MATHEW PEIRIS: FROM MYSTICISM TO MURDER (SIGNED)

Softcover. Reprint. SIGNED. The 12th book in the series of Famous Criminal Cases of Sri Lanka, written by a former Judge of the Supreme Court and one-time Solicitor General, with an unrivalled experience and knowledge of criminal trials of Sri Lanka both as prosecutor and Judge. A double murder, horrifying by any standards, but in this case more so because the accused was in holy orders. The Vicarage murders of 1978 and 1979 in Moraturwa, where the central figure in the sordid drama which resulted in the deaths of 2 people, centred round the Vicar of the Anglican Church who was a prominent citizen of the town - the Reverend George Frederick Mathew Peiris, who at the relevant period was the Vicar of the Church of St Paul, the Apostle at Kynsey Road in Colombo. Several controversial issues arose at the trial including the complex issue of proof through circumstantial evidence, modes of establishing conspiracy and the conflict of expert opinion in differential diagnosis. Illus. 218pp. trade size soft cover. INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY A.C. ALLES (CHRISTIE). Includes loosely inserted Christmas card and newspaper cutting. Top r/hand corner of fr. cover and several pp. have a small crease. Vg+ Scarce.