Abusive killer lay in wait for wife to leave new partner’s home then stabbed her

A man who murdered his wife when she tried to leave him and start a new relationship with a work colleague has been jailed for at least 23 years.

Thisara Weragalage, 38, lay in wait for Niwunhellage Dona Nirodha Kalpani Niwunhella, known as Nirodha, 32, to leave for work in Cardiff last year.

Nirodha suffered ‘extensive and catastrophic’ injuries in Weragalage’s attack, including 17 stab wounds and injuries to her neck, face, chest and leg.

Sentencing Weragalage at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, Judge Daniel Williams said his ‘brutal selfishness’ had cut Ms Niwunhella’s life short.

He and Nirodha had been living separately for several months before the attack, and the court heard he was ‘obsessed’ with Ms Niwunhella and her new partner, James Stephenson.

Weragalage found messages between them after checking Nirodha’s phone and began ‘spying’ on her and trying to control who she could socialise with.

Judge Williams said: ‘You could not accept that your marriage was at an end… Nirodha’s relationship with James Stephenson became your sole and obsessive focus.

‘A message found on Nirodha’s phone, sent by her to a friend on July 10, said that you were threatening to kill her and James Stephenson.’

Weragalage staked out Mr Stephenson’s address eight times and took photos of his car before ambushing Nirodha on August 21 using one of three knives he had bought the day before.

Prosecutor Michael Jones KC said: ‘Nirodha’s murder was not a chance encounter between her and the defendant.

‘Rather, the defendant had been planning his fatal attack on Nirodha driven by the fact that she had clearly moved on from their relationship and his behaviour towards her.’

He added: ‘The prosecution case is that such was the ferocity of the attack on her that the knife broke during the assault.

‘His intention, the crown say, was a determined and planned intention to kill her.’

Weragalage fled the scene and was detained after trying to throw himself under a lorry later that morning.

The court heard the defendant told police he could not remember what happened after he confronted his wife and said he only bought the knives in order to scare her.

Weragalage’s selfishness and self-entitlement was summed up by the remarks of his defence barrister, who told the court: ‘He was obsessed by his wife, and he was overtaken by jealousy.

‘He could not live without her, and he could not contemplate a future where he was on his own.’

Weragalage was jailed for a minimum 23 years and nine months at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday, after pleading guilty to murder and possession of a knife in a public place.

Judge Williams described a ‘ferocious attack’ that Ms Niwunhella had ‘no chance of surviving’.

He said: ‘She has been described as the kindest and most caring person you could meet.

‘She had a long and happy future ahead of her.

‘Your brutal selfishness has left a void which can never be filled.’

Emma Davies of the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘Thisara Weragalage planned his attack, visiting the area several times leading up to it and buying the murder weapon.

‘His premeditation was a significant factor in this shocking murder.

‘The strong evidence presented by the Crown Prosecution Service demonstrated his intention and resulted in a guilty plea.

‘The Crown Prosecution Service are working together with the police to build strong cases against those who perpetrate violence against women and girls, and our prosecutors are making sure more victims of these abhorrent and devastating crimes receive the justice they deserve.

‘Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Nirodha, who have suffered a tragic loss.’

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