Law S.P. Senaratne, who appeared for the accused, accepted the results of the DNA report.

Making a statement from the dock, the accused claimed he was severely depressed at the time of the incident and could not fathom what he did.

Subsequent to the crime, the injured victim had divorced the accused. He had later married another woman. Aside from the death sentence for the murder of his mother-in-law, High Court Judge Seneviratne also sentenced the accused to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for the attempted murder of his wife and also fined him Rs. 10,000. He was sentenced to a further four months simple imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine.

The Judge also ordered the accused to pay the injured victim Rs. 250,000 in compensation, sentencing him to a further 18 months simple imprisonment if he failed to pay compensation.