Young murder suspect trips up in bid to erase bloody trail

A young man from Homagama may be involved in three murders — a class mate's, a driver's, and a Japanese woman's — police believe.

The suspect Sandun Sameera Senanayake, 25, is in remand custody.

He is believed to have taken hurried lessons from a friend to drive, while the body of the car’s driver lay in the back seat, police say. The suspect wanted to learn quickly so that he could drive a long distance and get rid of the body, police believe. The dead driver may have been a witness to another murder, police suspect.

The Homagama youth had claimed that he asked a former schoolmate to teach him to drive a car which he had seized after killing the driver.

“The suspect selected a playground area in Egoda Uyana, Moratuwa to learn to drive and had spent three days in the car, while the body of the driver was in the back seat. He had threatened the friend not to leave until he had completed his training,” said Headquarters Inspector of the Mirihana Police, Hemantha Wijewardena.

Three days later, he had allowed the friend to leave, but warned him of the need to keep quiet.

Inquiries show the suspect had driven the car – a white Wagon R — dumped a body in an abandoned timber mill and set the place on fire. The vehicle was abandoned by him, but it had been found on January 24.

The suspect had also killed a friend.

He had contacted a former classmate from Thimbirigasyaya, who looked like him, of the same age, and had the same blood group.

He had asked the friend to join him on a trip to a hotel in Ranala, Nawagamuwa on January 29. The suspect had rented a room and had a drinking session with his friend. After the friend had fallen asleep he had allegedly stabbed and killed the friend, poured petrol on his face and set him on fire before fleeing.

He had dropped his national identity card near the body and taken the identity card of his friend to put police off the scent.

“The idea was to prevent police from investigating the previous murder,’’ HQI Wijewardena, said.

The suspect had later sought shelter in the house of a karate master in Homagama, but two days later, the police had turned up looking for the martial arts teacher over an assault incident. The suspect had fled from the location.

The suspect had told his mother that he had an opportunity to leave for Japan and wanted a place to stay for two to three days. The mother, a teacher, had contacted a vice principal in Nugegoda and sought accommodation.

He had moved into the house, occupied only by the vice principal and a domestic helper.

Last Sunday, the suspect had stabbed the vice principal, who had fallen and lost consciousness. In the same attack, he had also stabbed the domestic helper 11 times, killing her. The vice principal had later regained consciousness and alerted neighbours.

Workers at a nearby construction site had then pur- sued the suspect. Police arrested him from atop a kohomba tree.

The suspect had claimed that he wanted to take possession of the house by killing the occupants.

He had also claimed that he killed the driver as he did not share the money earned by selling some items given to them by a monk in Trincomalee.

However, police believe that he may have been trying to cover up another murder or crime, which the driver may have witnessed.

One such crime is the disappearance of a Japanese woman last year.

The suspect had befriended a Japanese teacher and another Japanese woman. But one woman had disappeared.

Police inquiries show that the suspect had accompanied a Japanese teacher in a taxi to the Colombo airport.

Police are trying to ascertain whether parts of a human body found in Bolgoda and Monaragala in the middle of last year were those of the Japanese woman. In Bolgoda, police found a severed head, which appeared to be that of a foreign female. A headless body was found in Monaragala.

Police are investigating whether the driver he killed had been involved in transporting the body.

HQI Wijewardena said that the arrest which came within six days of the driver's murder, may have saved other lives.

The suspect was remanded until February 18 by the Gangodawila Magistrates’ Court.

Meanwhile, the suspect’s friend who gave him driving lessons, has been named a witness.