A 20-year-old student, Febrio De-Zoysa, has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal killings of six people in Ottawa, Canada, including a mother and her four children.

The Sri Lankan student fatally stabbed Darshani Ekanayake, 35, and her children Inuka, seven; Ashwini, four; Ranaya, three; and baby Kelly, two months old, in March 2024. A family friend, Gamini Amarakoon, 40, was also killed, while the father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, survived with injuries.

Justice Kevin Phillips described De-Zoysa’s actions as "stupefying, monstrous," adding, "You are the stuff of nightmares… You have caused so much loss and grief." De-Zoysa cannot seek parole for 25 years.

At the time of the attacks, De-Zoysa was living in the basement of the Wickramasinghe family's rented townhouse. In court, he admitted that while the family had been "good and kind" to him, he was "unwell" when he committed the murders.

De-Zoysa claimed he killed the family because he had run out of money and did not want to return to Sri Lanka when his student visa expired. He used a 38cm hunting knife, which he had purchased over a month earlier.

The attack began with Amarakoon, who was invited to De-Zoysa’s room. Ekanayake heard Amarakoon's screams and contacted her husband, who was out at the time. De-Zoysa then went upstairs and killed the mother and her four children. When Mr. Wickramasinghe returned home, he was also attacked but managed to survive.

In court, the victims’ families expressed their grief. Amarakoon’s widow said their children continue to ask for their father, while Mr. Wickramasinghe described the tragedy as having "destroyed my whole world."

De-Zoysa showed little emotion during the hearing but apologized, saying, "I will spend the rest of my life acknowledging the truth of what I did."