Background
Yvonne Jonsson
Yvonne Jonsson was born on August15, 1985 to Swedish national Roger Jonsson and Sri Lankan Chamalka (''Jude Shramantha Anthony Jayamaha
Jude Shramantha Jayamaha was born in 1985 to Preethi Jayamaha and Sandra (''Discovery and arrest
Yvonne's body was discovered by Shelia Anthony, a domestic aide, at 9:30a.m. on the morning of July1, 2005, in the stairwell of the Royal Park Condominium complex in Rajagiriya. Anthony's employer requested that she deliver some items to a tenant on the 19thfloor, whereupon Anthony came across the body lying on the steps. Anthony alerted Chandrapala Wanasinghe, the manager of the apartment complex, who identified the body. About the body, Wanasinghe noted: "The body looked like that of a doll. I later managed to identify the body as that of Roger Jonsson’s daughter Yvonne. Her jeans had been pulled down to her ankles and wrapped around her neck." Jayamaha was arrested on the evening of July2 at the Jonsson's condominium, where he had been among the aggrieved Jonsson family and Yvonne's friends.Trial, conviction and reconstruction of events
After his arrest, Jayamaha was indicted in the High Court of Colombo for the murder of Yvonne Jonsson, for the offence defined in section294 of theNight before the murder
On June30, 2005, at 8:30p.m., Yvonne and Caroline arranged to pick up Jayamaha from his residence in Bagatale Road in Roger Jonsson's vehicle, in preparation for a night of bar-hopping.Jayamaha V Attorney General, 2012, p. 4 The group travelled back and forth between the White Horse Inn, located on Nawam Mawatha, a bar known as Glow, located in the building of the Automobile Association of Ceylon, and The Blue Elephant at theMurder of Yvonne Jonsson
Yvonne returned to the Royal Park Condominium complex at 2:50a.m. The prosecution found evidence to suggest the attack began after Yvonne exited the elevator on the 23rdfloor. Jayamaha allegedly forced Yvonne to the staircase, leading Yvonne to drop articles of clothing belonging to her in the ensuing struggle.Jayamaha V Attorney General, 2012, p. 27 Jayamaha forcibly bashed her head against the edge of a step several times,Jayamaha V Attorney General, 2012, p. 17 leading to her skull being fractured into over 60pieces. Yvonne had been dragged down four flights of stairs; her body was found on the stairs of the 19thfloor. Cause of death, according to a medial officer, was asphyxiation by a pair of stretch pants worn by the deceased. According to the prosecution Jayamaha had fashioned them into a ligature by bending the victim's legs backwards. A partial palm impression in blood matching Jayamaha was found on the banister near Yvonne's body.After the murder
Jayamaha confessed to bathing in the pool at Royal Park after the murder, in order to wash off the blood and matter that had accumulated on his body and hands and in his hair. Jayamaha's taxi arrived between 3:253:30a.m., along with his friend, Shafraz Rilvan Mohamed. The driver of the taxi and Mohamed later independently testified that Jayamaha appeared dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts and shirt, carrying a pair of folded trousers, with no visible blood on his person. Caroline alleged that after the morning of July1st, Jayamaha deviated from his habitual and frequent contact with her. She received no phone calls from him for the next one and a half days, despite usually receiving several calls from him daily. Jayamaha also did not visit Caroline until the 2nd of July.Failed appeal and death sentence
Jayamaha submitted for appeal on September21, 2011 and July22, 2012, and in response the Attorney General petitioned for an increase in his sentencing, from rigorous imprisonment to capital punishment by way of finding Jayamaha guilty of murder, reversing the original conviction of culpable homicide. The matter of appeal was presided by judges W. L. Ranjith Silva and Nalin Perera, and argued on March16, March19 and May3, 2012. Both appeals from Jayamaha and the Attorney General were disposed by a "single judgement common to both appeals, binding on both parties." During the proceedings, both the prosecution and appellant's counsel revisited facts, evidence and testimony from the 2006 case.The case for the defense
The counsel for the appellant began its case by attempting to establish the absence of enmity or conflict between Jayamaha and Yvonne prior to the murder. Jayamaha's counsel then made the argument that the palm print found at the scene of the crime had not been definitively matched to Jayamaha. Thus, the entire case was based on circumstantial evidence and could not be tied to Jayamaha without first eliminating the possibility of another individual having committed the crime. His counsel also made the argument that, of all the personal effects found dropped near the scene of the crime, none of them belonged to Jayamaha.Here, the judge observed that they belonged to Yvonne. (Jayamaha V Attorney General, 2012, p. 10) Further, sputum samples found at the scene of the crime which were forensically analysed found no match to Jayamaha, and the pair of shoes purported to have been worn by Jayamaha bore no trace of blood that would have been unavoidable had Jayamaha passed the bleeding body on the stairwell.Jayamaha V Attorney General, 2012, pp. 10-11Jayamaha, having consulted a lawyer, confessed that the bloodied clothes and shoes that he had worn on the night of the murder had been burnt by his mother, a statement that his mother refused. (Jansz, 2006, ''Confessed to police'') The judge found that since the crime scene had already been visited multiple times before the police had been notified, the sputum samples had no effect on the culpability of the appellant. The judge also observed that the pair of boots that were tested had been voluntarily surrendered by Jayamaha and had not been recovered by police. Evidence submitted during the appeal hearing suggested that Jayamaha had been intoxicated.ecstasy Ecstasy may refer to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...Sentenced to death
The presiding judge, reviewing the actions and precautions that Jayamaha undertook during and shortly after Yvonne's murder, found that they did not fit the judgement of culpable homicide. The judge noted that the meticulous thought that went into Jayamaha's actions, such as bathing in the pool at Royal park and disposing of his bloodied apparel, was conducive of a presence of mind that an extremely intoxicated individual would not have had. Ultimately, the judge found Jayamaha guilty of murder and increased his sentence to death. The sentencing was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2014 after Jayamaha appealed it once again.Presidential pardon
On November 9, 2019, Jude Shramantha Jayamaha was granted a presidential pardon by Maithripala Sirisena during his last week in office. Jayamaha was discharged from Kuruvita Prison, where he had been incarcerated since 2012, the same day. In a press release from the President's Media Division, it was stated that the pardon had been granted based on the recommendations of Buddhist religious leaders Ven Rathana Thero, Ven Baddegama Samitha Thero and Ven Dr Keradewala Punnarathana Nayake Thero.''Colombo Page'', 2019aJayamaha's open letter
On November 14, 2019, shortly after his release from Kuruwita Prison, Jayamaha penned an open letter addressed to the public of Sri Lanka. In this letter, Jayamaha deemed his behaviour during his youth a product of his unstable childhood. In part of his letter specifically addressed to the Jonsson family, Jayamaha expresses his remorse and grief for having killed Yvonne, and his desire to "keep on trying to make amends". Part of Jayamaha's letter is also reserved for addressing societal concerns towards his release. He states that his higher education and attainment of a BSc in Economics from theReactions and controversy
The presidential pardon was deemed "an illegal and unjustifiable move by President Maithripala Sirisena" by JVP leader and presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake. 2019 presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa promised to overturn the pardon if elected. The President's Media Unit also claimed that Reverend Raymond Wickramasinghe, the Bishop of Galle, had written to endorse the pardon for Jayamaha. On November 11, 2019, Reverend Wickramasinghe issued a statement in which he clarified the endorsement, made a few years prior to the pardon, had advocated for the general rehabilitation of prisoners and did not specifically mention Jayamaha. Yvonne's sister, Caroline Jonsson, has publicly spoken out against the pardon, noting that Jayamaha "shows no remorse".''BBC'', 2019Notes
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Jonsson, Yvonne Violence against women in Sri Lanka