Sex-worker rivalry leads to ghastly murder

By Gayan Kumara Weerasingha

Rivalry over the sex-worker trade among two foreign nationals ended up in a gruesome murder last week where the victims were a little boy and a woman domestic. The mother of the boy Victoria Kim was severely wounded. The incident took place in a luxurious mansion at Nawala, Rajagiriya. Victoria Kim and her nine-year- old son lived with the lady domestic.
It is learnt that Victoria Kim, had arrived in Sri Lanka about ten years back on a tourist visa, not as a tourist but as a sex worker patronizing night clubs and carrying on a lucrative ‘trade’. Later, she married a young Sri Lankan to save her the bother of obtaining tourist visas from time to time. Their marriage was for documentation purposes only in order to obtain citizenship in Sri Lanka --- so that this would enable her to continue with her profession without hindrance.
Meanwhile, Victoria met Morris, a married man and the owner of a foreign employment agency and had an illicit affair with him. Morris fathered a child with Victoria, Jason Kim, a boy. Thereafter, Morris provided them with a luxurious house in Nawala, paying a monthly rental of Rs.50,000 and he did provide them with a comfortable life to keep them happy --- as he loved Victoria and his son, Jason very much.

Buddhist

Even though Jason lived with his Ukranian mother, he grew up as a Buddhist inculcating a Buddhist lifestyle, offering flowers and going through riligious rituals, and even listening to Pirith on a CD presented to him by his father, before going to bed. Jason was loved by his neighbours, and even at such a tender age, he was praised for his generosity in helping those in need. Unfortunately, his young life was snuffed out on February 23. The suspect had cut and stabbed Victoria, little Jason and the lady domestic. Only Victoria survived the attack, while the servant and Jason succumbed to injuries. By some chance, Victoria managed to run out of the house and seek the help of neighbours.
However, the only assistance given by the neighbours was calling 119 and informing the police; no one had taken her to hospital and she had been lying on the road bleeding with serious wounds. Only on the arrival of the police team from Welikada was she rushed to the hospital
Upon entering the house, the Police learnt that the woman domestic and the little boy had been murdered. The domestic’s body was found in a bathroom on the ground floor of the two storied house and the little boy’s blood soaked half naked body was found on the stairs to the first floor. Police sleuths investigated.
They found that the assassin was Mashoor Levgon, a Ukrainian and an associate of Victoria Kim and according to Victoria, it was obvious that the murders had been meticulously planned. The reason for this ill will between Mashoor and Victoria was because they were competitors in the same ‘trade’. Victoria and Mashoor were bringing down sex workers from East European countries such as Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan on tourist visas and ‘selling’ them in Sri Lanka.

Tourist visa

Mashoor was staying in Sri Lanka on a tourist visa and each time the visa expired, he went to his home country and returned on a fresh tourist visa, whereas Victoria did not face this problem as she was legally settled in Sri Lanka and thus in a more advantageous position. Due to the bother involved in renewing his visa each time, Mashoor began living in Sri Lanka on a forged visa and Victoria was aware of it. Victoria wanted to get rid of her competitor once and for all, by informing the commissioner of immigration and emigration. The problems between Victoria and Mashoor surfaced when Mashoor got to know this and he responded to Victoria’s action by coming over to her place and quarrelling with her. He had attacked her and left the house swearing to take revenge.
Mashoor returned on February 23 by jumping over the high wall around the house. At that time Victoria was upstairs readying her child for school. Mashoor made his way to the bedroom and knocked since the door was locked. Victoria had opened the door thinking it was her servant. As soon as the door was opened, Mashoor had slapped Victoria across her face and said “I will kill you today”.

Problem

Victoria had asked him to be patient until she sends the child to school and then talk over any problem. Mashoor replied that he has nothing to talk with her --- meanwhile Jason had run out of the room with his mobile phone in hand saying “I will ask my father to come”. When Mashoor heard that, he started chasing Jason in a fury and Victoria was frightened thinking Mashoor might do something to Jason. She started running after Mashoor to protect her child from him. Mashoor took out a sharp knife and first stabbed Victoria who fell to the ground. His next victim was the servant, Daisy, a domestic from Ja-ela, who also collapsed. After Mashoor stabbed little Jason and finished his job, he made a call on his mobile phone. The recipient of the call was Bresna Lana, Mashoor’s paramour, who was staying at a Flat in Bambalapitiya.
“Everything is okay. Come quickly with some petrol” he told her.
Meanwhile, Victoria was regaining consciousness and though she heard Mashoor’s words as if in a dream, she didn’t have the strength to run. But she slowly tried to stand up without letting Mashoor know that she was attempting to do so..
Meanwhile, Bresna was acting on Mashoor’s advice and she had taken a three wheeler from Bambalapitiya with two 05 litre water cans. On her way to Nawala, she stopped at a petrol station and purchased two bottles of petrol before she joined Mashoor at Victoria’s place.
By that time Victoria had regained strength and all of a sudden she got up and ran out of the house, preventing Mashoor and Bresna from taking any action. Mashoor’s plan was to set fire to the bodies and to the whole house but his plan went awry when Victoria ran out of the house. Mashoor and Bresna too apprently ran out as they had no other option.
They decided to leave the country and they had selected Maldives as their destination. Aaround 07.30 AM, one hour after the murders, the two of them arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport and bought tickets to the Maldives from a airline counter . Though they bought the tickets in the morning, the flight was to leave BIA at 06.30 in the evening and Mashoor decided to spend the time at the passenger lounge at the airport until evening.
They entered the airport and passed the first check point but were apprehended at the second checkpoint as the officers of the SIS arrested them there.
The police investigation team had already informed the airport about the two Ukrainians. Sans this timely information, the suspects would have escaped.