Tragedy strikes Royal Park again

By Kushali Atukorale
Tragedy struck Rajagiriya’s plush residential condominium, Royal Park during the early hours of yesterday when a German teenager jumped to his death from the 17th floor.

Just minutes before his death, 17-year old Rito Carl Joseph, a resident of Battaramulla, had sent three messages from his mobile, using short message service (SMS) to his family saying “I am sorry.”

Welikada Police OIC Sagara Liyanage told The Bottom Line that all indications of the incident pointed out that the deceased had committed suicide and not been murdered. However, Joseph was not a resident at the condominium but had apparently come to visit one of his friends. He was a student at an international school in Battaramulla.

“Subsequent to a body search we found his mobile and there we located three SMS messages sent to his mother, father and sister (who is in Switzerland) at around 3.15 a.m. where he had said he was sorry, indicating that he had jumped to his death after sending the messages to his family,” Liyanage noted.

The body was recovered by a security officer of Royal Park at around 6.00 in the morning, when he was walking around the compound.
“We assume it was a suicide because of the last few SMS messages. He may have committed his act owing to some personal problem such as a disagreement with his parents or some other person,” the OIC said.

The German teenager had entered the building to see his friend who lives on the 17th floor - building B, from where he may have jumped to his death. Although the exact time of his death was not known, police pointed out that it would have been between 3.00 a.m. to 6.00 a.m.
The Welikada OIC, however, claimed that the investigations into the case was facing certain issues as the family of the victim was not agreeing to the rules and regulations observed in Sri Lanka, which would likely delay the conclusion of investigations.

On July 1, 2005, 19 year old Yvonne Jonsson, a model and fashion designer student was murdered at Royal Park during the early hours by her ex-boyfriend, who was last year sentenced to 12 years rigorous imprisonment by the Colombo High Court.