Survivor father of slain family had walked in on Canada murder-accused
Dhanushka Maduranaga Wickramasinghe, 38, who recently started a cleaning company, returned to his residence in the Ottawa suburban area of Barrhaven, where he was confronted by a 19-year-old youth, for whom the family had provided accommodation.
The youth was armed with a club and a knife.
“Did you harm my family?” was the first question he had asked Febrio De-Zoysa before he ran upstairs to find his whole family harmed.
The youth, who came from behind, had clubbed Mr. Wickramasinghe and continued to attack him with a knife. He had run out of the house while calling for help.
Mr. Wickramasinghe is now being treated at Ottawa Hospital. He had recalled the incident when the resident monk of Hilda Jayawardenaramaya in Ottawa, Ven Sumanaratna Thera of Nagaswewa, visited him. The monk said the family was kind and welcoming.
He said, however, that the same cannot be said about De-Zoysa. He seldom came to the temple and was a very shy and silent character.
The monk also said that Mr. Wickramasinghe, who worked at a mobile company in Sri Lanka, came to Canada in July 2021 for higher studies and had recently started a cleaning company.
Mr. Wickramasinghe was studying and was first staying at a boarding house with De-Zoysa.
However, recently, when the youth was asked to leave his boarding place by the landlord, it was Mr. Wickramasinghe who had provided him with accommodation in the basement of his home a few months ago.
Mr. Wickramasinghe’s wife and three of his children arrived in Canada in 2023, and their fourth child, who was born in Canada, was just two months old. One of the children had also started dhamma school at the temple recently.
He had learned that the youth had also dropped out of school and was always spending time playing video games. The thera said he suspected that the addiction and his mental condition might have led him to carry out the acts.
He said that it was a surprise as the 19-year-old youth was very close to them, and the family had even celebrated the 19th birthday of the boy and they had bought him cheesecake, which he liked.
The Canadian media reported the incident as one of the biggest mass killings in three decades.
The dead were identified as Wickramasinghe's wife, Darshani Bandaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, 35, and four children: Inuka Wickramasinghe, 7, Ashwini Wickramasinghe, 4, daughter Rinyana Wickramasinghe, 2, and two-month-old daughter Kelly Wickramasinghe.
Also killed was Mr. Wickramasinge’s friend, Amarakoon Mudiyanselage Gamini Amarakoon, 40. He worked with him and was staying with the Wickramasinghes.
Darshani Ekanayake, who was a student at Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya and a graduate of Colombo University, was working at St. Benedict Model School in Polgahawela.
Her mother, Jayantha Ekanayake, 66, said she received the last call from her daughter last Wednesday (March 6). Her daughter had asked how she was doing and told her that she was busy and was feeling tired.
Ms. Ekanayake said she was to travel to Canada, and her daughter was expecting her as she was to study for her master’s degree.
She said that from the early hours, the university friends of her daughter, and later in the day, family friends and neighbours, had asked about her daughter. “After one person asked me if my daughter faced a tragedy, then only it struck me that something bad had happened.’’
The father of the deceased, B.G. W. Ekanayake, said the tragedy happened due to an act of kindness, as the boy they gave accommodation to turned on them.
According to Canadian media reports, a spokesperson for Algonquin College confirmed that De-Zoysa had been a student and that his last semester of attendance had been in the winter of 2023. The college also mourned the death of the family.
Ottawa police chief Eric Stubbs said on Thursday that police responded to calls from a man— whom he later identified as Mr. Wickramasinghe—who was yelling for help outside the house.
He added that the man was taken to the hospital in stable condition. An "edged weapon” had been used in the killings.
The only suspect was arrested near the house, produced in court, and charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. The suspect is due in court on March 14.
Canadian media reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed shock and horror at the "terrible violence."
Meanwhile Anusha de Zoysa, an aunt of the 19-year-old suspect, has told Canadian media that she was in shock about the incident. She said that her nephew arrived in Canada two years ago.
She said he was living with her for a short period and he had met Mr Wickramasinghe while studying at Algonquin College. After her nephew moved out from her home he and Mr Wickramasinghe had become room mates. Two months back Mr Wickramasinghe had invited him to move in to his residence in Barrhaven.
She said her nephew had cut off all communications and social media contact with her, a year ago.
After one person asked me if my daughter faced a tragedy, then only it struck me that something bad had happened.’’