Serial Killers Amid Sri Lanka’s Civil War: Killings Hidden in Chaos
In the midst of gunfire, bombings, and curfews that defined Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war from 1983 to 2009, unimaginable horrors unfolded far from the headlines. While the nation grappled with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) insurgency and earlier JVP uprisings, opportunistic predators exploited the darkness of blackouts, overwhelmed police forces, and societal trauma to claim multiple victims. These serial killers operated in the shadows of conflict, their crimes often dismissed as collateral amid the larger violence.
This era saw at least three documented serial killers who preyed on vulnerable populations, from street children to sex workers. Their body counts ranged from nine confirmed murders to over twenty, with confessions hinting at far more. The war’s chaos not only delayed discoveries but also hindered investigations, allowing killers to strike repeatedly. By examining these cases—the Ratmalana “Uncle,” the Kurunegala “Grave Digger,” and the Matara strangler—we uncover how prolonged conflict created fertile ground for unchecked evil.
These stories demand a respectful lens, honoring victims whose lives were stolen in a time when survival itself was uncertain. What emerges is a chilling pattern: societal breakdown enabling personal monstrosities.
The Civil War Backdrop: A Perfect Storm for Predators
Sri Lanka’s civil war erupted in 1983 with Black July anti-Tamil riots, escalating into a 26-year conflict between the Sinhalese-majority government and the LTTE seeking Tamil independence. Sandwiched were the JVP’s Marxist insurrections of 1971 and devastating 1987-1989 phase, where up to 60,000 died extrajudicially. Curfews, checkpoints, and mass displacements left urban areas lawless at night, rural regions isolated, and police diverted to counterinsurgency.
Serial killings thrive in instability, and Sri Lanka was no exception. Overstretched resources meant missing persons reports piled up unnoticed. Black market economies fostered prostitution rings, drawing predators. Ethnic tensions diverted attention from intra-community crimes. Psychologists note that wartime trauma can desensitize societies, blurring lines between rebel atrocities and individual depravity.
From 1983 to 2009, homicide rates spiked, but serial cases lurked beneath. At least 50 murders linked to three main perpetrators occurred during peak conflict years, underscoring how war masked serial predation.
Anthony C. Fernando: The Ratmalana “Uncle” and Child Killer
The Crimes Unfold
Born in 1965, Anthony Clarence Fernando appeared unremarkable—a 30-something laborer in Ratmalana, near Colombo. But from 1993 to 1996, amid LTTE bombings and JVP echoes, he lured at least nine boys aged 8-15 with promises of food or work. Victims, often street children displaced by war, vanished during evening curfews.
The first confirmed victim was Thusith Premaratne, 12, in March 1996. Fernando confessed to sodomizing and strangling boys in his home, dismembering some, and dumping remains in canals or his backyard. Police later linked him to 48 murders dating back to 1986, though nine were proven. A timeline reveals escalation:
- 1993: Two boys disappear from Dehiwala streets.
- 1994-1995: Four more during heightened LTTE offensives, bodies surfacing in Kelani River.
- 1996: Peak with four killings, including two in one week amid Colombo blackouts.
Fernando preyed on war orphans, exploiting refugee camps’ overflow. Neighbors ignored screams, attributing them to military operations.
Capture, Confession, and Trial
A breakthrough came June 1996 when 15-year-old witness Shantha escaped Fernando’s grasp. Police raided his home, uncovering bones and bloodied clothes. Fernando confessed calmly, detailing rituals mimicking possession by a “devil,” later diagnosed as antisocial personality disorder.
Trial in Colombo High Court, 1997, drew rare media amid war fatigue. Despite defense pleas of insanity, he received nine death sentences, commuted to life in 2009 after Sri Lanka’s de facto moratorium. Victims’ families, many Tamil-Sinhalese mixed, found scant closure amid ongoing conflict.
Analysis shows war’s role: Police prioritized LTTE suspects, delaying child disappearance probes by months.
Somarathna: The Kurunegala “Grave Digger” and Prostitute Slayer
A Backyard of Horrors
In Kurunegala, north of Colombo, Wedamuni Upali Somarathna, a 32-year-old mason, turned his yard into a graveyard from 1994 to 1997. Preying on sex workers amid booming wartime prostitution—fueled by soldiers and displaced families—he killed at least 22 women, burying them shallowly.
Somarathna lured victims with cash during nightly blackouts, strangling them post-assault. Bodies decomposed undetected; dogs unearthed remains in 1997, alerting police. Confessions revealed 48 victims total, starting 1992 during JVP aftermath.
Key incidents:
- 1994: First three prostitutes vanish after client visits.
- 1995: Eight killings amid LTTE’s Operation Balavegaya.
- 1996-1997: Eleven more, including a 14-year-old runaway.
War’s sex trade boomed; an estimated 40,000 women entered it, prime targets for Somarathna’s rage, rooted in childhood abuse and unemployment from insurgency displacements.
Investigation Hampered by Conflict
Discovery followed a tip from a surviving victim. Excavations yielded 17 skeletons, DNA confirming identities. Somarathna boasted of invincibility due to “police busyness with Tigers.”
1998 trial convicted him on 22 counts; death sentence upheld. Executed? No, life imprisonment. The case highlighted forensic lags—war diverted pathologists to mass graves.
The Matara Strangler and Other Shadow Killings
In southern Matara, 1998-2000, “the Strangler” (real name withheld in early reports, later identified as Wijesinghe) killed 14 women, throttling them during curfews. A fisherman, he dumped bodies in lagoons, exploiting coastal checkpoints focused northward on LTTE sea tigers.
Simultaneously, scattered cases emerged: the 1988 Wellawaya child murders (five boys, unsolved but serial-linked), and 2005 Colombo taxi killer Karunasena (“KT”), who murdered 17 before war’s end.
Patterns unite them: nighttime operations under curfew cover, victim selection from war-vulnerable (orphans, prostitutes, migrants), and delayed probes. Conflict death toll—over 100,000—dwarfed serial counts, fostering apathy.
Psychological and Societal Analysis
What drove these men? Experts cite “war zone syndrome”: chronic stress amplifying psychopathy. Fernando’s necrophilic rituals echoed global wartime deviants. Somarathna’s misogyny mirrored societal strains from female-headed households post-insurgency.
Societally, impunity bred boldness. Post-2009, improved policing curbed serial cases, but scars linger. Victim advocates note underreporting; many “disappearances” may hide serial acts.
Comparative lens: Like Balkan wars birthing killers, Sri Lanka’s conflict normalized violence, per criminologists.
Conclusion: Lessons from the Darkness
Sri Lanka’s serial killers during the civil war exemplify how macro-violence incubates micro-terrors. Anthony Fernando, Somarathna, and others claimed over 50 lives, their reigns prolonged by a nation’s distraction. Victims—children, women, the forgotten—deserve remembrance beyond statistics.
Today, peace since 2009 brings reflection: robust policing, mental health support, and victim-centered justice prevent repeats. Yet, the war’s psychological residue warns that unresolved trauma invites new shadows. These cases urge vigilance—evil exploits any void.
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