Man sentenced to life for monstrous murder of family
Febrio De-Zoysa, a 20-year-old Sri Lankan student, has been sentenced to life in prison for killing six people, including a mother and four children, in Ottawa
A man who murdered six people, including a mother and her four children, in Canada's capital Ottawa has been sentenced to life in prison.
Fabrio De-Zoysa, a 20-year-old student, was living with the family in March 2024 when he fatally stabbed 35-year-old Darshani Ekanayake and her four children: Inuka (seven years old), Ashwini (four years old), Ranaya (three years old), and two-month-old Kelly.
A family friend, 40-year-old Gamini Amarakoon, was also murdered, while the father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, was injured.
Delivering the sentence on Thursday, Justice Kevin Phillips condemned De-Zoysa's "shocking, horrific" actions. He said, "You are the stuff of nightmares... You have caused so much harm and suffering."
Warning: This story contains details of violence that some readers may find disturbing.
De-Zoysa will not be eligible for parole for 25 years.
The Sri Lankan student was living in the basement of the Wickramasinghe family's rented townhouse when the mass stabbing occurred, which was later described by the mayor of Ottawa as "one of the most shocking incidents of violence in our city's history."
In court on Thursday, De-Zoysa reiterated what he had said during earlier proceedings: that the family had been "good and kind" to him, but that he "wasn't well" at the time.
Defence lawyer Evan Little acknowledged that De-Zoysa committed "unimaginable" crimes, while also noting that he was struggling with mental illness at the time of the incident.
Canadian media reported that De-Zoysa sat silently for most of the hearing and showed no emotion.
When Justice Phillips asked if he had anything further to say, he offered an apology. He said, "I will spend the rest of my life accepting the truth of what I have done."
The victims, with the exception of a baby born in Canada, were all Sri Lankan nationals who had arrived in Ottawa in recent years. De Zoysa told investigators he committed the murders on March 6, 2024, because he had run out of money but did not want to return to Sri Lanka after his student visa expired.
The court heard that his weapon was a 38cm hunting knife, which he had purchased more than a month earlier and intended to use to take his own life.
De Zoysa's first victim was Amarakoon, whom he killed "minutes" after inviting him to his basement room to watch a movie.
Ekanayake heard Amarakoon's screams and called her husband, who was still out. Mr. Wickramasinghe then called De Zoysa, who lied, saying the screams were from the movie they were watching, Canadian broadcaster CBC reported.
De Zoysa then went upstairs and stabbed Ekanayake and the four children to death.
When Mr. Wickramasinghe returned home hours later, De Zoysa began attacking him, but was eventually subdued.
Neighbors called the police after hearing Mr. Wickramasinghe shouting that someone had killed his family.
When police arrived, they found De Zoysa sitting on the stairs of the house. "I was going to be deported. I had no choice. I killed them all," he reportedly told the arresting officer.
Amarakoon's widow, Dishani Asangika Fernando, appeared via video conference from Sri Lanka at Thursday's hearing and said her late husband "gave us everything – his time, his energy, his dreams." The court heard that their three-year-old daughter "asks about him all the time," while their teenage daughter, Ashery Hiyansa Amarakoon, told the court that "nothing feels normal anymore."
Mr. Vikramasinghe, who spoke last, said that this tragic incident had "destroyed my whole world" and that it was something he would never recover from.
"Please do not destroy the peace and tranquility of this land. Let us protect and respect it."
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