The main suspect in the brutal killing of a 76-year-old priest of Colombo archdiocese two years ago was arrested by police on Aug. 7.
Father Alfred Bernard Costa, popularly called "Aba Costa," was found stabbed and strangled to death May 11, 2001, at Tillanduwa parish in Negombo, where he was pastor. The predominantly Catholic town is 40 kilometers north of Colombo. The late priest, who lived alone, had been active in social justice work.
Auxiliary Bishop Marius Peiris of Colombo, who officiated at Father Costa´s funeral, told UCA News on Aug. 8, "We were rather disappointed that there was no breakthrough for a very long time." Police took two years and three months to trace the suspect, "but now at least there is some breakthrough," he said.
According to Bishop Peiris, Father Costa was widely respected for his stand on national and social issues, particularly those affecting Catholics in coastal parishes in and around Negombo.
The bishop also mentioned that the late priest often spoke publicly against people who violated social norms, especially hard-core drug addicts and dealers. Father Costa, known as the "voice of the poor," also campaigned for social reform and wrote pieces for Sri Lanka´s Catholic weeklies in which he lashed out against corruption.
The Colombo Crime Division reportedly told media that the murder suspect, elsewhere reported to be in his early 30s, confessed to killing the priest. Police said that a ring of leading businessmen operating in the Negombo area and alleged to be behind drug trafficking and the running of casinos along the country´s coastal belt contracted the suspect to murder the priest.
In a confession made after the arrest, the suspect reportedly admitted that he and three others entered Father Costa´s mission house through the roof and stabbed him to death. However, autopsy reports revealed that though the elderly priest had been stabbed 37 times, his death was due to strangulation.
The Colombo Crime Division has yet to recover any murder weapons and still is searching for the three others purportedly involved in the killing.
On May 14, 2001, two unnamed suspects who had worked a few meters from the crime scene were arrested by police in connection with the killing. They later recanted their confessions, claiming they had been forced to confess.
The body of the late priest was found at about 9 a.m. on May 11, 2001, lying in a pool of blood in the corridor between his office and the dining room. The killing reportedly took place at about 8 p.m. the previous day.
END