Wife killer jailed for life: The Cardiff stabbing frenzy

A jealous husband who refused to accept the end of his marriage tracked down his estranged partner and carried out a brutal daylight attack that ended in a life sentence for murder.

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his estranged wife after admitting the fatal stabbing at a flat in Cardiff, with a judge ordering he must serve a minimum of 23 years and nine months before he can be considered for parole.

Thisara Weragalage, 38, of Pentwyn, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on 20 February after pleading guilty to killing Nirodha Niwunhella, 32, who had been separating from him. The court heard he had initially denied the charge but later changed his plea ahead of trial proceedings.

Police were called at 7.37am on 21 August to South Morgan Place in Riverside, Cardiff, following reports that a woman had been seriously injured. Officers and paramedics attempted emergency treatment, but Niwunhella was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination found she had sustained at least 20 stab wounds, and investigators recovered a broken knife blade and handle nearby.

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Witnesses reported seeing a man fleeing the address in a Ford Fiesta shortly after the attack. CCTV enquiries rapidly identified the vehicle as registered to Weragalage. Less than an hour later, officers responded to a welfare call on Seawall Road, where a man matching the suspect’s description was located. A search of the area led to the discovery of the Ford Fiesta containing blood, and Weragalage was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The court was told that Niwunhella, whose full name was Niwunhellage Dona Nirodha Kalapni Niwunhella, had been in the process of ending the relationship. In a victim personal statement read to the court, her father said: “My only daughter was Nirodha Kalpani Niwunhella. She was a happy, mischievous, playful girl who captivated everyone’s hearts as a child. She loved her mother and father dearly and was a very good friend to her friends.”

He continued: “The pain and anguish we felt when we were informed on August 21 that our daughter had been murdered cannot be described in words. After the brutal murder of our only daughter, all our hopes were ruined. Her loss is an unbearable mental burden for the family. We were further hurt and mentally distressed after it was confirmed that this crime was committed by our daughter’s husband.”