A Sri Lankan man who hacked his estranged wife to death in their Melbourne home has been found guilty of murder. A Victorian Supreme Court jury took less than three hours to deliberate before convicting Dinush Kurera, 47, of murder on Friday. He had claimed he was acting in self-defense.
Nelomie Perera, 43, was discovered dead in a pool of blood in her kitchen, with 35 separate injuries, in December 2022.
Prosecutors alleged that Dinush Kurera murdered her in a “sustained, brutal, and vicious attack” with a hatchet and kitchen knife in front of their children. Kurera had pleaded not guilty to her murder and further denied assaulting his 17-year-old son.
Kurera’s lawyers argued that he admitted killing his wife but did so to save his own life. Defence barrister John Desmond told the court, “He grappled with her over the knife in her murderous rage, and he defended himself; the deceased was killed.
Prosecutor Mark Gibson KC alleged during the trial that Kurera was driven by a “deep-seated hatred” for Perera when he killed her, following her announcement that she wanted a divorce and his discovery that she was seeing other people. Gibson told the court that Perera had learned of Kurera’s infidelity with another woman during his trip to Sri Lanka and ended their marriage over the phone.
Kurera took the stand, telling the jury that Perera had threatened him with a knife and bitten his finger during a heated argument in their Melbourne home. He claimed he was frightened she was going to attack him, so he grabbed an axe and struck her “only a couple of times.”
During the trial, the couple’s two teenage children too testified about their mother’s final moments.
The jury returned their guilty verdicts for Perera’s murder and the assault of his son as well. Kurera looked straight ahead as the verdicts were handed down. He was returned to custody and will be sentenced later.
