Jude Wijesinghe: Sous chef, 29, is arrested and charged with murder over death of young woman at National Zoo in Canberra as cops take apart his unit and fresh details emerge
- Woman, 29, found dead at Canberra zoo
- Man, 29, has been charged with murder
- Do you know more? Email [email protected]
- READ MORE: Shocking details emerge as worker is stabbed to death in a kitchen storeroom at Australia's National Zoo
Jude Wijesinghe, 29, was taken to hospital and placed under arrest after his co-worker Tshewang Choden was found dead in a storeroom on Monday afternoon. She is a Bhutanese national.
Police were called to the zoo at Yarralumla at about 12.50pm and found the woman's body in a storeroom behind a commercial kitchen.
She is believed to have been stabbed with a knife before her suspected attacker tried to harm himself.
ATC Policing confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Wijesinghe had been charged with murder.
'ACT Policing homicide detectives have today charged a 29-year-old man with one count of murder during a bedside hearing following an incident at the National Zoo & Aquarium yesterday.
'The man was refused bail, and will next appear in court on 4 April 2023.'
Wijesinghe was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital under police guard to receive treatment for 'significant' self-inflicted injuries.
The cook's shocked neighbours said police swarmed an Oaks Estate unit complex around 2pm before spending about eight eight hours scouring Wijesinghe's unit.
The privately-owned apartment building is comprised of more than two dozen single bedroom units. Residents said Wijesinghe was a 'good neighbour'.
'He's been here about one to two years,' one resident said. 'Before that, there was a group of guys living in there.
'You'd never know [he would be accused of something like this]. I was horrified.'
Neighbours said as far as they knew Wijesinghe was single and they had never seen any women entering his apartment.
'I can't believe it,' one said. 'It's all a bit of a shock.'
According to social media, Wijesinghe has worked all around Australia as a chef since migrating from Sri Lanka.
He was sous chef at Jamala Wildlife Lodge, which is part of the National Zoo & Aquarium.
Photos on his social media show him as a gym and motorcyclist enthusiast.
He also runs a separate online blog account dedicated to his culinary work, which features images of dishes he's cooked on the job.
Wijesinghe spent a few years studying a cooking course in Melbourne, graduating in 2019 before relocating to Canberra two years later.
Visitors unaware of the stabbing have been turning up to the zoo on Tuesday morning to find it closed.
While police confirmed Wijesinghe and the dead woman were co-workers at the zoo, detectives were yet to determine whether they were in a romantic relationship.
Hall O'Meagher, ACT Policing's Detective Superintendent of Criminal Investigations, said on Monday that police were called after witnesses heard 'loud screams'.
'An autopsy is yet to be performed, but at this stage we believe [the victim] died from being stabbed with a knife.
'The knife was found at the scene.
'The man was taken to hospital to be treated for what appear to be self-inflicted injuries and he remains in a stable condition.'
Detective Superintendent O'Meagher could not confirm whether Wijesinghe was known to police, but said investigators were working to find out more about the pair's background and a homicide inquiry had been launched.
He said said police did not believe there were any direct witnesses to the disturbance but there were people in the area at the time who have been spoken to officers.
Detective Superintendent O'Meagher stressed police did not believe there was any ongoing threat to the public and offered his condolences to the woman's loved ones.
'Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim and workers at the zoo,' he said.
The zoo was closed in the wake of the tragedy, with police seen speaking to drivers as they left the car park.
Visitors were only allowed to leave if they gave officers their phone numbers.
One zoo visitor told Daily Mail Australia: 'Staff ran everything like nothing had happened as obviously to keep visitors unaware and safe'.
'[Police] pulled us over when we were leaving and asked if we witnessed anything.
'I told them I had no idea what I was meant to witness and they said 'don't worry, if you had witnessed the incident you would know''.'
The woman said she later found out about the tragedy when a friend showed her a news article.
'Both me and my brother were in shock,' she said.
'My brother was very shaken up. It was a very scary thing to have been told had happened, especially so close to Christmas.
'Our thoughts are with her family at this time no one should have to have a situation like this happen to them or their family.'
