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Terror of a wife whose grave was dug in her own living room
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The ditch dug through the concrete floor of the living room of the house
After the last argument Amali Fernando had with her husband she feared for her life and that of her newborn baby. When she saw her husband digging what seemed to be a grave in the living room her worst fears were being confirmed. It seemed as if Ravindra K. Perera was going to act on his threats to kill his wife and child. With no way of escape and no one to turn to, Ms. Fernando sat in her room through the night, wondering what the next day would bring.
In the morning, in a last-ditch attempt to save her life she said she had to wash her baby daughter’s clothes, and went outside. She then ran for a taxi and made a beeline for the police station. The Officer in Charge of the Milleniya police, Kalutara district, Inspector H.D.U. Karunarathna, immediately sent a team to the house.
“We took the child into our care and later sent both mother and child to hospital for a medical examination,” said OIC Karunarathna. Police saw the ditch dug through the concrete floor of the living room of the house. The excavation was two feet deep, three feet wide and five-and-a-half feet long. A nylon rope was hanging from the roof.
Ms. Fernando told the police her husband had threatened to kill her by hanging her and burying her and the child in the ditch he was digging. Mr. Perera was arrested. Police learned that the duo had got married in January after living together for a period of time. Both had broken away from their previous marriages. Amali Fernando had a son (22) and a daughter(19) from her previous marriage who lived with the couple but they had moved out after their mother had given birth to their step-sister as they could “no longer handle the fighting with their step-father”.
OIC Karunarathna
Police suspect that the mistreatment began after the birth of the couple’s baby, stating that the child appeared not to have been fed properly for a long time. Although Mr. Perera was skilled in a number of trades such as plumbing, electrical and masonry he had not been able to hold down a job for more than a week or two and depended on his wife for money.
Ms. Fernando had been working until she delivered her baby. From her daily salary of Rs. 500 she had to buy her husband three cigarettes every day, she told the police. Neighbours constantly heard arguments between the couple and the woman being beaten but had said nothing as it was a “private matter”, one neighbour said. The police hold no record of complaints from the victim until that final day.
Mr. Perera is to be charged with attempted murder, OIC Karunarathna said. He said Perera had not provided any clear motive for his actions and had said that he just wanted to frighten his wife. He is in remand until May 13 and will undergo a psychiatric assessment. The Probations Department in Horana on Tuesday placed the mother and baby under the care of her son.