Richard de Zoysa

Saravanamuttu then hastily traveled to the Welikada police station and lodged a complaint. The following day, de Zoysa's lifeless body was dumped on the beach at Moratuwa, some 12 miles south of Colombo. He had been shot in the head and the throat, and his jaw had been broken. His body was identified by his friend Taraki Sivaram, who suffered a similar fate in 2005.

In 2005, Assistant Superintendent of Police Lal Priyantha Darmasiri Ranchagoda, Officer in Charge Bodeniya Gamlath Gedara Devasurendra and Sergeant Mahawedikkarage Sarathchandra were indicted for de Zoysa's murder. They were acquitted of all charges on 9 November 2005 by Colombo High Court Judge Rohini Perera; she stated that the evidence presented by the prosecution was "contradictory and not credible".

Rajiva Wijesinha wrote a novel based on the life and death of Richard de Zoysa titled Limits of Love. Published after the death of Richard's mother in 2005, it has some controversial revelations including explicit references to the homosexuality of the main character.

However, the suspect was not arrested and the lead was ignored. Both Dr. Saravanamuttu and her lawyer, Batty Weerakoon, subsequently received death threats. Police officers assigned to guard Batty Weerakoon have also received similar threats. Dr. Saravanamuttu later became an activist for missing people and died in 2004.

At the time of his abduction and murder, de Zoysa was the head of the Colombo office of the Inter Press Service He lived in the Welikadawatte housing estate with his mother, Dr. Manorani Saravanamuttu and associate A. V. Karunaratne. In the early morning of 18 February 1990, an armed group broke into their home, and forcibly removed de Zoysa and drove off without explanation.

de Zoysa's murder is widely believed to have been carried out be a death squad that was formed under the auspices of members of the government to crush the insurrection launched by the militant Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) organization. Since 1987, when the insurrection was launched, these death squads are alleged to have killed thousands of alleged JVP members in an ultimately successful attempt to quell the rebellion. They are also alleged to have killed political opponents, including de Zoysa, who was linked to the JVP.

In 1983, de Zoysa starred in Lester James Peries's film Yuganthaya alongside Gamini Fonseka. The role of socialist Malin Kabalana in the movie closely mirrored de Zoysa's own beliefs, his last role was that of Aravinda in Dr. Tissa Abeysekara's film viragaya

He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, where his acting talents in Sinhala were encouraged by D.S. Jayasekera.> He was adjudged Best Actor in the English medium at the national inter-school Shakespeare Drama Competition in 1972. He was a member of the Debating Team and Drama Society along with Chanaka Amaratunga.

Richard Manik de Zoysa (Tamil: இரிச்சர்ட் டி சோய்சா) (Sinhala:රිචඩ් ද සොයිසා) (18 March 1958 – 18 February 1990) was a well-known Sri Lankan journalist, author, human rights activist and actor, who was abducted and murdered on 18 February 1990. His murder caused widespread outrage inside the country, and is widely believed to have been carried out by a death squad linked to elements within the government.