Soldier arrested over sexual assault & murder of woman

A soldier was arrested by the Alawathugoda Police on suspicion of killing a married woman in a paddy field at Alawathugoda, Kandy.

The 26-year-old victim Dhanuka Madhuwanti Jayathilaka was a resident of Wilanagama at Allakade in Alawathugoda.

The victim was abducted when the husband had gone to attend a funeral on the night of March 10.

On the same night, several neighbors had heard the woman screaming, but had not paid much attention since her husband had earlier too quarreled with the victim after coming home drunk.

On the morning of the 11th, the husband had searched for the wife upon his return from the funeral. 

Several residents had also joined in search of the wife whose body was found in the mud of a field located about 100 meters away from the house.

A police dog has helped arrest the suspect as it had directly gone to the house of the suspected soldier.

Police investigations revealed that the arrested suspect is a 38-years-old married man and he is engaged in clerical duties in the army due to gunshot wounds suffered while serving in the army. The suspect has made several attempts to befriend the victim.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect has been sending text messages and making phone calls to the victim, forcing her to come to various places.

A month ago, the suspect had promised not to bother the victim anymore and had apologized to her.

However, the suspect who had left the house at night to hunt animals had gone to the victim’s house and abducted her.

The post-mortem examination on the victim was conducted yesterday (12) at the Kandy National Hospital, where it was revealed that the woman was sexually assaulted and killed by strangulation.