Death row inmate in Vidya murder case dies by suicide
A suspect sentenced to death over the rape and murder of schoolgirl Sivaloganathan Vidya in Jaffna has died by suicide while in custody at Jaffna Prison, according to prison authorities.
The deceased was identified as 46-year-old Poobalasingham Jeyakumar. The Department of Prisons said he died by suicide last night (May 24) while being held at the Jaffna Prison.
The murder of Vidya in 2015 triggered massive public outrage across Sri Lanka and became one of the country’s most high-profile criminal cases.
Following the trial, a three-judge Trial-at-Bar sentenced four accused, including Swiss Kumar, to death over the crime.
Earlier this month, on May 6, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld those death sentences after dismissing appeals filed by the accused seeking acquittal and release.
The ruling was delivered by a five-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena.
However, the Supreme Court also ordered that the sentences imposed on two other accused be set aside.
At the time the judgment was delivered, the deceased suspect and two other convicts sentenced to death appeared before the court virtually through Zoom.
