Man pleads guilty to 'monstrous' 2024 stabbing attack that killed 6

WARNING: This communicative contains details of murder, including of children, and mentions thoughts of suicide.

A 20-year-old antheral has pleaded blameworthy to murdering 4 children, their parent and a adjacent household person successful a wide stabbing successful Ottawa past year.

Febrio De Zoysa has besides pleaded blameworthy to 1 number of attempted execution for his onslaught connected the begetter of the family, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, who was earnestly injured.

At the clip of the stabbings connected March 6, 2024, De Zoysa was a 19-year-old planetary pupil surviving with the Wickramasinghes successful their basement successful Ottawa's Barrhaven suburb.

He was arrested astatine the country without incidental and charged with six counts of first-degree execution the pursuing day. 

De Zoysa stood with his lawyer Ewan Lyttle successful Superior Court successful Ottawa Thursday greeting and pleaded blameworthy to 4 counts of first-degree execution of the pursuing victims:

• Ranaya Wickramasinghe, the family's three-year-old daughter.
• Ashwini Wickramasinghe, their four-year-old daughter.
• Inuka Wickramasinghe, their seven-year-old son.
• Gamini Amarakoon, 40, a adjacent household person and 1 of the family's 2 tenants.

The sentences for those murders are automatic: beingness successful situation with nary quality to use for parole for 25 years.

For the remaining 2 victims — parent Darshani Ekanayake, 35, and her babe Kelly Wickramasinghe, conscionable 2 months aged — De Zoysa pleaded down to the lesser offence of second-degree murder. Pleading down is communal successful plea bargains.

Dhanushka Wickramasinghe's 4 young children, woman and household person were killed connected March 6, 2024 wrong their townhouse successful Barrhaven. (Emma Weller/CBC)

The murders — described by Ottawa's politician arsenic 1 of the astir shocking acts of unit the superior has ever seen — generated headlines crossed Canada and besides gripped Sri Lankan media.

With the objection of the baby, the Wickramasinghes were newcomers to Canada from Sri Lanka. So was Amarakoon, who was moving to enactment his household backmost home.

De Zoysa is simply a Sri Lankan national.

Facts heard successful court

In an interrogation with a homicide researcher aft his arrest, De Zoysa said the Wickramasinghe household had "been thing but bully to me," but helium decided to "bash out" and termination them due to the fact that helium had tally retired of money, helium didn't privation to instrumentality to Sri Lanka erstwhile his planetary pupil visa expired, and helium "was excessively goddamn weak" to instrumentality his ain life.

"I'm bushed of each these rules and radical and it's conscionable stupid, similar the full world," De Zoysa told Ottawa constabulary homicide Sgt. Chris O'Brien.

On March 1, 5 days earlier the slayings, helium made the determination to bash it, Crown lawyer Dallas Mack told tribunal Thursday. Afterward, his program was to support surviving successful the location for a fewer days until helium was arrested.

This household photograph was taken the aforesaid time helium hatched that plan, during a solemnisation for Ranaya Wickramasinghe's 3rd birthday.

The Wickramasinghe household astatine girl Ranaya's 3rd day party. From left: begetter Dhanushka Wickramasinghe; two-month-old girl Kelly; daughters Ashwini, 4, and Ranaya, 3; lad Inuka, 7; and parent Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, 35. (Facebook)

On Jan. 31, 2024, De Zoysa had ordered a 38-centimetre hunting weapon online that helium had planned to usage to termination himself, helium told O'Brien.

Around the aforesaid clip helium had stopped attending classes and completing assignments, and was spending a batch of clip playing video games and a batch of wealth connected takeout orders, the Crown said.

De Zoysa thought his failing grades would effect successful the cancellation of his pupil visa, ending the travel of fiscal enactment helium was receiving from his household successful Sri Lanka.

Began successful the basement

On March 6, 2024, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe was moving 2 jobs: astatine his cleaning business, starting astatine 3:30 a.m., and driving for Uber successful chunks passim the remainder of the day.

He took breaks to driblet his 2 eldest children disconnected astatine schoolhouse and to devour meal with his woman and their 2 youngest children. Later, helium took different interruption to prime his kids up from schoolhouse and they stopped for a container of doughnuts connected the mode home. Wickramasinghe dropped them disconnected astatine the location and headed backmost to work.

Later that afternoon, De Zoysa invited the family's different tenant into his basement chamber to ticker a movie.

When Amarakoon walked successful De Zoysa stabbed him aggregate times, sidesplitting him wrong seconds oregon astatine astir wrong "a tiny fig of minutes," the Crown told tribunal — recapping the findings of a forensic pathologist.

Gamini Amarakoon, left, who boarded with the Wickramasinghes and was besides murdered successful the attack, is pictured present with his woman Dishani Asangika Fernando, their past 12-year-old girl Asheri Hiyansa Amarakoon, and three-year-old girl Kaylee Atarah Amarakoon backmost successful Sri Lanka. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice exhibit)

Seven-year-old Inuka heard Amarakoon's screams from upstairs and told his mother, who was with the baby.

Darshani Ekanayake past called her husband, who was inactive retired working. After speaking to his wife, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe called De Zoysa to inquire what was going on.

De Zoysa said helium lied to Wickramasinghe and his wife, telling them that the screams had travel from the movie helium was watching successful the basement with Amarakoon.

After helium managed to person the mates everything was fine, De Zoysa headed upstairs.

On the main level and precocious level of the house, helium stabbed each 4 children and Ekanayake to death. He outlined for police, successful item excessively graphic to people here, wherever and however it happened, and what helium did instantly afterward. 

A forensic pathologist recovered that Ekanayake and the children each died wrong seconds of being attacked.

Flowers beryllium astatine the country the adjacent day. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

De Zoysa told O'Brien that astir 5:20 p.m., helium called Dhanushka Wickramasinghe to inquire erstwhile helium would beryllium home, and helium spent the intervening hours waiting for him.

"I was conscionable watching TikToks, trying to discarded time.... Trying to calm myself down," De Zoysa said.

Wickramasinghe arrived location conscionable earlier 11 p.m., aft finishing enactment and going to the gym, the Crown told court. The lights wrong the location were disconnected and helium assumed everyone was sleeping.

For astir 10 minutes helium sat successful his car successful the garage, utilizing societal media to drawback up with friends and family. Then helium got retired and entered his location done a doorway successful the garage.

A pursuit and confession

As soon arsenic helium walked successful helium saw De Zoysa, who was lasting with the hunting weapon hidden down his back. Wickramasinghe greeted him and De Zoysa instantly started attacking him, the Crown said.

Wickramasinghe yet managed to overpower De Zoysa and wrench the weapon from his hands. He past ran to a neighbour's location for assistance arsenic De Zoysa chased aft him with a chef's weapon helium had grabbed from the kitchen.

The neighbours heard Wickramasinghe outside, screaming that idiosyncratic had killed his children. They called 911, and Wickramasinghe called 911 arsenic well.

When they arrived, constabulary recovered De Zoysa sitting connected the beforehand steps. 

"I was going to beryllium deported; I had nary choice. I killed them all," De Zoysa told the arresting officer.

After helium was work his rights, helium repeated that helium had killed them. First responders recovered each the victims inside.

Forensic investigators and different Ottawa constabulary officers basal extracurricular the Barrhaven townhouse the greeting aft the killings. (Radio-Canada)

Wickramasinghe, meanwhile, "was lone acrophobic for his family" contempt his ain superior wounds, the Crown said.

"He tried to re-enter the location to get to his woman and children. He asked repeatedly for immoderate accusation astir them," but constabulary kept him extracurricular to beryllium treated earlier helium was yet taken to hospital.

He remained successful infirmary for days, undergoing aggregate surgeries.

Victim interaction statements

There were 5 unfortunate interaction statements Thursday: 3 from Amarakoon’s household and 2 from Wickramasinghe’s.

Amarakoon’s widow Dishani Asangika Fernando appeared successful tribunal via video from Sri Lanka, saying Amarakoon was a selfless supplier for their household who “gave everything to america — his time, his energy, his dreams.”

She inactive texts his fig each time and her caput replays what happened to him “over and over.”

Asheri Hiyansa Amarakoon, 13, wrote that she sometimes cries erstwhile she sees her father's photos oregon hears his favourite songs, and that her location feels antithetic now: “nothing feels mean anymore.”

She worries her household mightiness not beryllium capable to spend the higher acquisition she needs to prosecute her caller dream, conceived aft her father’s death, to go a lawyer truthful that “no 1 has to suffer their dada similar I did.”

The family’s 3rd connection was written connected behalf of three-year-old Kaylee Atarah Amarakoon, who whitethorn beryllium young, “but feels her father’s lack deeply.”

“She asks for him each the clip — wherefore helium doesn’t travel home, wherefore helium doesn't call.” She speaks to his photographs successful the house, and gets upset seeing children with their fathers.

Kaylee is besides recently anxious; showing “signs of insecure attachment that were ne'er determination before.”

Sutcliffe, 2nd from left, paid respects to the victims of a wide sidesplitting successful Barrhaven astatine a vigil a fewer days afterward. He called the lawsuit 'one of the astir shocking incidents of unit successful our city's history.' (Camille Kasisi-Monet/Radio-Canada)

Dhanushka Wickramasinghe’s member couldn’t bring himself to speak, truthful adjunct Crown authoritative Sophie Reynolds work for him.

He wrote that helium dropped everything to travel to Canada and enactment his brother, leaving his woman and kid backmost location successful Sri Lanka. “I cannot permission him unsocial successful this unbearable sorrow,” but each time helium feels torn betwixt his duties arsenic a member and his request for his family.

He feels helpless, helium wrote, “watching my household autumn isolated successful 2 countries.”

Visitors' visas for his woman and girl were denied, robbing their household of the “warmth and comfort” they would bring. Permanent residency applications filed by some brothers and their begetter person been pending for implicit a year.

“The waiting has go a torment,” helium added.

'By helping others, I tin honour them'

The past to talk was Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, hands connected the podium, caput bent, struggling sometimes to get the words out.

He said helium chose to bring his household to Canada due to the fact that of each the “opportunities, kindness and beauty” he’d heard astir and helium worked hard each time to springiness his household the champion beingness helium could.

Then helium described the attack, but helium spent acold much clip thanking everyone who’s helped him since that night: the doctors and nurses astatine The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic field trauma centre who treated him similar family, the archetypal responders who saved his life, his friends astatine the monastery his household frequented who helped him find a caller spot to live, Ottawa’s mayor, each the lawyers connected the case, and more.

And helium mentioned his charity, which helium hopes to proceed “for the remainder of my life,” supporting schoolhouse kids successful Sri Lanka successful need.

WATCH | Dhanushka Wickramasinghe speaks earlier this year:

“This calamity destroyed my full world, my wife, my children, my dreams, my peace. I aftermath up each time with their faces successful my heart,” and determination tin beryllium “no recovery.” But helium hopes that “by helping others, I tin honour them.”

Dhanushka Wickramasinghe ended with a plea to others similar him, coming to this “beautiful country” successful hunt of a amended life: “Please bash not destruct the bid and quiescent of this land. Let america support and respect it.”

The justice addressed him afterward.

“The information that you truthful give yourself to others aft each that has been taken from you, sir, is awe-inspiring. I americium humbled by your presence,” helium said.

“It occurs to maine that a household endowed with your worth strategy would person enriched our community, and we are each accordingly diminished by the nonaccomplishment of Inuka, Ashwini, Ranaya, Kelly, and of people your beingness partner, Darshani.”

De Zoysa apologizes

De Zoysa sat inactive and quiescent done the proceedings, his caput facing straight. His eyes darted backmost and distant betwixt the floor, the lawyers speaking and occasionally the gallery, and helium showed nary emotion.

When the justice asked if helium had thing to say, De Zoysa said helium was profoundly atrocious for what helium had done, “and I volition walk the remainder of my beingness acknowledging the information of what I did.”

He again said the victims had been “good and benignant to me” and that helium was “not well” astatine the time. 

Sentencing was brief. The Crown and defence offered a associated position: the automatic beingness condemnation with nary quality to use for parole for 25 years for each six of the murders, and a 25-year condemnation for the attempted execution to beryllium served astatine the aforesaid time.

His defence lawyer Ewan Lyttle said De Zoysa was 19 astatine the time, acold distant from location and had small beingness acquisition and skills.

He stressed that De Zoysa’s parents are “good people” who had nary thought thing similar this would hap erstwhile they sent their lad to survey successful Canada.

Lyttle said helium was not advancing a intelligence health-related defence, but that determination was “no question” his lawsuit was struggling with intelligence illness.

“He has done the unthinkable, but contiguous helium is doing what is close and what is expected of him, and Your Honour knows that not galore radical successful his concern bash that.”

'The worldly of nightmares'

Assistant Crown authoritative Louise Tansey argued that De Zoysa “displayed immeasurable cruelty” and “callousness” erstwhile helium committed wide execution “on immoderate of our community’s astir susceptible members.” 

“His committedness to his program to execution ne'er wavered for a moment” passim that day and evening and “it was a slaughter,” Tansey said.

“The value of separating this offender from nine is vital,” and “should beryllium implicit and lifelong.”

Phillips, the judge, pulled nary punches.

“You person shocked the assemblage and shaken it to its core,” helium said.

As for De Zoysa's intelligence health, “even if I judge those intelligence wellness challenges to beryllium true, they get obscurity adjacent to excusing your behaviour. The grounds shows that astatine each times you were afloat susceptible of appreciating quality and prime of your actions, and that you knew afloat good that they were wrong.”

“[Dhanushka Wickramasinghe] was your friend. [The family] took you in. You breached their spot successful the astir wicked and depraved mode that could beryllium imagined,” Phillips said.

“The level of unit successful this lawsuit is stupefying, monstrous, adjacent demonic. You are the worldly of nightmares. If I could springiness you consecutive sentences, I would.”

He imposed the associated position, and tribunal concluded.