A heartless killer who brutally attacked his wife with a hatchet in front of their children has been sentenced to 37 years in prison. The judge dismissed his excuses as “ridiculous,” calling his self-defence claims “hopeless.”
On December 3, 2022, Dinush Kurera murdered his estranged wife, Nelomie Perera, in a horrifying 14-minute attack at her home in Sandhurst. Despite a court order barring him from the property, Kurera broke in, disguised in black clothing, armed with a hatchet and a can of fuel.
Ms. Perera had taken out the court order to protect herself from Kurera, who had been having an affair overseas. He returned to Australia enraged when he learned she wanted to end their marriage and keep him out of the home.
That night, Kurera ambushed her, attacking her with a hatchet and a kitchen knife. Her teenage children tried to intervene but were unable to stop him. Ms. Perera’s final words to her daughter were, heartbreakingly, “I’m dead.”
A personal safety watch she was wearing recorded the final moments of the attack. Justice Mandy Fox described the recording as “harrowing,” saying it captured Ms. Perera’s “unarmed and utterly defenceless” state.
Kurera also attacked his son, hitting him with the hatchet on the head, shoulder, and knee before fleeing to the bathroom. When emergency services arrived, he admitted, “I killed my wife. She’s dead over there.”
During the trial, Kurera showed no remorse. He pleaded not guilty to murder, forcing his children to testify about the horrific events. Prosecutors revealed Ms. Perera suffered 35 separate injuries to her head, face, neck, arms, and abdomen. Kurera, meanwhile, walked away without a scratch.
Kurera’s explanation? He claimed memory loss and insisted he was acting in self-defence, despite buying the hatchet, new clothes, and other tools on the day of the killing. He even said he only went to the house to see his daughter and refuel a Ducati motorcycle.
Justice Fox wasn’t buying it. She called his defence “ridiculous” and his actions those of a man driven by entitlement and anger. “Nelomie had every right to leave you, see whoever she liked, and remain in the Sandhurst house while the separation occurred,” she said.
Ms. Perera’s loved ones filled the courtroom during sentencing, sitting just metres from Kurera, who avoided eye contact and crossed his arms in the dock. Supporters of Ms. Perera hugged and thanked police after Kurera was handcuffed and taken away.
Kurera will serve at least 30 years before being eligible for parole, a sentence Justice Fox described as fitting for such a “very serious murder.”
Ms. Perera was remembered as a loving mother and friend, and her loss continues to devastate those who knew her.
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