Police are continuing investigations in a case in which a mother in Kiribathgoda killed one family member during an attempt to kill all four of her children and take her own life.Kiribathgoda Police OIC Chaminda Edirisuriya said investigations were under way into the murder of Duminda Viranga, allegedly by his mother, Asuntha Ranasinghe (42), and the attempted murders of Daminda’s two brothers and sister. The mother is being held in custody at the Mahara Prison.
According to reports, the day of the tragedy, Wednesday, July 30, started like any normal day for the family, with the mother and four children saying bye to their father before he set out for work that morning. The father, Sunil Peiris, an electrician, spends most of the day out and returns home usually late at night. Also living in the same house was Mr. Peiris’s mother, S. K. Margaret.
 |
| Bereaved father: Sunil Peiris |
On July 30, about 11am, the electrician’s mother, who runs a store in Dippitigoda Road, Wattala, was on her way back home to check on the family and her grandchildren when she ran into her daughter-in-law, Asuntha. The younger woman rushed out of the house, pushed aside her mother-in-law, and jumped into the well.Hearing screams, neighbours rushed over to behold a scene of domestic horror inside the house: one child – Daminda Viranga Peiris (14) – lying dead, and two children – Ishanka Devumi (7) and Nadun Nimsara (2) –lying unconscious.
From statements given by family members, the police have pieced together an account of the tragedy that took place that day at the electrician’s home.
The first victim was two-year-old Nadun, who was scribbling on a chalkboard when his mother picked him up and took to him to the bedroom, where she attempted to smother him with a pillow. Assuming the child was dead, the mother proceeded to Duminda, 14, whom she then strangled.
According to accounts, when it was daughter Ishanka’s turn, the mother covered the child’s eyes, in a pretence of playing a game with her, and then attempted to strangle her with a piece of lace.
The mother next ordered her eldest son, Kavindu Chathuranga Peiris (15), to jump into the well, saying that if he did not he would be sent to jail for 25 years.
The terrified boy, who had helplessly looked on, unable to stop his mother from attacking his brothers and sister, did as ordered. Fortunately for him, the well his mother had pointed to was an abandoned one, and Kavindu’s fall was cushioned by vines and bushes growing inside. It was at this point, when the mother was running towards another well, in order to jump in and take her life, that she bumped into her mother-in-law, who then raised an alarm with her screams and attracted the neighbours’ attention.
Neighbours and relatives who arrived at the scene seconds later attempted to pull the mother away from the well, but she tried to break free and jump in, pleading with them not to save her and saying that all her children were dead.
When the father, Sunil Peiris, returned home that night he found one of his sons in the mortuary, his other children in hospital, and his wife in police custody.
Two of the children, Kavindu and Nadun, have been discharged from the Ragama Hospital. Kavindu is in a state of shock, and is unable to talk, while Nadun, who was being breast-fed by his mother up to the day of the tragedy, is oblivious of the horror around him. Ishanka is being warded at the National Hospital, with her grandmother by her side.
Sunil is clearly profoundly shaken by the tragedy that has struck his family. He breaks down every time he talks about his family. Referring to the son he has lost, he says Daminda would often accompany him on his rounds, especially during school holidays. He said his late son had a natural talent for electrical work.
Meanwhile, police are attempting to gain a better idea of the background to the events that led to the tragedy in the Peiris household by talking to neighbours and relatives.
Apparently, a woman occupying an annexe rented out to her by Sunil Peiris and his wife was taken into custody following a complaint made to the police by Asuntha that the lady had been “threatening her for some time”.
According to Chandima Sooriyarachchi, a cousin of the electrician’s wife, Asuntha was a loving mother, and that the events of July 30 had come as a complete surprise. “She was a good mother.. Although they are not a well-off family, Asuntha would do her best to give the family a comfortable life with the money Sunil brought home,” she said. “When we pulled her out of the well, she was blabbering about people threatening her and trying to kill her and kidnap her children.”
On an order from the Wattala Magistrate, Asuntha Ranasinghe is to undergo tests for mental illness at the Angoda Mental Hospital, before she appears at the Wattala Magistrate’s Court on August 15. |
E-mail