A man has been found guilty of the heinous murder of a gay man in a London cemetery. Erik Feld, of Mile End, was convicted of murdering Ranjith Kankanamalage in August 2021. The defendant had admitted killing Kankanamalage but claimed he acted in self-defense. The prosecution argued that Feld had a long-standing serious interest in extreme violence and described him as having “dark places in his soul.”
Kankanamalage, a Sri Lankan national who was known to his friends as “Roy,” had been living in Tower Hamlets for years before he was found dead by a member of the public. He had suffered “catastrophic” injuries, and a post-mortem found that he died as a result of “blunt force trauma to the head.” Kankanamalage was last seen alive walking alone in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, a known cruising spot for the LGBTQ+ community.
During the trial, it was revealed that Feld had visited websites showing videos of people being attacked with hammers in the weeks leading up to the murder. The prosecutor argued that Feld’s interest in violence was a long-standing one and that it was an urge that could have been visited on anyone. The defendant’s interest in violence was first highlighted in a mental health assessment in 2017.
The defense argued that Feld did not murder Kankanamalage because he was a homophobe but because he “got the wrong end of the stick.” However, during cross-examination, Feld embarked on a homophobic rant about the victim, who was in a relationship in the UK, and has family in Sri Lanka. The prosecution described Feld’s homophobic outburst as “extraordinary.”
The judge adjourned sentencing for a psychiatric report to be prepared on the defendant, who has a personality disorder. The verdict brings some justice to Kankanamalage’s friends and family, but it is a stark reminder of the violence that the LGBTQ+ community continues to face.