Dinush Kurera: Killer found guilty of estranged wife Nelomie Perera’s hatchet murder
An estranged husband broke into the family home in the dead of night and killed the mother of his children with a hatchet.
Wife killer Dinush Kurera has been found guilty of his estranged partner’s murder following a five-week trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court.
Returning to court on Friday afternoon after deliberating for just the morning, the jury unanimously returned a guilty verdict of murder and guilty of a common assault charge against his son.
“Guilty,” the foreman said as both charges were read.
At trial, the jury were told Nelomie Perera, 43, was in a pool of blood in her Sandhurst home in Melbourne’s southeast on December 3, 2022.
She suffered 35 separate injuries from both a knife and a hatchet as the couple’s two teenage children attempted to stop the attack.
The 47-year-old had pleaded not guilty, claiming her death was self-defence and Ms Perera had come at him with a knife.
The court was told Ms Perera had been terrified of her estranged husband after filing for divorce.
Kurera, the court was told, had a history of domestic violence and had returned from a trip to Sri Lanka just days before the murder.
He attended the home in the dead of the night, dressed in black and armed with a hatchet.
Presiding at the trial, Justice Amanda Fox thanked the jury for their diligent effort over the lengthy trial, noting they had seen and heard distressing material.
“All that is left is for me to thank you very much on behalf of the court and on behalf of the community,” she said.
Kurera will return to court in November for a presentence hearing.