Astrologer who axed his paramour and toddler as well ... trapped while hiding in Moratuwa

A 38 year old woman and her 6 month old toddler were found brutally hacked to death in their house at Boraluketiya area in Kosgoda, Balapitiya the night before last Wesak Poya Day. On police investigations about the assailant, suspicion was aroused about a certain Astrologer who used to frequent this home quite often, alleged to be a paramour who incidentally had disappeared after this tragedy.

Thommayahakuru Renuka (38) and her 6 month old child were the victims in this case. They were

The deceased woman has got married to one Sunil living in Boraluketiya 21 years before this and has children aged 20, 18 and 14 from him. Sunil had left the woman when she was pregnant with her last child, 14 years before. Later she had led a solitary life and when she had approached an Astrologer had met this assailant and after coming to know about the whereabouts of this woman he had got accustomed to visit her from time to time in her home. This person who was a resident of Katuwila, Ahungalla had made it a habit to associate the deceased by frequenting her home from some years back and had even spent the nights there. He also was a married man with 2 children and his marriage too had gone on the rocks. The woman concerned had become pregnant through him during the past period after which arguments had flared up between the two of them and it was regarding the topic of living together under one roof.

Subsequent to 14 years after the birth of her last child another boy child was born from her paramour 6 months before this incident and from the day that child was born, both this Astrologer Tudor and his paramour the deceased Renuka on various occasions had engaged in verbal attacks. One of her problems was that she was not able to look after the child all alone by herself and the point of asking the Astrologer to detach all previous connections and come and live with her had been constantly refused by him which led to fresh problems.

Police who conducted further investigations into this murder were able to get a clue that this Astrologer who had fled from his Ahungalla house was on his way towards Colombo and kept a track on the murderer who had a friend in Moratuwa and was then vigilant to observe as to whether he had gone there. As such, that house in Moratuwa was raided in which case it was possible to corner Tudor. He then admitted to the crime and begun to unravel the whole story in his confession. He had stated that he had visited the deceased as usual the day prior to Vesak and that a furious verbal communication had ensued between the two of them on which occasion the deceased Renuka had been chopping firewood and therefore has had an axe in her hand. He had abhorred this woman who relentlessly argued with him and he had dealt her a slap on the face in which instance she had fallen on the ground, he had mentioned. He further stated that she had kept on reprimanding him with a revengeful attitude and that his temper had exceeded its limits and not being able to control it had grabbed the axe which had fallen nearby and dealt a blow on her neck region. She had then darted towards the room and he too had run behind her and had dealt further blows when she was on the bed, he had finally said. At that moment since she began to writhe in pain and having thought that she would pass away had told her "sorry Renuka!" at which moment he had heard his 6 month old toddler crying and thinking that if she would die, there would be nobody to care for the child and therefore had hacked the child too to death, he had confessed in the end.

This person who committed this brutal and cruel murder had proceeded to his Ahungalla home with blood-soaked clothes on his body. Later he had bundled up the clothes and had taken the bundle to a shrub jungle near his house and had hidden it there. After that as he thought that there was a risk that he might get cornered for the murder, he had locked up the house and had fled, he had admitted. The suspect who was thus taken into custody was produced before Balapitiya Magistrate Court and remanded until 24th of this month.