Woman found in suitcase killed before decapitation, postmortem reveals

The post mortem on the female body found in a suitcase in Dam Street has revealed the woman had died before being decapitated.

The decapitated body stuffed in a suitcase was found abandoned at the said location on Monday (March 01).

The DNA test carried out on the headless body confirmed that the DNA samples obtained from the decapitated female body matched with that of the mother and brother of a 30-year-old woman from the Kuruwita area, previously suspected to be the victim.

Upon confirming the identity of the woman, a post mortem of the body was carried out this afternoon (09).

The postmortem examination has revealed that the woman had died before she had been decapitated, according to Police Media Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana.

The postmortem has also confirmed that they not been pregnant at the time of death.

The woman had died within a period of two to three hours following dinner, the postmortem further revealed.

CCTV footage obtained by the investigators had captured the suspect, who brought the suitcase to Dam Street, entering a rest house in the Hanwella area along with a woman.

Surveillance cameras also showed the suspect, wearing a face mask, later getting into a Hanwella-Pettah bus plying on route 143 after leaving the lodging by himself.

Upon identifying the private bus in which the suspect had traveled on, the investigators had interrogated its driver and the conductor, who confirmed that a person carrying a suitcase got onto the bus from Hanwella.

After reaching Pettah, the suspect was seen dragging the suitcase along the road before leaving it on the roadside at Dam Street.

The suspect, identified as a 52-year-old Sub Inspector (SI) attached to Buttala Police who was on leave at the time of the incident, had later committed suicide by hanging.

His body was found from nearby woods in his residential area at Badalkumbura.