Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 51, is accused of murdering his heavily pregnant ex-wife Devi Unmathallegadoo
An ‘obsessed’ husband ‘bent on murderous revenge’ spent a year amassing an arsenal of weapons before murdering his pregnant ex-wife with a crossbow, a court heard today.
Mother-of-five Devi Unmathallegadoo, 35, was shot by Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 51, at her home in Ilford, east London, the Old Bailey heard.
Unmathallegadoo had been lying in wait in Devi’s shed before bursting out armed with two crossbows, chasing her through her home and murdering her, jurors heard.
Devi was eight months pregnant and the bolt narrowly missed her unborn baby, who was safely delivered via c-section, but died hours later.
Her parents had arranged her marriage to Unmathallegadoo when she was 16, but the relationship ‘was not a happy one’ and they separated in 2012.
Devi then began a relationship with Imtiaz Muhammad, who had decorated the couple’s kitchen.
At the time of her death, Devi was living with Mr Muhammad, and the two were ‘eagerly expecting the imminent arrival’ of their child together.
Jurors were told Unmathallegadoo ‘had not reacted well to the break up’ and spent a year ‘storing items in close proximity to Devi’s house’ for use in a ‘a cold-blooded execution by a man consumed by hatred and an unquenchable thirst for revenge.’
But by 12 November last year, Unmathallegadoo ‘was armed with two new crossbows, bolts, a hammer, a knife in a homemade sheath, cable ties and duct tape’.
His plan ‘was to restrain’ the couple and ‘to kill at least Devi, Imtiaz and their unborn child,’ jurors were told.
Mr Muhammad screamed ‘run’ to Devi as he was chased into the house by Unmathallegadoo, the court heard.
Devi was eight months pregnant and the bolt narrowly missed her unborn baby, who was safely delivered via c-section, but died hours later. The couple had separated in 2012 and eventually divorced two years later
Jurors heard the marriage ended following an incident in March 2012 when Devi leapt out of a first-floor bedroom window.
She was taken to hospital having suffered a fractured heel while her husband was arrested and held in custody.
Unmathallegadoo took time off from his role as site manager at Newham General Hospital due to ‘stress’ from the break up, the court heard.
Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 51, allegedly killed heavily pregnant Devi Unmathallegadoo, 35
He stopped turning up for work in December 2013 and abruptly resigned in the early part of the following year.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, told jurors the disintegration of the marriage had ‘a profound effect on Unmathallegadoo’, eventually leading to ‘a deeply held desire for a most violent revenge’.
Unmathellagadoo then began building his cache of weapons, buying many of the items online.
The purchases were ‘not due to any longstanding interest in archery or hunting’ but had ‘an altogether more sinister reason’.
A neighbour discovered Unmathellagadoo’s ‘cache’ stored in an electrical substation close to his former wife’s home in November 2017.
Suspecting it was a ‘burglary kit’ she reported the find to police, who removed the bag.
In March last year, she found another stash including a laundry bag containing two crossbows, one assembled and the other disassembled, as well as numerous bolts and bolt heads.
There was also a selection of kitchen knives and what appeared to be harpoon spears, jurors heard.
The police again removed them but just two days after the find, Unmathallegadoo ‘took steps to replenish his armoury’.
The scene of the murder in Ilford, east London, on 12 November last year
That same day, he went to another supplier for archery arrows, bolt heads and bolts.
In May, he bought a ‘Guillotine X’ crossbow for £259.99, and asked in July about purchasing a mechanical crossbow crank cocking device. By August his total outlay on weaponry came to nearly £2,000.
He also carried out surveillance of the home, noting down the comings and goings of the family, it was claimed.
By the morning of November 12, 2018, he had allegedly taken up position in the shed, awaiting his moment to strike.
The prosecution claimed his plan was to restrain his ex-wife and her new partner, and then kill them and their unborn child.
But he was disturbed when the victim’s partner took a box to store in the shed, jurors heard.
The defendant chased him into the house, carrying the two crossbows, and shot his ex-wife as she fled upstairs.
At the time of her death, Devi was living with her new partner, Imtiaz Muhammad, and the two were ‘eagerly expecting the imminent arrival’ of their child together.
Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said: ‘The attack that took place on the morning of 12 November last year was the culmination of a series of acts carried out by him, all of which were calculated to ensure a successful outcome to what was to be a devastating and murderous act of revenge on his former wife and her new partner.
‘This was a quite deliberate and calculated act of revenge on his part intended to cause at the very least the death of Devi and the extinction of the child she carried.
‘For at least a year he had been making preparations for an attack upon Devi and Imtiaz.
‘In March of 2018 at the latest, he had acquired two crossbows and numerous bolts with which to carry out his attack. It is, we say, no coincidence that he had acquired more than one crossbow for his scheme.’
Unmathallegadoo, of no fixed address, denies murder and the attempted destruction of a child capable of being born alive.
The trial continues.
At the time of her death, Devi was living with her new partner, Imtiaz Muhammad, and the two were ‘eagerly expecting the imminent arrival’ of their child together
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