Homophobic killer murdered man by beating him to death with claw hammer in east London cemetery
23 March 2023, 19:18 | Updated: 24 March 2023, 01:29
A homophobic murderer has been jailed for beating a man to death with a claw hammer in a cemetery.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Erik Feld, 38, killed Ranjith ‘Roy’ Kankanamalage, in Tower Hamlets Cemetery on August 16, 2021.
Mr Kankanamalage was found in the early hours of that morning in the cemetery, reportedly a well-known local cruising haunt, by a passer-by. Mr Kankanamalage had suffered severe head injuries from a hammer.
Feld was arrested on August 20 on suspicion of the murder. He had been detained two days earlier after waving a hammer at a security guard.
Officers searched his home on Tredegar Road in Bow, close to where the murder took place, and found three mallets and a sledgehammer.
DNA analysis later revealed his skin beneath Ranjith’s fingernails. Officers had also seized his phone and found that he had watched several hammer attack videos online. CCTV footage showed him walking home from the cemetery after the attack.
Feld was charged with murder and claimed to have been acting in self-defence, after taking the hammer out to hit trees to relieve stress.
On trial at the Old Bailey, he went on a homophobic rant, and prosecutor Paul Cavin KC told jurors that Feld had "dark places in his soul" that were "not in the darkest recesses but very near the surface".
Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke, from the Met’s specialist crime unit, said: “From the outset, we have tried to ensure Ranjith’s extended family and friends both in the UK and Sri Lanka, and the wider LGBTQ+ population in Tower Hamlets were at the heart of our investigation.
"I hope they can all feel some sense of justice now that Ranjith’s killer has been convicted.
“Erik Feld is a dangerous and violent man – while he has never disclosed why he attacked Ranjith with such force, he is clearly someone who is driven by an all-encompassing hatred. He will now quite justly spend a considerable amount of time behind bars.
Tower Hamlets resident, Jack Gilbert, speaking on behalf of the LGBTAG, a voluntary group of independent advisors who work with the police, denounced the "horrific" murder.
He added: Our condolences extend to his grown up children, his former husband and his wider family and friends.
“The perception amongst LGBTQ+ people was, and remains, that this was a targeted attack.
“We worked closely with the local police and the homicide team to ensure that they incorporated learning arising from how the Met initially mishandled murders perpetrated by Stephen Port."
