Wife jailed for manslaughter of ailing husband

• Rithika Siddhartha
• 05 April, 2019

By: Rithika Siddhartha

A WOMAN who killed her husband of more than three decades with a wooden-pole has been jailed for two years.

Packiam Ramanathan, 73, of east London, was sentenced to two years and four months’ imprisonment at the Old Bailey today (5).

She was convicted on Monday (1) of the manslaughter of her 76-year-old husband Kangusabi Ramanathan.

The court heard that the couple, of Sri Lankan origin, had been married in 1983. Two years later they left Sri Lanka for Germany, before arriving in London in 2007.

Packiam and Kangusabi had a fraught relationship, with Packiam refusing at times to return to the UK when they visited their home country, and the couple often argues over money.

In September last year, she was charged with the murder of her husband, who at the time suffered from poor health and was disabled, using a wheelchair and mobility aids.

Detectives found a blood-stained wooden-pole in the couple’s home; it was the one used to bludgeon Kanagsubai, whose body was found with 18 wounds. He died of head and neck injuries on September 21.

Officers investigating the case were told that Packiam attacked her husband and left his body at home while she went to a friend’s house in Wimbledon, south London, where she was traced.

A relative of the couple who found Kanagsubai’s body informed the police.

Detective Sergeant Anthony Atkin, the investigating officer from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “The jury carefully considered the evidence placed before them and felt that this was a sad case whereby Packiam Ramanathan had killed her husband, Kangusabi. In a moment, for one or a number of reasons, she lost self-control therefore is not guilty of murder but of manslaughter, to which Packiam had already pleaded guilty to.

“This was a tragic case whereby an elderly, vulnerable man lost his life and the circumstances surrounding how and why needed to be put to a jury in order that they could listen to Packiam’s account and test this against the evidence.

“I hope the conviction and sentencing will give some closure to Kangusabi’s family.”