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It Appeared To Be a Hit-and-Run Case. However, There Was More to the Story.

The Murder of Adeline Vitharana is known as the Wilpattu Murder.

Theewari Dulandiya
5 min readNov 4, 2024
(L to R) Jayalal Anandagoda, Adeline Vitharana

It was midnight on March 14, 1959. It was near the 27th milepost between Puttalam and Anuradhapura, near the Wilpattu National Park, Sri Lanka, when a lorry driver saw a woman’s body on the side of the road. The driver informed the authorities.

It appeared to be a hit-and-run case. However, the post-mortem examination conducted by the forensic medical analysis expert revealed that it was a deliberate murder committed by running over the body with a car more than once.

Further, the forensic examination revealed that she was about seven months pregnant and between the ages of 20 and 25. Since she was not a local woman, it was difficult to confirm her identity.

The police published the news through the newspapers. Back then, it was known as the Wilpattu Murder.

An Innocent Girl Who Trusted a Liar

Adeline Vitarana was the youngest child in the Vitarana family in Katugastota. Despite dropping out of school after passing her O/L, she was a brilliant student. She had an older sister who later became a schoolteacher.

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Theewari Dulandiya
Theewari Dulandiya

Written by Theewari Dulandiya

Hello! After three-plus years of writing about true crime, I'm excited to announce that I've created my first crime-related newsletter, Crimewatch Chronicles.

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