A jury has been shown the horrifying screams of a mother’s last moments when she was reportedly hacked to death in front of their kids by her estranged husband.
Nelomi Perera screamed, “Help me, help me,” on a recording made while she was watching and played to Melbourne’s Supreme Court.
Dinush Kurera, according to the prosecution, killed his wife, 43, and attacked his teenage son, who was attempting to flee, after breaking through a wooden fence at the family house in less than 14 minutes. In the kitchen, Perera was discovered lifeless, encircled by a puddle of blood.
On Tuesday, 14 jurors were informed by prosecutor Mark Gibson KC that Kurera reportedly told the police, “I killed my wife,” when they arrived. Over there, she’s dead.”
Kurera, however, has entered a not guilty plea to the charges of abusing his son and killing his wife.
The 47-year-old, who was wearing a black suit, was facing the first day of his trial as he sat in the dock in back of the court.
Gibson claimed that at approximately 11:25 p.m. on December 3, 2022, Kurera struck his estranged wife in the head while she was smoking on the patio of the Sandhurst property.
Kurera was wearing gloves, dark clothing, and a hatchet that he had bought at Bunnings earlier that day.
A few days prior, he had returned home from Sri Lanka.
Mr. Gibson said that Ms. Perera found out he was unfaithful and ended their marriage while he was overseas.
Kurera could not accept that his marriage was gone, according to the prosecutor, and he might lose the home he constructed for his family.
The children of the marriage, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy, heard screaming from downstairs, Gibson said, and they hurried to find their mother on the floor and their father brandishing an axe.
According to Gibson, he threatened to set fire to the house and murder everyone inside, including himself, if the teenagers tried to flee or phoned the police.
He added that Perera stood up and showed her daughter her injuries to her head before pointing to a bloody puddle on the ground.
Kurera allegedly urged his son to get Perera an ice pack and stated he wanted to talk on the couch after she allegedly tried to persuade him to call for an ambulance.
Gibson reported that Kurera asked his son “a few people” in response to his question about if their mother was seeing anybody else while the divided family was seated in the living room.
The prosecution informed the jury that the accused was “infuriated” by the boy’s remark to his father regarding his mother.
“Mr Kurera approached Nelomi and struck her multiple times.”
He claimed Kurera suffered 35 wounds to sensitive areas of her body as a result of her “sustained, brutal, and vicious attack” from the hatchet and a chef’s knife that was stolen from the kitchen.
According to Mr. Gibson, Kurera allegedly pursued their son when he attempted to go outside and cry for help, hitting the teenager on the back of his head, shoulders, and legs with the hatchet.
He claimed Kurera then told police that “I just wanted to talk to her” and that Ms. Perera had attempted to stab him.
The trial will resume on Wednesday with Gibson giving his opening statements and Kurera’s defence team responding.
