Man pleads guilty to murdering female co-worker at Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium

The man responsible for a brutal stabbing death at Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium in December 2023 has pleaded guilty to murder in the ACT Supreme Court.

Jude Wijesinghe, aged 31, was to have faced trial later this year on a single charge of murder, after Tshewang Choden was stabbed to death in a storeroom in the kitchen area where they both worked.

Court documents revealed Choden was stabbed 14 times, with the fatal blows to the neck and chest.

Wijesinghe had worked in the kitchen for a year-and-a-half where he met the victim Court materials revealed.

On the day of the murder Wijesinghe and Choden were in the kitchen with another colleague who left soon afterwards.

It was shortly after this that workers nearby heard the first screams, and went running to see what was happening.

Wijesinghe was rushed to hospital after the incident, where he was later charged with murder.

He was to have faced trial later this year, but yesterday that was set aside as he pleaded guilty.

Wijesinghe will face a sentencing hearing in October.

Image courtesy of the National Zoo and Aquarium.