[1]The home of murdered former Sri Lankan Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist Mel Gunasekera is probed by police investigators at the capital Colombo on February 2, 2014. Gunasekera was stabbed to death after a break-in at her family's home. Image by Tharaka Basnayaka. Copyright Demotix (2/2/2014)
Melicia “Mel” Gunasekera, one of Sri Lanka's most prominent journalists, was stabbed to death [2] in her house in Battaramulla, a suburb Colombo city on February 2, 2014. She was the assistant vice president at Fitch Ratings Lanka and the founding editor of the Lanka Business Online [3], an online financial news service website. She was a former reporter for French news agency Agence France-Presse and also worked as a freelance journalist.
D. B. S. Jeyaraj [4] notes that Gunasekera was very popular and was loved by her colleagues in the media. A construction worker was arrested within the same day [5] and preliminary investigation indicates burglary may have been the motive. But her fans and followers think otherwise [6].
Nalaka Gunawardene [7] questioned “Who Really Killed Mel Gunasekera?” on Groundviews blog:
According to police, the killer stole just LKR 1,200 (USD 10) and her mobile phone. No other motive is suspected.
Any death is a tragedy, but what do we make of a killing done for small change and a piece of metal?
The reactions in Sri Lanka after her murder include reflections on how this country has become brutalized [8]. Policy entrepreneur Rohan Samarajiva [9] noted in a eulogy in Lanka Business Online:
She should be writing my eulogy, not me hers. The young should not predecease the old. We should have built a country where a young journalist could take the bus with no fear and spend a Sunday morning in her own house without getting murdered. The war brutalized us. Killing became nothing.
Others mourned the journalist on Twitter:
Mel Gunasekera: we'll never see that dazzling smile or twinkling eyes. Goodbye, my dear spirited friend. @MelGuna [10] pic.twitter.com/784J4SoqtX [11]
— Nalaka Gunawardene (@NalakaG) February 2, 2014 [12]
Horrified & saddened to hear that Sri Lankan journalist Mel Gunasekera @MelGuna [10] has been murdered. My thoughts with her family & friends.
— V.V. Ganeshananthan (@Vasugi) February 2, 2014 [13]
Colleagues and admirers remember Mel Gunasekera http://t.co/osgUHoVWyd [14] via @thersq [15]
— The Republic Square (@thersq) February 3, 2014 [16]