DETAILS OF SLAIN CLERK'S LIFE EMERGE SRI LANKAN COMMUNITY JOINS TO GIVE IDENTITY TO FELLOW COUNTRYMAN.

Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer

CHATSWORTH -- His existence was invisible to nearly everyone -- until his brutal killing.

Hiran Ediriweera was beaten to death with a baseball bat Oct. 13, his battered body found on the cold tile floor of the mini-mart where he worked the overnight shift.

With no local family to grieve, a community of strangers has come forward to mourn the death of the reclusive man from Sri Lanka, who lived alone for years in a sparse room he rented on a tree-lined Van Nuys street.

``We are still in the dark. Nobody knows anything about him,'' said Aparekke Punyasiri, a Buddhist priest searching for information about Ediriweera. ``He's a fellow countryman and should not have been beaten to death like that.''

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7 tonight at the Arco AM/PM at Devonshire Street and Mason Avenue, where white candles and bouquets of flowers stand in memory of the man killed inside.

The suspect, a parolee named Frank Erik Kaatz, has since pleaded not guilty to murder and remains in jail.

When news reports of the grisly slaying spread, the clerk was referred to as Rohan Rameukwella, a name he used on immigration documents. But the name didn't ring true to local Sri Lankans, who feverishly called and e-mailed one another to find someone who knew him.

After coming up empty-handed, Hassina Leelarathna called the Los Angeles Police Department. Detectives told her the victim used two names. Suddenly pieces of his life came together in her mind.

``The man was living in fear and hiding,'' she said. ``He was working under an alias. His family is back in Sri Lanka.''

The story struck hard with Podinilame Dissanayake, who worked 16-hour days as a service station clerk when he first came to America. It was a tough few years of barely scraping by and sending money overseas to his wife and children before he could stand on his own. Dissanayake recognized Ediriweera's struggle to earn a living.

``It's a difficult life,'' he said. ``He saw the dangers in the streets but still he went out because he had to earn a living.''

Ediriweera's landlord, John Michaelson, described the reliable renter as a man who came and went quietly and never divulged personal information. Without a television, telephone or radio, Ediriweera sat in a chair and read for hours.

``I would only see him once a month to pay the rent,'' Michaelson said.

Searching for more answers, Leelarathna sent a story about Ediriweera's death to a Sri Lankan newspaper, which posted it online. A man in Dubai read it and recognized the family name. By Wednesday, the Ediriweeras were on the phone with Leelarathna asking for details of the death.

Leelarathna was stunned by what she learned.

It turns out the man who for six years lived a thrifty and meager lifestyle in America came from a wealthy family that runs a successful Sri Lankan travel agency. Tour buses with the family name adorned on the side run through local streets.

The convenience store clerk's parents are dead, but his two brothers survive. Police are still verifying if he has children.

The news has left Leelarathna puzzled.

``He did not have to be here,'' she said. ``It was probably someone chasing after the American dream.''

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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