Canada approves permanent residency for family of Ottawa mass murder victims
Global News
Canada has approved permanent residency status for the Sri Lankan brother and father of an Ottawa man whose wife and four children were killed in a gruesome mass stabbing.
Canada has approved permanent residency status for the Sri Lankan brother and father of an Ottawa man whose wife and four children were killed in a gruesome mass stabbing.
Darshani Ekanayake, 35, her seven-year-old son Inuka and her three daughters, Ashwini, 4, Ranaya, 3, and Kelly, two months, were killed at their Ottawa townhouse in March 2024.
Gamini Amarakoon, 40, a family friend and tenant of the family, was also killed.
Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, Ekanayake’s husband and the children’s father, was injured in the attack but survived.
In November, Febrio De-Zoysa was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years, after pleading guilty to four counts of first degree murder, two counts of second degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
Wickramasinghe’s brother and father came to Canada after the murders to support him and last year asked the federal government for help after applying for permanent residency but hearing nothing for months.
Immigration lawyer Ronalee Carey, who is representing the family, said Monday both the brother and father had their applications approved earlier this month and are now just waiting for their cards to arrive.
Carey says Wickramasinghe’s brother, Chelaka Wickramasinghe, is now planning to sponsor his wife and daughter, who previously were denied visitor visas that would allow them to travel to Canada. She says processing time for that is 14 months.
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