{"id":43649,"date":"2020-04-23T05:17:50","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T05:17:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=43649"},"modified":"2021-12-19T09:48:26","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T09:48:26","slug":"murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221; \u2013 By Des Kelly"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #960eeb;\">\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221;\u00a0\u2013 By Des Kelly<\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NK1Vrur_ewM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000080;\">The actual book titled &#8220;NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000080;\">was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously just as good at wielding a pen, as she was, a Stethoscope. I am uncertain as to how many other books this talented female Doctor has written, but did read this particular bit of Ceylon History that fascinated me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000080;\">Of course, I would like to thank her for giving me the chance to get my mind off the Corona-Virus that happens to be on everybody&#8217;s mind at the moment, and share this amazing story with all eLanka readers, everywhere.\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000080;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Please read this folks, and remember that although\u00a0 Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, was our Lovely Island Home, there was the occasional Murder committed there, as well. Hard to imagine, but it was true. Now, let&#8217;s get on with MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-29910 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Desmond-Kelly-9.jpg\" alt=\"Desmond Kelly\" width=\"125\" height=\"178\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000080;\">Desmond Kelly.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #000080;\">(Editor-in-Chief)- eLanka.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #800000;\">\u00a0<b><span lang=\"EN-US\">Revisiting Ceylon&#8217;s first sensational murder trial more than 100 years ago<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>There were several families that made a fortune in the latter part of the 19th century.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Mudliar D.P. Attygalle of Madapatha, Piliyandala was one such person who amassed enormous wealth. In addition to huge<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>tracts of coconut land, he also owned several plumbago mines, namely Kahatagaha Mines and Maduragoda Pits. Plumbago was in great demand at\u00a0<\/strong><strong>that time, and tons of it were shipped to England for the manufacture of pencils etc. There were no ball point pens then.<\/strong><strong>The Mudliar had three daughters, and a son named Francis Dixon Attygalle. The eldest of the daughters was Alice.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">John Kotelawala (Snr) was also from the same village.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>He joined the Police, which was then known as the Ceylon Constabulary,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>as a constable. He was an able police officer and within a few years rose to the position of an inspector.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>At that time most inspectors were British.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>He became known for busting up gambling dens, the most famous being the one portrayed in the play &#8220;Nainage Sooduwa&#8221;.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>It is not known whether the Mudliar&#8217;s eldest daughter married John Kotelawala on a proposal, or whether it was a love affair.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>She and John Kotelawala (Snr) had three children.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>They were Sir John Kotelawala, one time Prime Minister, who married and divorced Effie Dias Bandaranayake,<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Justin Kotelawala , a barrister, who married the daughter of Sir\u00a0<\/strong><a style=\"color: #003366;\" href=\"http:\/\/a.m.de\/\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=http:\/\/a.m.de\/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587697978268000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFGhnbPWge0mR4fkPGFFV1OtPzIiQ\"><strong>A.M.de<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0Silva FRCS, and Freda, who married C.V.S. Corea<br \/>\n(Sid), one of the earliest men to specialise in homeopathy. Freda&#8217;s son was Dr. Gamani Corea of UNCTAD fame and Justin&#8217;s son is Lalith<br \/>\nKotelawala of the Ceylinco Group.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">It is not known whether the Mudliar approved of Alice&#8217;s marriage to John Kotelawala (Snr). A few years after this marriage Mudliar<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Attygalle died leaving an unlettered widow, two unmarried daughters and a school going son, Francis Dixon, who was attending Wesley<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">College.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">To manage the enormous Attygalle Estate, John Kotelawala (Snr) resigned from the Police, along with Singhoni Perera, who served as a police sergeant under him.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>It is reported that John Kotelawala (Snr) appropriated a major portion of the profits from the coconut estates and the plumbago mines.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>It was so much over and above his wife&#8217;s share, that his mother-in-law was forced to file several cases in the Kurunegala District Court to eject him from the management.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Her son Francis Dixon left Wesley College at the early age of 16 yrs, but he was too young to pit his strength against his brother-in-law John, who was a veteran ex-police officer.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">On Mrs. Attygalle making representations to the Governor of Ceylon, Francis Dixon though a minor, was conferred &#8220;Letters of Venia Aetatis&#8221;, making a major out of a minor, using the Govenor&#8217;s powers.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">When Alice&#8217;s and John&#8217;s children were yet of tender age, Francis Dixon&#8217;s 2nd sister married Engineer Col. T.G. Jayewardene, an uncle of<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">the late President J.R. Jayewardene. Col T.G. had four lawyer brothers; Justice E.W (King&#8217;s Counsel), Justice A St V (King&#8217;s Counsel), J.S. and J.Q.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">John Kotelawala (Snr) knew that with the union between the Jayewardene family and the Attygalle family, his ability to appropriate the bulk of the proceeds of the Attygalle Estate would be severely curbed.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>At the wedding in Madapatha Walauwa, he made derogatory remarks against the Jayewardenes, referring to them as &#8220;Thambiyas&#8221; &#8212; Mohamedans.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Francis Dixon was infuriated that his brother-in-law to be and his family were insulted. Thereupon he went up to John Kotelawala (Snr) and gave him a slap.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>John (Snr), in the presence of the congregation told Francis Dixon, &#8220;umba denaganning yakada habalapethi kevai<br \/>\nkiyala&#8221;, meaning, &#8221; know ye, that you have bitten more than you can chew&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Thereafter, he planned the murder of Francis Dixon with the help of his former police sergeant Singhoni Perera.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>He floated a bogus company called Ceylon-Japan Trading Co and set sail to Japan, to create an alibi for himself.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Singhoni Perera enlisted the assistance of his cousin Baron Perera, and the two of them found in Piloris alias Pila, a man who could<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">handle a gun. Not even the 1st World War had broken out and there were very few people who could handle firearms. Piloris was from Wadduwa<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">and is said to have fought in the Boer War, under the command of Winston Churchill.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Singhoni and Baron bought a gun from Walkers for the princely sum of Rs 25. For a few days, they kept Piloris in a room in Pettah. They<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">made certain that Piloris did not know their identities.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Francis Dixon Attygalle who was then managing this vast fortune, was in the habit of residing at the house of C.P. Dias, his former Wesley\u00a0College Head Master, whenever he came to Colombo.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Mr. Dias was a highly respected person, and was a Municipal Councillor. In that era it was prestigious to be elected to the CMC. Dias Place in Pettah is named after this gentleman.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">One night, when Francis Dixon was on the verandah of the Dias residence, Singhoni and Baron took Piloris near the fence, with<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">instructions that Piloris should open fire, when Francis Dixon comes out to the garden, and when he is properly identified as the target.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>There was no electricity way back in 1905. Things worked according to plan. Singhoni called out, &#8220;Francis, Francis&#8221;, and Piloris opened fire\u00a0as Francis Dixon came out. Then Singhoni and Baron made a quick get away, having given strict instructions to Piloris to return on a<br \/>\nparticular route. The plan was for Singhoni and Baron to kill Piloris on his return journey.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">He was a hired assassin and was paid some money with the promise that the balance would be paid when the job was done. It dawned on Piloris\u00a0that he should not return on the designated route, and that now, his own life could be in danger.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>He was intelligent enough to know that the safest place would be the cell in a police station. Therefore, he went straight to the Police and told them that he had shot a man totally unknown to him.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">Francis Dixon, apart from John Kotelawala (Snr) had other, enemies in his estates, because he was a strict disciplinarian.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Kotelawala (Snr) though an ex-police officer, not too popular with the British police officers.\u00a0 He was then the president of the Carters Association of Colombo.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>In those days, the mode of transport was bullock carts. There were no lorries and vans.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>(Francis Dixon Attygalle died in hospital without wanting to make his sister Alice a widow by implicating his brother-in-law, but left all<br \/>\nhis properties in a death bed will, to his other two sisters; Ms. T.G. Jayawardene and the youngest sister, who later married F.R.Senanayake, the father of R.G. Senanayake.)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\"><strong>Soon after the killing, \u00a0Alice sent a cable to her husband in Japan, &#8220;Francis died. Funeral took place&#8221;.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>\u00a0The fool John Kotelawala (Snr) cabled back, &#8220;Who shot him?&#8221; By his stupidity, he gave the show away!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\"><strong>British police officers found Kotelawala&#8217;s cable strange.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>How did he know, thousands of miles away in Japan that Francis Dixon died of gunshot wounds?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>There were no telephones then, no radios, no TV. Soon thereafter Singhoni sent a cable in code; &#8220;Cow calfed&#8221;, which was deciphered to mean, job accomplished.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>The police patiently waited, and as John (Snr) landed at the Colombo Jetty, they arrested him and took him to the Police Magistrate of Colombo.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Kotelawala (Snr) got cold feet, made a confessionary statement implicating Singhoni and Baron as co-accomplices.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The police were not interested in Piloris. The Attorney General with the powers vested in him, made Piloris Crown Witness, provided he spilt the beans.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Because of the personalities involved and the gruesome manner in which the young man was killed, it evoked much attention. This was the first sensational murder trial in Ceylon.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Three English Barristers were retained for the three accused. Eardley Norton, a top criminal lawyer from Madras was retained for John<\/span><\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Kotelawala (Snr), Thomas Thornhill a criminal lawyer from Calcutta for Singhoni and F A Hayley, uncle of Chas P Hayley appeared for Baron.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The trial came up in 1906 before Justice Wood-Renton (later Chief Justice), in the Colombo Assizes, and went on for several days.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>On the day of the Verdict, it was crystal clear that these accused will be sentenced to death.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>John Kotelawala (Snr) had cyanide smuggled into his cell and committed suicide.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Singhoni and Baron were sentenced to death.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">The Carters of Colombo got into a frenzy thinking that their boss had been killed by those who appeared for the prosecution.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>They were so ignorant that they did not understand the niceties of a fair legal trial.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\"><strong>The prosecution was conducted by Acting Attorney General Walter Pereira (KC) who later became a judge of the Supreme Court. He was responsible for the &#8220;Laws of Ceylon&#8221;.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>His house was the present Pettah Kachcheri. Pettah was then, a highly residential area.Walter&#8217;s son Aelian Pereira, became a top class lawyer.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>According to him, hundreds of carters stormed his father&#8217;s house and was about to attack him and his family.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>One carter started climbing the front steps. Walter Pereira got hold of this man and threw him into the crowd and<br \/>\namazingly, the whole crowd dispersed and walked towards Galle Road Asoka Gardens Junction, to the house of C M Fernando, (the 1st<br \/>\nCeylonese Crown Counsel) who assisted Walter Pereira in the prosecution. C M Fernando was the brother of Sir Marcus Fernando. Sir<br \/>\nMarcus was then a member of the legislative council. These two brothers were married to the daughters of Sir Charles De Soysa.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366;\">C M Fernando on hearing of the crowd approaching went into hiding with his family. The crowd destroyed his house.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\"><strong>Thus ended the country&#8217;s first sensational murder trial.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 20px; color: #003366; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221;\u00a0\u2013 By Des Kelly \u00a0The actual book titled &#8220;NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES&#8221; was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously just as good at wielding a pen, as she was, a Stethoscope. I am uncertain as to how many other books this talented female Doctor has written, but [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":43651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1104],"tags":[17029,17028,17027,17026],"class_list":{"0":"post-43649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"category-desmond-kelly","9":"tag-dr-kumari-jayawardena","10":"tag-fool-john-kotelawala","11":"tag-francis-dixon-attygalle","12":"tag-singhoni-perera","13":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;MURDER, SHE WROTE&quot; \u2013 By Des Kelly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The actual book titled &quot;NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES&quot;was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;MURDER, SHE WROTE&quot; \u2013 By Des Kelly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The actual book titled &quot;NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES&quot;was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-23T05:17:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-19T09:48:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"358\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221; \u2013 By Des Kelly\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-23T05:17:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-19T09:48:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/\"},\"wordCount\":1813,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Dr.Kumari Jayawardena\",\"fool John Kotelawala\",\"Francis Dixon Attygalle\",\"Singhoni Perera\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\",\"DESMOND KELLY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"MURDER, SHE WROTE\\\" \u2013 By Des Kelly\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-04-23T05:17:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-19T09:48:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"The actual book titled \\\"NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES\\\"was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":358},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221; \u2013 By Des Kelly\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"description\":\"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"eLanka\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\",\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eLanka admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"MURDER, SHE WROTE\" \u2013 By Des Kelly","description":"The actual book titled \"NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES\"was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"MURDER, SHE WROTE\" \u2013 By Des Kelly","og_description":"The actual book titled \"NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES\"was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously","og_url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/","og_site_name":"eLanka","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","article_published_time":"2020-04-23T05:17:50+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-19T09:48:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":358,"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"eLanka admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eLanka admin","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/"},"author":{"name":"eLanka admin","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd"},"headline":"&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221; \u2013 By Des Kelly","datePublished":"2020-04-23T05:17:50+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-19T09:48:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/"},"wordCount":1813,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg","keywords":["Dr.Kumari Jayawardena","fool John Kotelawala","Francis Dixon Attygalle","Singhoni Perera"],"articleSection":["Articles","DESMOND KELLY"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/","name":"\"MURDER, SHE WROTE\" \u2013 By Des Kelly","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg","datePublished":"2020-04-23T05:17:50+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-19T09:48:26+00:00","description":"The actual book titled \"NOBODIES TO SOMEBODIES\"was written by a certain Dr.Kumari Jayawardena, of Olde Ceylon, who was obviously","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly.jpg","width":480,"height":358},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/murder-she-wrote-by-des-kelly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"&#8220;MURDER, SHE WROTE&#8221; \u2013 By Des Kelly"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43649"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81517,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43649\/revisions\/81517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}