A young man, aged 20, has admitted to the brutal murder of four children, their mother, and a family friend in a horrific stabbing rampage in Ottawa. Febrio De Zoysa, at the time a 19-year-old international student residing in the victims’ basement in Ottawa’s Barrhaven neighborhood, has also confessed to attempting to kill the father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, who sustained severe injuries.
De Zoysa, standing alongside his attorney in Ottawa’s Superior Court, entered guilty pleas to four counts of first-degree murder for the killings of the children Ranaya, Ashwini, and Inuka Wickramasinghe, along with family friend Gamini Amarakoon. The sentences for these murders mandate a life term in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.
For the remaining victims, Darshani Ekanayake and her infant Kelly Wickramasinghe, De Zoysa pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder, a common occurrence in plea agreements. The shocking incident, described as one of the most violent acts in Ottawa’s history by the city’s mayor, garnered widespread media coverage in both Canada and Sri Lanka.
During a police interview following his arrest, De Zoysa revealed his motives for the heinous act, citing financial struggles, fear of returning to Sri Lanka upon the expiry of his student visa, and a sense of helplessness. The tragic events unfolded on March 6, 2024, starting in the family’s basement and escalating into a violent spree that claimed multiple lives.
Despite expressing remorse for his actions and acknowledging the kindness shown to him by the victims, De Zoysa received a unanimous life sentence without parole eligibility for 25 years for all six murders. The court session concluded with emotional victim impact statements from the affected families and a poignant plea for peace and respect from the grieving survivor, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe.