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The social damage caused by reporting false and unverified information based on assumptions is enormous, sometimes leaving a lasting impact that cannot be reversed. Such reporting also inflicts great harm on the children, relatives, and friends of the victims. In sensitive matters like murders, mainstream media outlets occasionally publish unverified news on their official social media accounts, which then spreads rapidly through society. Accordingly, we looked into some of the reporting related to the murder of a mother of three in Neluwa, an incident that has attracted mass publicity.
Social Media Posts :
On February 20th, mainstream and social media outlets reported that a man in the Hakpitiya area of the Neluwa Police Division had beheaded his wife. Reports claimed he took her severed head to another house and dumped it, citing an extramarital affair as the motive.
Dasatha Lanka reported the news with the caption, “Wife beheaded, and head left in the yard of her lover’s house- Husband surrenders to the police”, along with a link to more details.
The additional details related to the post stated that the husband had surrendered himself to the police after killing his wife, and that the wife’s head had been left in the yard of the house of the person with whom she was allegedly having an affair. It further stated that the 32-year-old woman was a mother of three and that disputes between the husband and wife had arisen because the woman was having an affair with a person in their neighbourhood. Archived Link.
Hiru News reported this story under the headline, “Illicit love that ended in death”, along with footage of the incident.
Some other websites also reported that the victim had been murdered due to an extramarital affair. Lankadeepa|Archived Link Aruna|Archived Link Gossip Lanka |Archived Link
Some other Facebook posts also indicated that the murder was committed due to an illicit relationship.
While many people have expressed their opinions indicating that the reason for the woman’s murder was an affair, others have expressed their opinions that this murder was not based on an affair.
Accordingly, considering the opinions expressed that the reason for the murder was not an affair, and the requests we received to inquire into the veracity, we took steps to investigate the matter.
Expla:
In our investigation into this murder, we primarily examined how other mainstream media outlets had reported the news. Accordingly, almost all mainstream media outlets had reported the news and had also shared posts related to it on their official social media platforms.
The reports also stated that the husband had murdered his wife by slitting her throat in the early hours of the 20th February, and that the severed head had been taken to a nearby house and dumped.
Several media outlets had reported that the cause of the death of this mother was caught having an affair with another man (which you can refer to here and here), while other media outlets had reported that a family dispute had led to the murder. However, these news reports did not direclty claimed the reason as an extramarital affair.
Accordingly, to further ascertain the true reason for the woman’s murder, we examined the statement issued by the Police Media Division.
According to the police report, a woman (32) was slain in the Happitiya area, and the ongoing investigations have revealed that a family dispute was the reason for the murder, and the 34-year-old suspect who committed the murder has been arrested. Although some reports state that the reason for the murder is an extramarital love affair, the official police report does not state a reason for the murder.
We inquired with the Police Media Division to further confirm the facts on this. They stated that the murder was committed over a family dispute. Accordingly, it is still not revealed that the reason for the murder was an extramarital love affair of the victim. They further stated that the suspect husband, who committed the murder and surrendered to the police, is a patient who is receiving treatment for a mental disorder.
Neluwa Police OIC
The Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Neluwa Police Station explicitly stated that reports of an extramarital affair are false news. He clarified that the suspect, a former military member with a mental disorder, merely suspected his wife of having an affair. The OIC further clarified that the suspect who was arrested after surrendering to the police has now been remanded in custody.
Local media reporters
We also inquired with several local media reporters. They stated that the reason for the murder was not an extramarital relationship, as indicated by several media reports. They clarified that the suspect’s husband is a former military man and is currently suffering from some mental illness. He is reported to be a drug addict and is reported to have been regularly assaulting the victim.
Neluwa, Hakpitiya residents.
We also inquired regarding this from some villagers. One of the villagers stated that he had known the murdered woman for about 14 years and that she had not had an extramarital affair with anyone. He also stated that her husband did not allow her to go to public places and that she was not allowed to have the company of another man. “There was no chance for her to have an affair with a man. She lived under the pressure of her husband, while enduring the suffering for the sake of her three children. Now, at least her soul should be protected. I can surely confirm that she did not have an affair with anyone”.
Meanwhile, another person stated that the suspect’s husband was shot in the ear while in the military, and later retired from the military and got addicted to drugs. “He behaves very well when he is not using drugs, but when he takes even a little bit of them, he completely changes and becomes like a devil. The story about an extramarital affair is a blatant lie”.
Another local woman commented regarding this: “She’s a really innocent person. She didn’t even come out because of her husband’s problems. He suspected her even if she talked with a man”.
Neluwa Pradeshiya Sabha Member Kanishka Edirisinghe
The MP representing the area also expressed his views on the murder incident with us. He stated that the reports that the woman’s murder was due to an extramarital affair are completely false.
“She is not someone who has even a friendship with a man. She wasn’t allowed to go anywhere and had to remain at home. Even if she talked with a man on the way, her husband would attack her. The media is claiming a false accusation against the woman”.
The MP stated that the suspect, victim and their three children lived in his house, and when the funeral of his mom, who passed away about a year ago, was held at the house, the husband had locked the murdered woman in a room without allowing her to come out.
The MP further stated that, according to the statements given by their children, the victim had prepared food for her children and gone to bed with her mother on the night of the incident. When her husband arrived and knocked, she opened the door. After the murder, the husband allegedly took her head to his brother’s house. When the brother’s wife eventually opened the door, he left the head there before later moving it to another yard and surrendering to the police.
The person of the house, where the head was kept.
The owner of the house where the head was found clarified that he had no frequent contact with the couple. He said that his mother had first seen the head in the yard and that he had come to look after his mother said that there was something in the yard, which looked like a helmet. He stated that the person in question had already surrendered to the police by then, and so he informed the police who had arrived in the village about this.
“I haven’t spoken with them, and haven’t seen them frequently either. That woman lived a miserable life. She was locked up, and even during the day, she kept the doors closed”.
He also stated that the man who murdered the woman had a grudge against him due to a minor incident that occurred while he was drunk.
Everyone who spoke voluntarily confirmed that the victim was an innocent woman who lived a difficult life and did not have any illicit love affairs.
Social media posts.
Social media users have since begun condemning mainstream media for publishing unverified reports of infidelity.
Facebook | Archived Link Facebook | Archived Link
It is questionable how the mainstream media reports stated that the reason for the murder of the Neluwa woman was an affair. However, the police confirm that it is not a murder that occurred due to an affair. Nevertheless, the police say that the husband, who is receiving treatment for a mental disorder, had some suspicions about his wife for a period of time, which had led to this murder.
It is essential to reflect deeply on the ethical implications of broadcasting claims that the victim was involved in an extramarital affair. Attributing the motive for this murder to infidelity—based solely on the fact that the victim’s head was left in a neighbour’s yard, the husband’s unfounded suspicions, or general family disputes—is a serious breach of journalistic and social responsibility.
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Title:Neluwa Murder: False Affair Claims and Media Ethics!
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Insight
