What Happened
On June 8, 2006, Sinnaiah Moorthy Martin, a carpenter, his wife Mary Madeleine (Chitra), and their two children were brutally murdered in their home in Vankalai. The family had returned from India where they had lived as refugees. Mary Madeleine (27), a former teacher with Jesuit Refugee Service, was gang-raped and stabbed in the chest. The children - Lakshika (9) and Dilaks (7) - along with their father were tortured using Martin's carpentry tools and then hanged. Military boot prints and a military badge with star insignia were found at the scene. Around 5,000 people attended their funeral at St. Anne's Church.
Perpetrators
Sri Lankan military (suspected)
Documentary Evidence
Warning: These images document the aftermath of this attack and may be disturbing.
8 images from documentary reports. Click to enlarge.
Sources & References
- NESOHR - Lest We Forget Volume II
- https://tamilguardian.com/content/horror-vankalai-2006-massacre-tamil-family-and-quest-justice