Jealous brute stabbed wife to death after lying in wait for her to return from work

Thisara Weragalage "could not accept" his partner Nirodha Niwunhella "no longer wanted to be" with him and inflicted at least 20 stab wounds on her in Riverside, Cardiff.

Weragalage, 38, then fled the scene in a Ford Focus while emergency services were called to the property. Despite the best efforts of medics, Ms Niwunhella, who was described as "happy and playful," died at the scene.

Police received a call around an hour later of someone matching the description of Weragalage and officers discovered blood in the car of the vehicle.

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Cardiff Crown Court heard Ms Niwunhella had told her husband she had intended to move on with a man she had met at work after suffering problems in their marriage.

Weragalage committed the frenzied attack on August 21 last year after laying in wait for his victim to return home from work.

On Friday, he was jailed for life with a minimum of 23 years after pleading guilty to murder. He had also admitted having an article with a blade or point.

Judge Daniel Williams told the defendant: "You could not accept that your marriage was at an end. You could not accept Nirodha making her own choices to live a life without you.

"Nirodha’s relationship with [her new partner] became your sole and obsessive focus."

The court heard the defendant stalked out the car park outside the man's home for a number of days to monitor her movements.

Prosecutor Michael Jones KC said: "Nirodha’s murder was not a chance encounter between her and the defendant.

"Rather, the defendant had been planning his fatal attack on Nirodha driven by the fact that she had clearly moved on from their relationship and his behaviour towards her."

The court heard Weragalage and Ms Niwunhella had married in Sri Lanka in 2017 and moved to the UK in 2022.

Ms Niwunhella found a job at the Springbank Care Home in Barry, where she met and developed a friendship with her colleague James Stephenson.

As they grew closer, she confided in Mr Stephenson that she was having issues in her marriage, telling him her husband was physically abusive and they were having "sexual issues."

Weragalage became increasingly jealous after he discovered messages between Ms Niwunhella and Mr Stephenson on her phone, and began "spying" on her and trying to control who she socialised with, the court heard.

The marriage continued to deteriorate and in April 2025, the couple moved into separate addresses, at which point Ms Niwunhella and Mr Stephenson began a romantic relationship.

The court heard Weragalage begged Mr Stephenson and Ms Niwunhella’s father to help him repair his marriage, and began to threaten the couple as his desperation deepened.

In a victim impact statement Ms Niwunhella's 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. She was a sweet girl who also loved animals.

"I am 64 years old and my wife is also 64 years old. 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 faced a lot of problems because this crime took place abroad. We were further affected by communication difficulties and economic hardships.

"We were further hurt and mentally distressed after it was confirmed that this crime was committed by our daughter's husband. We still cannot understand how he could have committed this heinous crime, as we loved him also as much as we loved our daughter."

Senior Investigating officer Detective Inspector Graham Williams with South Wales Police said: “Nirodha was beloved by her family and friends, and her life was ended by her jealous and cowardly former partner.

"Nirodha was in the process of separating from Weragalage, who could not accept that Nirodha no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him.

"He bought knives to the area which he said were to intimidate her and then went on to murder her. I’m pleased he owned up to his cowardly actions and spared Nirodha’s loved ones from enduring a trial.

"While no sentence can compensate for this loss of life, I hope the end of criminal proceedings helps bring them some peace."

Andrew Taylor, defending Weragalage, said: "He was obsessed by his wife and he was overtaken by jealousy.

"He could not live without her and he could not contemplate a future where he was on his own."