A British woman says she is stranded in Sri Lanka after selling her home and marrying a local who was shot dead.
Diane De Zoysa, 59, says she gave £100,000 to husband Priyanjana, 26, when she moved to live with him in Ahungalla, in the south west of the country, last year.
She met the hotel worker when she was on holiday in the country six years ago, before returning seven months later to marry him.
However, her husband was killed last month after being shot three times at a friend’s house.
De Zoysa, who previously worked as a customer support worker at Edinburgh City Council, says her husband was murdered by men trying to blackmail him for money.
She said: ‘They thought he was a rich man as he had a nice house, a minibus and a tuk-tuk. He paid them but they wanted more.’
The widow explained how she had sold her home in Edinburgh to live with her husband in Sri Lanka last year.
She then bought a house in the country in her husband’s family’s name, as well as helping him set up a minibus service.
De Zoysa said: ‘My husband and his family are poor, so I have helped them. I gave up everything to join my husband here. ‘I never imagined that I would be at my husband’s funeral. I thought that I would die first, seeing as I’m a lot older than him.’ De Zoysa says she misses her husband ‘every day’, posting a tribute to him on Facebook ahead of his birthday.
She wrote: ‘Happy Birthday for tomorrow my darling husband. I wish you were here so I could give you a big hug and lots of kisses.
‘Forever in my heart I will always love you.’
Sharing a photograph of their wedding day in 2012, she added: ‘I miss him every day.’
De Zoysa says she is desperate to return to Scotland following her husband’s death, but is unable to do so due to her financial situation.
DailyMail