Dinesh Schaffter’s death caused by ingestion of cyanide, not strangulation, Court told

The death of Dinesh Schaffter was caused by ingestion of cyanide and not strangulation, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court was told when the case was taken up yesterday.



As per the post-mortem examination report the injuries caused by strangulation were not fatal.

The Homicide and Organised Crime Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) presented the facts regarding the death of Dinesh Schaffter yesterday before Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya.

The 52-year-old young investor and entrepreneur Dinesh was found tied up in the driving seat of his car at the Borella cemetery on 15 December 2022, and was rushed to the ICU of the National Hospital in Colombo. He passed away while undergoing treatment.

The investigation officers pointed out before the court that many important facts were uncovered after analysing the data of Shafter’s iPhone mobile phone and iPad. The officers also mentioned that several documents prepared by Schaffter for his wife and his wife’s parents were found saved in the mobile phone and the iPad.

Furthermore, it was revealed in the court that Schaffter’s iPad contained a document called “List” among the data which had been saved within ‘Apple Note’ and that the document contained a word “KCM” and “Zip Tie” and also a list of several other items.

The investigation officers stated before the court that “KCM” is a shortened name referring to Cyanide and “Zip Tie” is a plastic item used for tying-up something or someone.

In addition, another name list called “The List” has been found in his iPad, which contained the names of five people. The officers stated that there were also telephone numbers and addresses of those individuals.

It was also mentioned before the court that the last four of the five names in question contained a ‘sentence containing an intention to destroy’.

Furthermore, a PDF file containing photos of Brian Thomas has also been found on the iPad.

The investigation officers mentioned before the court that Josephine Thomas and Christian Thomas were also named in it.

There was also a sentence that ‘‘MOST IMPORTANT WHO IS BEHIND B.T. GET MY MONEY BACK”.

Accordingly, the investigation officers submitted the WhatsApp messages to the court, which were transmitted between Dinesh Schaffter and Brian Thomas from 25 December 2019 to 15 December 2022, the date on which he had died.

In addition, at 2:48:50 p.m. on the day of Schaffter’s death, Brian Thomas had sent a WhatsApp message to Schaffter stating that he had no need to meet him, and it also mentioned an attack he had made during a previous meeting, the officers said.

Schaffter had tried to call Brian Thomas to the Borella cemetery, but his attempt was not successful, the investigating officers emphasised.

It has further been revealed before the court that certain messages sent by Schaffter to Brian Thomas had been deleted.

Later, the post-mortem examination report of Dinesh Schaffter was read in front of the Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya, whereas the Additional Magistrate declared that it stated the injuries caused by Schaffter’s strangulation were not fatal and that his death was due to ingestion of Cyanide.