Husband jailed for life for murdering his estranged wife at the shop where she worked

A man has been jailed for life for stabbing his estranged wife to death at the shop on Merseyside where she worked.

Nimalarajah Mathiyadaranam, 47, of Warrington Road, in Widnes, bought a box of knives at a supermarket a couple of hours before he stabbed Nilani Nimalarajah, 44, at the Low Cost Food and Wine store in Stanley Road, Bootle, on 20 June 2025.

Ms Nimalarajah had worked at the shop for several years and lived in the flat above with her children.

Mathiyadaranam had been convicted of harassing his wife the year before and a court imposed a restraining order, preventing him from contacting her.

Nevertheless, he went to the shop, grabbed her and dragged her to the entrance, stabbing her continually, in a slow and methodical manner in full view of CCTV cameras.

Ms Nimalarajah fell to the floor. Her daughter came down, she thought there was a person drunk at the entrance.

She realised the woman slumped on the floor was her mother and saw her father standing alongside, continuing to talk to her.

Ms Nimalarajah was bleeding heavily. Several people came to her aid and also called the police. When they arrived, Mathiyadaranam said to one of the officers, “I did it”. The officer asked him to repeat what he had said and Mathiyadaranam said “Yes”.

Mathiyadaranam was arrested. Ms Nimalarajah was taken to hospital but died a short while afterwards from her injuries.

At the police station, Mathiyadaranam began sweating profusely and collapsed. He said he had taken poison. He was taken to the Royal Liverpool Hospital where he was treated for organ failure. 

As he began to recover, the Crown Prosecution Service authorised Merseyside Police to charge him with murder.

Despite the fact the entire incident was caught on the shop’s CCTV and there had been several witnesses, he pleaded not guilty.

His defence team said his judgement was impaired as he was drunk at the time of the killing and this had prevented him from understanding what he was doing. 

However, on the third day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court on 15 January 2026, he changed his plea to guilty. Today (16 January 2026) the Judge jailed him for life and said he must serve a minimum of 28 years and 182 days. The sentence also addressed the breach of the restraining orders imposed on the defendant previously.

The Judge described the defendant's actions as "premeditated murder" and said it was  "exceptionally cruel and brutal". He said his actions showed that he was absolutely determined that the victim should die. He said it had a "devastating effect" on his children. He expressed his sorrow to the victim's family.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Bethany Leigh, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “Nimalarajah Mathiyadaranam murdered his estranged wife in a meticulous and brutal manner in front of eyewitnesses.

“He planned the murder, choosing the knife he would use as the weapon and buying it a few hours before. He has finally admitted his guilt and has been brought to justice for this awful crime.

“The Crown Prosecution Service would like to thank the many witnesses who have helped us bring this case and the family of Nilani Nimalarajah.

“We would like to extend our condolences to her family and friends at this very sad time”.