Colombo High Court has sentenced a couple to death after finding them guilty of torturing and murdering a two-year-old child they had taken for adoption.

The verdict was delivered today following a prolonged trial, with the ruling handed down by the Colombo High Court Judge.

A case was brought before the court by the Attorney General concerning an incident in Maligawatta on 1 May 2018.

Following the presentation of irrefutable evidence, the court sentenced the defendants, a couple in their mid-30s, to death.

In delivering the verdict, the judge referenced Police evidence indicating that officers had responded to intelligence about an attempted burial without medical examination.

The subsequent magisterial inquiry led to an autopsy, which revealed severe and prolonged physical abuse. The JMO’s findings documented 90 injuries, including burns and blunt force trauma, with significant damage to the child’s testicles.

The judge ruled that the medical evidence demonstrated deliberate and sustained violence as the cause of death. Given that the deceased had been in the care of the accused, and forensic analysis linked them to the fatal injuries, the court found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.