Tower Hamlets: Man with 'deep interest' in violence accused of murder

Ranjith Kankanamalage, 50, was found dead in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park

A man with a "deep interest" in extreme violence battered a man to death with a claw hammer in a cemetery, a court has heard.

Erik Feld, 37, allegedly hit Ranjith Kankanamalage repeatedly in the head, causing "catastrophic" injuries.

The 50-year-old victim was found on a path in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park on 16 August 2021.

Prosecutor Paul Cavin KC said the injuries were so bad they were first thought to be gunshot wounds.

A post-mortem examination identified 12 blows consistent with being inflicted with a claw hammer, and defensive injuries.

Mr Cavin told jurors at the Old Bailey that Mr Feld, of Tredegar Road, Tower Hamlets, admitted the killing but claimed it was in "lawful self defence". He denies murder.

'Extreme violence'

The court heard that Mr Feld had a long-standing interest in "extreme violence" which was previously revealed in a mental health assessment.

In 2017, the defendant allegedly told the assessor that he used to go out "with a hammer, screwdriver or razor blades, hoping to catch someone unawares ... down alleys."

Mr Feld was arrested on 20 August 2021 while awaiting sentence for waving a claw hammer outside a Poundland store two days after the killing, the court was told.

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He had produced the weapon after an argument with a security guard who suspected him of shoplifting, the court heard.

Following his arrest on suspicion of murder, a search of his home uncovered three mallets and a sledge hammer.

Mr Feld was released on bail and re-arrested in January 2022 after DNA results from blood on nail clippings from the victim's hand allegedly provided a match to the defendant.

CCTV footage

The court was told that investigators retraced Mr Kankanamalage's last movements on CCTV.

Officers established that he left his home in Whitechapel at about 22:00 GMT and taken a Tube from Aldgate East to Mile End.

At 03:55 he was seen heading towards Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park where he was later found dead.

Camera footage captured a figure - now accepted to be the defendant - walking away from the park at about 04:13 and later tracked to the road where Feld lived.

In a defence statement, Mr Feld claimed he came across a man in the park and, thinking he was about to be attacked with a weapon, hit him to the back of the head with the hammer.

The trial continues.

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