Fatal Bootle shop stabbing suspect in 'critical' condition in hospital

A man arrested on suspicion of murdering a 44-year-old shopkeeper in Bootle is in a “critical” condition in hospital.

Merseyside Police officers were called to Low Cost Food and Wine on Stanley Road, near its junction with Wadham Road, shortly after 5.05pm on Friday (June 20).

It had been reported that a woman - now said to be the shopkeeper - had sustained a stab wound to her torso after an assault inside the premises. Patrols attended the scene where they detained a man and seized a knife.

44-year-old Nilani Nimalarajah was taken to hospital but sadly passed away a short time later. A Home Office post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as stab wounds to the chest.

Merseyside Police say a 47-year-old man from Widnes, who was arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place, remains in hospital in a “critical but stable condition”. An investigation is ongoing and CCTV, forensic and witness enquiries continue to be carried out in the local area.

Detective Inspector Alan Nuttall said: “First of all I want to say a thank you to the public for their support, for assisting the victim on the day and continuing to help us with the investigation.

“We understand how distressing this incident would have been to anyone who witnessed it and the shock that continues to be felt by the local community and I want people to feel reassured we are doing everything in our power to get justice for Nilani and her family.

“It is vital we can establish the full circumstances of what took place on Friday and we would urge people to come forward and tell us what they know.

“We have been carrying out a number of lines of enquiry including examining CCTV and we know there are people on CCTV who have yet to come forward and my plea would be please get in touch. All information is important, no matter how small.

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“From our enquiries we know the male suspect used the bus network to travel from Wirral to Stanley Road and we are keen to identify any witness who saw someone acting suspiciously. Similarly we want to speak to anyone who was walking or travelling along Stanley Road, near to The South Park, where we believe the suspect alighted from the bus.

“We know that Stanley Road would have been busy on Friday afternoon with cars, buses and pedestrians and we would ask people if they saw something or captured something significant on their mobile phone or dashcam to contact us.”

Anyone with information on this incident and who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area on Friday night should contact Merseyside Police social media desk via X @MerPolCC or on Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’.

You can also report information via Merseyside Police’s website or call 101 quoting incident reference 25000507041.Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website.