Life sentence given to man for murdering Ottawa family in 2024

By Canadian Press on November 6, 2025.

OTTAWA — The man who pleaded guilty to killing a mother, her four children and a family friend in a mass stabbing in Ottawa in 2024 was sentenced today to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

Febrio De-Zoysa pleaded guilty to four counts of first degree murder, two counts of second degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

The judge presiding over the case called it one of the worst crimes in the city’s history and said it has “shocked” the community and “shaken it to its core.”

The victims’ family members read out impact statements to a packed courtroom earlier today.

Thirty-five-year-old Darshani Ekanayake and her four children who ranged in age from two months to seven years old, along with 40-year-old Gamini Amarakoon were killed in the attack.

De-Zoysa was a 19-year-old international student living at the family’s rented townhouse at the time of the murders.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press