Ottawa man pleads guilty in mass stabbing that killed mother, four children, and family friend

A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to six counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with a mass stabbing that shocked Ottawa last year.

Febrio De-Zoysa entered guilty pleas today in an Ottawa courtroom to four charges of first-degree murder and two of second-degree murder, as well as one charge of attempted murder. The killings took place in 2024 at a rented townhouse in the Barrhaven area.

The victims were 35-year-old Darshani Ekanayake, her four children aged between two months and seven years, and 40-year-old family friend Gamini Amarakoon. The children’s father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, survived the attack but was seriously injured.

Police previously said De-Zoysa, who was in Canada as an international student, was living with the family at the time of the incident. The case prompted an outpouring of grief from Ottawa’s Sri Lankan community and renewed conversations about mental health and housing support for international students.

A sentencing hearing is expected to follow the guilty plea.