Face of man who ‘wearing disguise’ earlier than stabbing spouse 18 occasions over get together snub

Nimalarajah Mathiyadaranam has pleaded guilty to the murder of his estranged wife Nilani Nimalarajah at Liverpool Crown Court – she was stabbed 18 times in a ‘merciless attack’

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This is the man who purchased a set of knives from Asda and duct tape from Poundland before brutally murdering his estranged wife. Nimalarajah Mathiyadaranam stabbed his ex-partner Nilani Nimalarajah 18 times in her place of work, Low Cost Food and Wine on Stanley Road in Bootle, fuelled by “anger” over not being invited to a family gathering.

The 47-year-old had earlier disguised himself while buying the weapon used in the attack, which broke due to the intensity of the “merciless, sustained and extremely brutal” assault. He hid the knife in a JD Sports bag and travelled to the scene on a bus.

After killing Nilani, he drank whisky and “poisoned” himself with a pesticide. He had previously been banned from contacting the 44-year-old mother of his three children due to past incidents of “violence and harassment”.

Mathiyadaranam denied charges of murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place and faced trial at Liverpool Crown Court this week. However, his lawyer Tim Forte KC requested for his client to be re-indicted before the jury.

Seen with his hands clasped in front of his face as if praying before the jury entered the courtroom, Mathiyadaranam then confessed to both charges in their presence. He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching his restraining order, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Mathiyadaranam is set to be sentenced tomorrow (January 16)..

Annabel Darlow KC had previously informed jurors that on Friday, June 20 last year, this defendant, armed with a large knife, went to a convenience store in Bootle here in Liverpool, where his estranged wife, Nilani Nimalarajah, was working. He entered the store and stabbed his wife to death.

“It was a merciless, sustained and extremely brutal attack,” She said. “He stabbed Nilani at least 18 times, deliberately targeting the areas of her chest and her head. Indeed, he stabbed her with such ferocity that it caused the tip of the knife to be broken off.”

She added: “Hours before he killed Nilani, he went to a shop where he purchased a whole block of knives and some duct tape.

“He had become estranged from his family and, indeed, at the time of the killing was subject to court restraining orders, which prohibited, or should have prohibited, him from approaching his elder daughter and Nilani at all. Those orders were imposed following earlier incidents of violence and harassment, committed by this defendant.

“The trigger for Nilani’s murder appears to have been this defendant’s anger and his misplaced sense of pride that he had not been involved or invited into a significant family event…His reaction was one of the most appalling and pre-meditated violence.”

The killing of Nilani was captured on the CCTV fitted at the shop.

The court heard that Mathiyadaranam, from Warrington Road in Widnes, relocated to the UK from his homeland in 2002 before marrying Nilani through an arranged union in 2005.

At the time of the killing, Nilani lived in a flat above the shop together with her three daughters. She was known as a friendly, kind, hardworking lady.

Mathiyadaranam experienced problems with his businesses and he became an alcoholic.

“His personality changed, and he became aggressive and unpredictable. He took his violence and bad temper out on his wife and family,” the prosecution said.

On the day of the fatal stabbing, Mathiyadaranam was spotted on CCTV hopping on a bus in Birkenhead just after noon and heading to the Bootle area. He was then seen popping into Strand Shopping Centre, buying a roll of duct tape from Poundland before heading over to the nearby Asda supermarket where he buys a knife.

At Asda, Mathiyadaranam reportedly “donned a basic disguise” and entered the shop.

At approximately 5pm, CCTV footage showed Mathiyadaranam making his way across the road towards the premises and momentarily “lurking” outside on the pavement before heading in to launch the fatal attack.

The prosecution added: “You may have noticed that he lifts up her shirt at one stage of the attack, the prosecution deliberately so he can make sure that the knife is penetrating into her vital organs. He appears to dig the knife even deeper into her torso, even when the knife has already penetrated her.

“We say it is a slow, purposeful, deliberate attack, designed to give Miss Nilani no chance at all of survival. What it is not is frenzied or out of control. It is deliberate. He only stops when she is motionless and so badly injured that there can be no doubt she is at death’s door. Once that happens, he steps back and throws down the knife.”

The couple’s 17-year-old daughter could see the CCTV upstairs and noticed her mum lying on the floor. People who rushed to help described Mathiyadaranam with an “expressionless look on his face, someone who was unaffected by the scene in front of him”.

Cameras inside the store also captured him “swigging from a bottle” of Whyte and Mackay whisky before police arrived and arrested him.

Mathiyadaranam was said to have told officers “I did this” at this stage, adding that he was “very upset as he had not seen his daughters for the last 18 months”. He went on to “complain that the handcuffs were too tight for him” and said: “I’m not running, don’t worry.”

After being detained at St Anne Street Police Station, Mathiyadaranam was described as “sweating profusely”, with officers “noticing a strong chemical smell”.

He appeared “unsteady on his feet and appearing short of breath”, and had also “lost control of his bowels”.

Mathiyadaranam subsequently revealed that he had consumed vodka and “taken poison”, though he “said he did not know what he had taken”.

Meanwhile, resuscitation attempts were made at the scene following the stabbing, but Nilani was subsequently pronounced dead in hospital at 5.53pm. A post-mortem investigation later discovered she had sustained 14 stab wounds and four slash wounds to her chest, back, head, neck, abdomen, groin, left arm and hand, some of which penetrated her left lung, heart, skull and spine.