Family of Ottawa mass murder victims calls on immigration department for help

Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, centre, looks on towards Immigration Lawyer and family representative Ronalee Carey as she speaks to reporters outside of the Ottawa Courthouse in Ottawa, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. Wickramasinghe is the sole survivor of a mass stabbing incident in Ottawa’s Barrhaven region that took the lives of his four children, his wife and a family friend. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

The brother and father of an Ottawa man whose wife and four children were killed in a gruesome mass stabbing last year are asking the federal government for help as they face immigration challenges.

Febrio De-Zoysa was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty on Thursday to killing Darshani Ekanayake, her four children including a two-month-old infant, and their family friend, Gamini Amarakoon, in an Ottawa townhouse in March 2024.

The children’s father Dhanushka Wickramasinghe was injured in the attack but survived.

His application for permanent residency on compassionate grounds was approved in principle almost a year ago, but he has heard nothing about it since.

His brother and father, who came to Canada after the murders to support him, have heard nothing at all about their own permanent residency applications.

Wickramasinghe’s brother is also looking for an extension to his temporary resident permit so he can work, and is asking the government to reconsider after denying his wife and daughter visitor visas so they could also travel to Canada.

RELATED STORY: Man given life sentence for 2024 murders of Ottawa family

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press