Sri Lankan Febrio gets life for Ottawa family murders

The quiet Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven, known for its tidy lawns and young families, is still reeling from a crime so horrific that a judge called it “monstrous — even demonic.” On Thursday, 20-year-old Febrio De-Zoysa, a Sri Lankan international student, was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people — including a mother, her four young children, and a family friend — in a brutal knife attack that shattered two families and stunned an entire community.

In March 2024, De-Zoysa turned on the very people who had opened their home to him. His victims were 35-year-old Darshani Ekanayake, her children Inuka (7), Ashwini (4), Ranaya (3), and baby Kelly, just two months old; and Gamini Amarakoon, 40, a close family friend who rented their basement. The lone survivor, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, Darshani’s husband, was left scarred — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

“This is one of the worst crimes in Ottawa’s history,” said Justice Kevin Phillips, as he handed down the sentence: life without parole for 25 years. “You are the stuff of nightmares,” he told the young man, his voice heavy with disbelief. “If I could give consecutive life sentences, I would.”

A Night of Unimaginable Horror

Court documents describe the night of March 6, 2024, as one of methodical, calculated violence. De-Zoysa first killed Amarakoon in the basement — the same man who had treated him “like a younger brother.” He then calmly reassured the family upstairs that the noise they heard was from a horror movie. Moments later, he took their lives, one by one.

Darshani died holding her infant in her arms.

Hours later, when Dhanushka returned home after working two jobs, De-Zoysa attacked again. Despite being stabbed six times — in the face, chest, and hands — the father fought back, eventually escaping into the street, covered in blood and screaming for help.

The next morning, police found the bodies of his wife, children, and family friend. “My life ended that night,” Dhanushka told the court, his voice breaking. “I wake up every day with their faces in my heart.”

Lives Interrupted, Futures Lost

The courtroom was filled with anguish as relatives and survivors read victim impact statements. Amarakoon’s wife, appearing by video, wept as she spoke:

“My whole world has been shattered. My husband’s life was taken by someone he trusted.”

Her 12-year-old daughter described a childhood turned into trauma:

“I now wake up crying and scared. My best teenage years are slipping away, filled with limitations and uncertainty.”

Even Amarakoon’s youngest, a three-year-old, still asks for her father — too young to understand why he will never come home.

A Student’s Downward Spiral

De-Zoysa had arrived in Canada from Sri Lanka as an international student at Algonquin College. Once quiet and unremarkable, he began to isolate himself, skipping classes and fearing the loss of his student visa. His financial support from home was in jeopardy. He told police he became “depressed and suicidal,” and had originally planned to take his own life with the same hunting knife he later used to kill six people.

But Justice Phillips rejected claims of diminished responsibility. “At all times,” he said, “you were capable of appreciating the nature and quality of your actions.”

A Community in Mourning

The Barrhaven killings shook Ottawa’s growing Sri Lankan community to its core. Vigils were held in the days following the tragedy, with residents lighting candles in front of the family’s townhouse — a grim reminder of how fragile trust can be, even among those bound by shared heritage and hope for a better life.

For many, the case also raises uncomfortable questions about mental health among young international students — the pressures of isolation, financial stress, and academic expectations far from home.

“Two Beautiful Families, Gone”

In his ruling, Justice Phillips captured the heartbreak left behind:

“You destroyed two beautiful families. You have caused so much loss and grief. The community will never forget this.”

For survivors like Dhanushka, healing feels impossible. “I lost my entire world,” he told the court. “Now, I live only to keep their memory alive.”