The main suspect in a 2025 triple murder in the Mamadala area of southern Sri Lanka has been killed and beheaded during a late-night armed assault on his home, police said.
The attack occurred around 8.30pm on May 11, when a group of individuals forced their way into a house in the Mamadala area of the Ambalantota Police Division. The intruders attacked the man with sharp weapons, killing him, before severing his head and abandoning it near the Mamadala junction as they fled, NewsFirst reported, citing police.
During the same attack, the gunmen also opened fire on the deceased man’s father-in-law, who was inside the house at the time. He sustained serious injuries and is being treated at the Hambantota District General Hospital.
Police confirmed that the man killed was the main suspect in a triple murder in the Mamadala area in 2025, when a group stormed a house and killed three people. He had been held in remand custody over the triple murder charges and was released on bail on March 31 this year. He was a father of three children.
Investigators have identified three individuals suspected of involvement in the killing. One suspect was arrested overnight, and inquiries are continuing under the direction of Ambalantota Police.
Update (May 13): Police have arrested all three suspects, Newswire reported. Ambalantota Police took one suspect into custody on May 12, and two others were arrested the same day by the Tangalle Division Crime Investigation Unit. All three are residents of the Ambalantota area, and investigators say the attack was carried out as an act of revenge.
The killing is among a string of gun attacks in Sri Lanka’s southern coastal belt. On the same day, a 43-year-old moneylender was shot dead in the Galle district, while an earlier probe into organised crime killings in Ahungalla remains active in the same region.
Sources: NewsFirst — Main Suspect in Triple Murder Beheaded After Armed Assault at Home; Newswire — Three arrested over brutal Ambalantota murder.
