Police on Saturday evening (23) arrested the suspect wanted in connection with the double murder of an elderly couple at their shop in Dikoya, Hatton, earlier this week.
The suspect was found hiding inside a house on a tea estate in the Bogawantalawa police area following a tip-off, Ada Derana reported. Several items of gold jewellery stolen from the scene were recovered with him.
Preliminary investigations have revealed the suspect, originally from Badulla, had been living in Dikoya after marriage. The house in which he was hiding belonged to a woman he had met on social media.
The arrest came hours after Hatton Police released CCTV footage of the suspect and appealed for public help to identify and locate him.
Police said the suspect allegedly slit the elderly woman’s throat and stabbed her husband to death with a sharp weapon on Thursday (21) before fleeing with 18 pounds of gold jewellery, including a gold necklace, a wedding necklace (“Thali”) and earrings worn by the victim. The elderly couple lived alone above their small shop in Dikoya town.
According to police, the suspect had arrived in Dikoya on the morning of May 21 and visited several jewellery shops, claiming he wanted to buy a gold necklace, before entering the couple’s shop at around 1:15 p.m. and hiding inside. He is alleged to have killed the couple and left the premises around 5:30 p.m. the same day.
On Sunday (24), the suspect was subjected to a medical examination, Ada Derana reported — a standard procedural step before a detainee is produced before a magistrate for remand.
Investigations are continuing under the Hatton Police.
