Nimalarajah Mathiyadaranam is accused of murdering 47-year-old mum-of-three Nilani Nimalarajah
Police at the scene on Stanley Road in Bootle(Image: )
A man is due to go on trial today accused of murder after a shopkeeper was stabbed to death. Nilani Nimalarajah died aged 44 after suffering knife wounds to her chest during the incident at Low Cost Food and Wine on Stanley Road in Bootle.
Nimalarajah Mathiyadaranam has since been charged with murdering the mum-of-three. The 47-year-old, of Warrington Road in Widnes, is listed to appear before Liverpool Crown Court this afternoon, Tuesday, for trial, having pleaded not guilty to this count, as well as possession of bladed article in a public place.
His case is listed before Judge Brian Cummings KC in courtroom 32 from 2.15pm. It is anticipated that the trial will last for between five and seven days.
The ECHO previously reported that Merseyside Police was called to a domestic incident at the shop, near to the junction with Wadham Road, shortly after 5pm on Friday, June 20, 2025, and found Ms Nimalarajah with stab wounds. She was rushed to hospital but was subsequently pronounced dead, with a Home Office post-mortem investigation confirming the cause of death as stab wounds to the chest.
Dozens of bouquets of flowers were laid outside the shuttered store in the aftermath of the incident. Ms Nimalarajah was said to have been working at the shop for around 18 months prior to her death. Paying tribute, colleague Raj Mathiyaparanam said: “She was such a hard worker and a good lady.
“She was lovely. She was the centre of the community. People have said they miss her and can’t believe she’s not here. She was a big part of this society. She was so hardworking and would look after her children so well.”