Shramantha Gets The Death Sentence For Royal Park Murder
Shramantha Jayamaha and his mother, who long defended him. Photo via The Leader.
In 2005, Colombo saw a gruesome ‘society’ murder when Shramantha Jayamaha killed Yvonne Jhonssen. These 19 year olds were rich, beautiful and ‘of a certain class’ so the brutal killing was a shock to everyone. After a night of club hopping, Shramantha seems to have got into an argument with Yvonne and viciously bludgeoned her head against the concrete and down the stairs, shattering her skull, The Sunday Times has a good timeline, though the analysis at the end is bunk. The news today is that the Court Of Appeal has changed Shramantha’s 12 year sentence to death. Which is pretty intense.
Sri Lanka has had no executions since 1976. The death penalty was only reinstated in 2004 after the killing of High Court judge Sarath Ambepitiya (which I think is I kinda knee jerk reaction) for crimes of murder, rape and drug trafficking. However, the country still hasn’t executed anyone, having recently advertised the job of hangman to, uh, clear an 800 person backlog. I honestly don’t know how to say that. I don’t support the death penalty. It’s a perfect sentence from an imperfect justice system and it’s more about vengeance than justice anyways.
The late Yvonne Jhonssen, photo via expressen.se
But to return. The murder of Yvonne Jhonssen was cruel and sad, regardless of her class. It really was terrifying,
“Her head had been bashed to the floor and her stockings had been removed and tied around her neck. The position in which my daughter lay had been disgusting. I sat near her body for over an hour. How can a father see the body of his child in such a position?” Roger Johnsson cried. (The Sunday Leader)
And here’s Shramantha’s side, in testimony,
The accused explained about the incident on the stairs. Jayamaha said: “When I was smoking I saw some red coloured stains. I did not take much notice of it. Further down I saw a hand bag. I was puzzled. As I went down, I saw the half naked body of Yvonne in a pool of blood. I was shocked and terrified. It was like a dream and started recollecting what I said for three, four days. I went blank. I could not remember any thing. This is all I remember.
“I remembered these only three of four days later. I have had that condition before when I am stressed. Then I lose my memory. I even couldn’t do my studies in Australia because of this. She was a lady I loved. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would see a scene like this. I don’t know what happened to me. I can’t remember anything. I was dazed.
“Thereafter my father called me to go to Marawila about an investment. I went with my father to Marawila to see a land.”
He had returned the next day. He said he was dazed and they stayed the night at a Marawila Hotel and he slept and that he cannot describe how he felt.
The accused said after coming back to Colombo he was told of Yvonne’s death and he went to Caroline’s home. There the CID arrested him and took him to the 4th floor and questioned him. (Daily News)
Which is ridiculous. This could be an excuse as to why you didn’t take the garbage out, but not for seeing a dead body and then going off to see some land. Honestly, totally insane, wracking how many lives. The sentence of 12 years plus a Rs. 300,000 fine must have been galling and the family appealed. I do remember hearing that Shramantha used to get out on furlough and go hang out with friends and go clubbing. Which must have been even worse for the family. Now their appeal has been settled with this most final of sentences.
Mohsin Hamid, author of How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia, has a nice 
I’m happy to be featured in Echelon magazine’s 40 Under 40 feature, profiling young people who contribute to the economy in some way, mainly in business but also in terms of innovation and thought leadership. It’s an interesting article not just in that I’m in it (mainly for work on indi.ca and 
I won’t add too much commentary, but just read I guess. The youngest Rajapaksa, Rohitha (Chi Chi) has given an amazing interview to the 
In 2009 this strange character appeared on the Sri Lankan Internet scene, getting angry, flaming, trolling whatever. Then he started naming anonymous bloggers, posting comments as people’s kids, nasty stuff, for which I removed him from 
Her body had 40+ injuries. Only punishment for premeditated murder is death. But as you see proving premeditation in court is the problem. My guess is court considered this to be premeditated or something. Anyway we can see the verdict in a week or two on the web.
BTW is your fact about death sentence is correct?
From what i know death penalty was never abolished (after 70 anyway). It just wasn’t carried out (the president has to schedule the date & time).
Yeah. Check the links in that para
He should have his sentence commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of Parole.
for what? taxpayers’ money to keep murderers and rapists alive? pssht.
Life without parole is the sentence, practically, since they don’t execute. Death row forever. There was a recent article about some of the old men who are still on death row after thirty or forty years. Several said that they wish they had been executed.
Lot of young people are fed up with waiting too. More than waiting it is the treatment they are receiving. It is total gang culture inside the prison where officials, gangsters and the people with clout rules.
These people have enough”clout”. They have already been bribing people to give the little shit special treatment. There is even a catholic nun who is a sympathiser and who visits the beast often…but she can be easily bought over anyway !
He remembered to go along to see an investment after murdering a young woman.
What pervert..he had the audacity to even take off her stockings and tie them around her neck. I don’t know whether she was molested as well.
Hope he is hanged..best treatment for bastards like this. I cannot believe people are showing pity for this sort of crime. Is it the equally indecent cult they are a part of ?
Just thinking..
It’s not the state’s job to kill people as well.
Apart from the possible discussion of about capital punishment. All the media attention this case is getting is pathetic. There are 100s of nearly identical murders in this country, but many of them don’t even get two lines in a news paper. Society’s fascination with the glitterati is the only reason that this is deemed news worthy. This says a lot about how vacant we are as society.
Isn’t it obvious? A white person is involved as well as a “high class” Sri Lankan family. That makes it extra special, because, who cares about that six year old girl who was raped and dumped in a canal? She and her family wasn’t part of the ESE and they aren’t rich.
Good one.
I AGREE..KILL HIM OFF FAST
I feel sorry for the kid. People make mistakes. He’s been in jail enough.
This is not a premeditated murder. At worst, it could be a crime of passion – so manslaughter. Even then the evidence is circumstantial and not beyond reasonable doubt.
Shramantha is being persecuted because of the influence from Western diplomats. Let’s free Shramantha and free Sri Lanka.
“it could be a crime of passion”
banged her head on the staircase multiple times, takes her stocking and strangle her…that is some passion.
After doing all that it would be damn hard to deny that all those things were not done with the intention to kill.
If those two argued, he take a fire extinguisher, hit her on the head, she drops dead would be manslaughter.
WTF are you talking about?
Not sure is trolling or just stupid…
He’s Been in jail enough?????!!!!???** are you F****** kidding me…..?Killing some one is a huge deal….the victims parents and sister has to visit their daughter /sister in a grave now…..how can u justify that kind of brutality ……you are sick!!!!
you feel sorry for the boy? what about family of the girl who is killed brutally? the pain they go through? he deserves what he got.. if u let him go free, he might end up killing another girl. thank god he is out of lives.
Caroline and Yvonne were both cocaine snorting, ecstasy popping sluts. Now this young man’s life is finished because of these two whores!
that comment, right there, is exactly what is wrong with this country.
What a disgusting, disgusting comment.
Bart,
the signs of the murder point to a coke fueled attack. Coke tends to make people hyper and gives a lot of energy, looks to me like the guy was on coke.
So it is ok to murder whores? Is that what Bart is trying to say? Hmmm… yeah I agree with T, this is the problem with our society… a girl dresses one way she deserves to be raped…apparently… right!
I think we should form a rebel group and slaughter the fuck out of people like bart including their families, fucking uncivilised barbarians, they don’t deserve life.
i think you must be related to him or a good friend of his… why are you so pissed off with the sisters?? they took drugs so did he, as someone very close to the murderer says he had a cocktail of drugs in his system..!! and that how he was all the time.. he was nothing but a spoilt kid,,, THE PARENTS SHOULD BE BLAMED AND CONVICTED MORE THAN ANYONE. THEY ARE THE ONES SPECIALLY THE MOTHER WHO WAS THE REAL WHORE !!! SHE SHOULD GO TO JAIL..
Please calm down whoever you are!!! Don’t wish such drastic things for anyone, you will never know what tomorrow will bring you or anyone closest to you. No parent will ever wish or ever imgaine that a son will do what he did. If you have nothing good to stay, silence is golden!!!
Oh yeah!?? so it’s ok to kill them by the guy who obviously loved her??!! You are like the rest of the asses who uses the whole picture of international conspiracies to secure your personal goals.
have respect for the dead.. maybe ur a druggie? get a life loser
You sound like a whore and a dog too. Pity you SOB..one day someone you love will be treated like the young lady was and then I would like to see your reaction you pervert
It is the victim’s family that has to deal with the pain, consequences, anguish and utter devastation that is left in the wake of the actions of a murderer. With the glamorization of murders and serial killers through the media and popular television series, I think people sometimes forget that behind every case, there is a grieving family trying to come to terms with a unbelievably painful loss.
As a family member of murder victim, I can tell you that no sentence; death penalty or life imprisonment truly provides ‘peace’ to a family who has been through this type of trauma. However, knowing that the evil is off the streets in some way does provide a sense of ‘justice’, especially knowing that such a person cannot harm another.
So maybe strict sentences to such crimes will remind people that there are terrible consequences and keep others from committing them.
@Bart 2012-07-12 11:07:31 : I’m not sure whether what you have mentioned is true or not, still even if the 2 sisters opted for that style of living, that’s entirely their choice as long as their acts haven’t caused any crime affecting any others. In fact, this is the case with a considerable portion of youth in western culture these days, especially in so called posh culture. In any case, under any circumstance, one must have limits & you cannot justify a slaughter like this. The person who committed this should pay at least a decent price though none of these would bring back the lost life. What rational personal on earth would saythat he had seen a body of a brutally murdered, then lost memory for a few days, even then went for an investment in few days without even paying attention to what had happened. A total nonesense. In this case, the girls may have been wild & party addicts, may or may not be, at least I don’t know, but surely this guy is wild too & far more furious. Who’s worse then & who should be given sympathy in this case ?. I’m a Sri Lankan Sinhalese, don’t belong to this party culture at all, still I’ll never back this selfish jerk who’s telling some utter garbage having commited such a barbarian act. The American student Amanda Knox was pardoned in Italy recently, but it was due to lack of any concrete evidence. The things are different here, there’s a plenty of reasonable facts that this person commited the crime. I would never back this jerk, period.
I am sre that Yvonne is being comforted in the arms of a loving God, and I am sure that God’s mercy will rewrite Shramanthas life. May God comfort Yvonnes family, because Jesus alone is able to comfort the hearts of the grieving family. Jesus came for the sinners, He loves the sinner but He hates the sins, and in times of hurt, and confusion, There is a God of Mercy, Who will embrace both muothers, both fathers and comfort both families. Let vengence be God’s. My heart goes out to both families. You guys are all in my thoughts.
I have read all the comments! There is hurt, anger and uprising anger!!Understandable, EVEN FROM THOSE WHO ARE NOT INVOLVED!!
Satan came to kill and to destroy: so he has destroyed lives, driven kids astray, eg: wild parties, drugs, alcohol, breaking families, children going to wrong places and being there at the wrong time!!! Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, “This is a wake up call”. This is exactly what satan does through human lives, causing confusion,wild living and murder. But God through Christ, CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN TO GIVE US LIFE AND GIVE IT TO US MORE AND ABUNDANTLY!! HE CAME TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE, TRANSFORM AND HEAL CONFUSED LIVES, AND LET US NOT JUDGE ANYONE HERE!! LET GOD BE THE JUDGE, RECEIVE HIS MERCY AND GRACE TO OVERCOME GRIEF AND VENGENCE.
We, in society are so disturbed, grieving and finding an answer to situations that have gone beyond are control.
Both families the Johnnsons and the Jayamahas, There is a God Who will Take your text and turn it into a “TESTIMONY”, He can take a mess and turn it into a “MESSAGE” HE WILL TAKE YOUR MOURNING AND TURN IT INTO REJOICING (IN HIM). HE IS CLOSE TO THE BROKEN HEARTED. How broken is your heart today?? JESUS is the answer. Every parent in this time and age, BRING UP YOUR CHILDREN IN THE LORD, teach them values, principles and do the best you can to advise them from going to the wrong places. Know your children’s friends and families. If they are rebellious, seek counselling and do everything you can within your reach, and believe me GOD WILL DO WHAT YOU CAN’T DO!!! WE as nation can only learn from mistakes, with every mistake in life’s journey there is a lesson to learn. THis world is an university, “EVERYDAY WE LEARN”".
JESUS CAME TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE, AND WHOM THE “SON”(JESUS) SETS FREE, IS FREE INDEED!!!Executing a wrong doer is not going to solve the problem,BUT IT WILL CREATE GRIEF TOANOTHER FAMILY AND LOSS OF ANOTHER LIFE, SO WHERE IS THE ANSWER?? BUT rehabilitation, counselling, together with PRAYER, is the answer for reformation and transformation. We must not debate and encourage execution for anybody, who knows what tomorrow can bring us or our offspring?? There is nothing too hard for JESUS!! I plead with the nation of Sri Lanka, Invite the Living God into our beautiful country and let all be set free from that ” PRISON IN OUR MINDS”. Sri Lanka then will be a land of FREEDOM!!! Both you families are in my prayers, our hearts are burdened for you, so be encouraged. Parents dear Parents DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILDREN TOO MUCH MONEY TO SQUANDER, instead Make them good stewards of the limited money you give them and make them accountable for what you give them.
HOW MANY OF YOU WILL VOTE FOR A REHABILITATION & COUNSELLING CENTRE TO BE SET UP IN SRI LANKA FOR TRUBLED CHILDREN IN SRI LANKA??? Well we must bring a solution to a problem without dwelling on it and move on to save and alert the next generation. Did you know that even parents need counselling with coping and learning to work out strategies with troubled, confused children who have lost there indentity and in dealing with increasing insecurity due to dysfunctional homes?? SRI LANKA WE MUST DO SOMETHING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. WE must rehabilitate, counsel, mentor them and prepare them to be good citizens of our country and homeland. Let us all be accountable to do something for our next generation. My prayer is ” JESUS SON OF GOD, SWEEP OVER OUR LAND, AND RELEASE YOUR KINGDOM POWER, PRINCIPLES AND CHARACTER, INTO THIS DIFFICULT SITUATION, FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE IN PRISON, LORD MEET THEM THERE, TRANSFORM THEM AND DO SOMETHING, BECAUSE EVERYTHING YOU DO LORD IS GOOD. HEAL THE BROKEN HEARTED, RELEASE THE PEACE THAT PASSES ALL UNDERSTNDING IN TIME OF CONFUSION. LORD WE LIFT EVERY CITIZEN IN OUR LAND TO YOU LORD THAT YOU WILL BLESS OUR NATION WITH YOUR GOODNESS!!!
Dafqu?
Ditto
What a load of garbage..cult member too ? Dont take advantage of such situations to preach while taking the side in a subtle way of the killer. You people are always waiting for a situation such as this to crawl in.
The murderers father holds these “prayer” sessions in his palatial home. These assets he has not lost. I suggest he gets rid of all this and donate the funds to a home for young women . That will be a true sign of repentance for his actions of trying to cover up this murder. They tried to “act normal” and pretend but that didnt work.
Does he look like a murderer.
http://colombogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/shramantha-e1342011103275.jpg
Looks can be deceiving.
Man, Bart…..U need help. As a matter of fact you needed it sometime back. Your head is too far up your ass now.
Ah Bart, practising Phrenology as well are we?
Duminda Silva is quite good looking I would say.
Nice comeback.
What happened to the counsellor that gang raped the Russian tourist and then chased her boyfriend and cut, and punched and shot him? Last I heard he was diagnosed mentally unstable in hospital. What law for him?
Damn, two young lives are destroyed, along with their families and friends. Reading comments it looks like many more are affected as well. Until everyone of us decide and thrive to be better, these type of tragedies will continue. Every morning, for the last two weeks, morning news brought info about shooting deaths, old and young, mostly young. It just sucks.
Been thinking about this a bit more.
Had he expressed genuine remorse, genuine regret and made a firm commitment to make amends for his misdeeds perhaps the public judgement would not have been so harsh. There is little that can be done for the dead girl or her family but a commitment to spend some years in charitable work by way of amends, even if under supervision of the prison authorities, would have earned him some sympathy, at least from me.
Bart.
Being very close and knowing yvonne, Caroline and the accused (I don’t even want to write out his disgusting name) you should be more aware of what you write, especially when you know nothing about them. The accused carried around coke with him in a little pouch all the time, known to all in Colombo “party goers”, Yvonne had no drugs or alcohol in her system. Caroline was only 17 at the time. No one deserves to be chased down a staircase with twisted ankles and then be grabbed and have their head so badly pounded with 64 fractures in the skull alone. And after that, be strangled. Lets say she was a heroin addicted prostitute, does that mean its more justifiable? Sometimes it is to people like you Bart that such things should happen. The Jonsson family have gone through hell in the past 7 years, constantly going to courts and hearing all the battering amd strangulation Yvonne received that night. They have been prisoners of this crime and now it’s only fair they free themselves and move on whilst that mother****** can rot in hell. Also, what do you call premeditated murder? There is EVIDENCE of him making calls and texting to arrange for him to leave crime scene as soon as it was committed and after arranging he waited for an hour or so till she came home. Bart just shut up.
Yeah Bart STFU.
WDF..is that $%^%^& still alive ??this is the most disgusting story ever ..sick bastard
Hi you are so unkind, you don’t seem to have any ethics or morals, and you stand in judgement of someone already judged by the high court, In my opinion all these people who speak so vehemently seem to have other motives apart from justice, you all seem to have a jealous rage against this boy who is said to be from a privileged background, but if you all look around you it is people such as these who go through more pain than most, in the case of this boy his family was feuding from the time he was a toddler, he would have the most insecure child who hid behind drugs to feel safe.
So whoever you are try to think and feel another’s pain before blatantly speaking out just for the sake of doing so
Hi everyone,
All I can say is, it is a pity to see two young lives and the lives of those who love them ruined. It is tru what everyone says in their messages, but all I keep thinking of is what if my son, found himself in the same situation, would I have been so quick to judge? After all none of us can say that we are squeaky clean! We have all done something that we regret or are ashamed of in our past, it may be not as shocking as this, but all I can say is that no one (this boy) or anyone in their sane mind would go out there with the explicit intention of killing someone in such a gruesome manner. The way that poor girl was killed speaks for itself, it was someone who was either insane or under the influence of something so strong and bad that would have made him do such a thing. I cannot agree with death penalty, because all that is being done is putting to death someone who has been hurt deeply from childhood; which in turn brought about the pain he caused himself and those around him, by trying to numb that pain with drugs. I guess if asked he himself would want and end to the misery he is in, the pain of killing someone, not being able to live with the thought of getting out into the big wide world and have to carry the pain shame and blame for it all. If anything I think it is those around him who want him ou of the death sentence, I am almost certain he would welcome the day where it all ends.
If the people who class him as a society rich kid would have a chance to talk to him heart to heart I am more than certain they would walk away with a very different point of view.
I must empasise here that I do not know any one related to either party, I am a mother with a son his age, who can’t help but think What if it was my son!
Hi once again! Would like to hear your come backs on my comment. We human beings are made basically alike we have the same tendency to love hate fear etc., in a way it is said there is a Hitler in each one of us, given the right circumstances, we don’t know what will come of us. Will we be the same ? Therefore I guess if we sit back and think of ourselves really honestly we cannot really say how or what we will be. So I think if we are true to ourselves we will put ourselves in shramanthas shoes. Because it really sounds that we are a real blood their sty lot
Anjali, pls see my last comment above.
Hi Jack Point – thanks for response it was nice to hear your point of view, it shows that we are all not a blood thirsty lot. I too agree that he needs to be under the jurisdiction of some responsible governmental authority who will help him get his life on track, which by the looks of it his irresponsible family could not do for him; if they did he would not be in this right royal mess.
I am not forgetting Yvonne’s family, I shudder. To think of how a mother father and sister can live normal lives hereafter , a trail of devastation left behind by a family who was contolled by greed who did not know or did not care about their child’s emotional lack, and probably thought they could make up for the lack of parenting by showering their children with materialism, how empty they must have been as a family.
So many lives lost along with Yvonne’s, a mother who most probably will or would already be in deep depression, a father too who cannot bear the pain and coul or woul resort to alcoholism or leave his family because it would be unbearable for him to play happy families with one member never to return, the pain, the memories the guilt or of thinking what if …. And a sister who clearly loved Yvonne who will not be able to trust another man freely as she did eight years ago, lives forever altered.
What new news with regard to shramantha
You might be correct at some points.but,if the murder happened due to shramantha’s mental instability,they have to prove that in court.otherwise,when the bigger picture is looked at,he is still a murderer and he might as well deserve death penalty.Also,I don’t think anybody having a mental breakdown would attack continuously in several ways (hitting,strangling etc) although many mentally unstable murderer have killed people with instant rage…but,using only one method repeatedly such as stabbing or banging the victims head against a wall.Since,shramantha used several methods in this incident..i believe he wasn’t mentally broken at that moment.To see some murderers who was freed as innocent due to mental instability watch the movie called ‘A killing in a small town’ on YouTube (based on a true story in Texas)
What new news with regard to shramantha, does anyone know how Yvonne’s family is coping even though it is almost 8 years since her demise
pay no sympothy to brutal murderers.. whether if it was your son..
and i must say this
DON’T USE ALCOHOL OR DRUGS
DON’T GET DRUNK