Dinush Kurera to be sentenced for murdering his estranged wife Nelomie Perera in front of the couple’s two teenage children

A Melbourne dad who hacked his wife to death with an axe has smirked in court as victim impact statements were read out, including from his son, who detailed his “anger and hatred”.

Dinush Kurera killed his estranged wife Nelomie Perera in what was described as a ‘sustained, brutal and vicious attack’.

Loved ones of a mother hacked to death in front of her own children have confronted her estranged husband in court, detailing their anguish over her horrific murder.

Dinush Kurera, 47, was found guilty of killing his wife Nelomie Perera, 43, with an axe in what was described as a “sustained, brutal and vicious attack” after he broke into their Sandhurst home in Melbourne’s southeast two years ago. 

The remorseless killer kept his arms crossed and leaned against the back wall of the dock during a pre-sentence in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. 

Kurera at times appeared to smirk as more than a dozen victim impact statements from Ms Perera’s family and friends, including the couple’s children who witnessed her murder, were read aloud.

Remorseless killer Dinush Kurera faced pre-sentence in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Picture: Aaron Francis

Ms Perera’s teenage daughter, who tried to protect her mother during the attack, said she just “wanted to save my best friend”. 

“Having that vivid image of my mother in her last moments will stay with me forever,” she said in her statement which was read out by a prosecutor. 

The girl, who gave evidence at trial, said she found the court process difficult as she was forced to relive her trauma and made out to be a liar during cross-examination.

The couple’s son, who was assaulted during the same attack, said he no longer wanted to have his own children because he feared he would end up like his father. 

“I feel betrayed by Dinush,” he said. 

“I feel anger and hatred.

“He isn’t my dad anymore, just another person.” 

Family members seated in court wiped away tears while the statements were read out.

In his submissions, Crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC said the killing of Ms Perera in front of her own children was one of the most aggravating features of the case. 

“That is a stained image that will last a lifetime,” he said.

The murder of Nelomie Perera in front of her own children was one of the most aggravating features of the case, the Crown prosecutor said.

Kurera faced a five-week trial but it took a jury less than three hours to convict him of murder. 

Despite suffering no injuries, he claimed his wife attacked him first with a knife before he killed her in self-defence. 

The trial heard the couple’s relationship was marred by violence, and the mother-of-three had previously reported her husband to police but withdrew her complaint.

In the lead-up to her murder, Ms Perera told her husband over the phone she wanted to end their marriage and sell their home after she learnt he was having an affair with a woman in Sri Lanka where he had been residing for several months.

Two days after he flew back to Melbourne, Kurera broke into the property via a back fence and ambushed Ms Perera as she stepped outside for a cigarette on the evening of December 3, 2022.

He was wearing dark-coloured clothing and gloves and carrying a jerry can filled with petrol and a hatchet he had purchased just hours earlier. 

Kurera said he was carrying the items to fill up a motorcycle and cut down trees, claims which Justice Amanda Fox on Wednesday labelled “ludicrous”. 

The couple’s two teenage children rushed downstairs after hearing their mother’s screams, finding her bleeding on the ground and their father raising the hatchet.

He told them if they called police, he would set fire to the home and kill all of them, including himself.

Ms Perera desperately pleaded with her husband to call an ambulance, but he refused, instead ushering the family into the living room.

Kurera told them he would be staying at the home, and berated his wife saying she had ruined his life.

He asked his children if she had been seeing other men, and when their teenage son confirmed she had, flew into a fit of rage.

Kurera attacked his wife with the hatchet, striking her multiple times in the chest, before turning on the couple’s son as he tried to escape via a back door.

The court heard Ms Perera died on the kitchen floor after suffering 35 individual blows from the axe and a knife retrieved from the kitchen.

The couple’s son was struck in the head and knee as he defended himself with a chair, before he was able to run onto the street and raise the alarm with neighbours.

In her submissions, defence barrister Stacey Stanley asked Justice Fox not to impose a life sentence, pointing to other similar cases such as Sven Lindemann who was jailed for 31 years after he stabbed his girlfriend to death in front of her young daughter. 

Kurera will be sentenced next week.