Sri Lankan family stabbed by 19 year old, organized birthday party for suspect

The Sri Lankan family slain in a stabbing rampage at an Ottawa home late Wednesday threw a birthday party for the alleged suspect just days ago, says a religious leader who knew them.

The father who survived the attack in which his wife and four children were killed was in “great shock” on Thursday, said Ven Suneetha.

The resident monk at Hilda Jayewardenaramaya Buddhist Monastery, which the family attended, said he visited his friend at the hospital.

The father told Suneetha that nothing seemed “wrong” in the lead-up to the attack in which a student living with the family is accused, the monk said.

“They (even) helped him to celebrate,” he told The Canadian Press in an interview. “They organized a celebration of his 19th birthday last week, a few days ago.”

The father told Ven Suneetha that there had been no issues between the family and De-Zoysa before the attack.

De-Zoysa had moved into their basement a month or two ago as he pursued his studies in Ottawa. The father had even met the suspect's parents in Sri Lanka, Suneetha recounted.

But it seemed not all was well with De-Zoysa.

He was having problems at school and recently dropped out, Suneetha said the father told him. He was also having thoughts of suicide.

Six people including the mother, her four young children and the family acquaintance from Sri Lanka were killed inside their townhouse in the south Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven late Wednesday night.

The 19-year-old Sri Lankan identified as Febrio De-Zoysa, was arrested and charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Police said he is a Sri Lankan national who is believed to be in Canada as a student. 

Police have identified five of the victims as a family of newcomers to Canada from Sri Lanka. They are: 35-year-old Darshani Bandaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake, seven-year-old Inuka Wickramasinghe, four-year-old daughter Ashwini Wickramasinghe, two-year-old daughter Rinyana Wickramasinghe and two-month-old daughter Kelly Wickramasinghe.

Police said Ekanayake's husband was injured and is currently in hospital in stable condition. He's since been identified as Dhanushka Wickramasinghe.

Another man, 40-year-old Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon, was also killed.

 The Canadian police are describing the deaths as a "mass killing".

"This was a senseless act of violence perpetrated on purely innocent people," said Ottawa's police chief on Thursday.

Officers responded to emergency calls placed at approximately 22:52 local time (03:52 GMT) on Wednesday from the Ottawa suburb of Barrhaven.

When they arrived, police chief Eric Stubbs said officers quickly identified the suspect, who was arrested without incident.

He said the incident is the biggest murder case in Ottawa's recent history, calling it a "real tragedy" that would continue to have a "significant" impact on the nation's capital city.

"I'm sure the impact on the community is great," he added, while emphasising that residents and community members should continue to stay away from the area.

The  suspect  De-Zoysa, made his first court appearance late Thursday afternoon. De-Zoysa spoke little, stating his name and birthdate before sitting down, Canadian media report said.

He was ordered not to contact five people, one of whom is Dhanushka Wickramasinghe.

De-Zoysa's next court appearance is scheduled for March 14.

Police said De-Zoysa is also an acquaintance of the family and was living in the home at the time of the killings. 

According to Police investigations  a "knife-like" edged weapon was used in the homicides.

Police sketch of suspect 

Amarakoonmubiayansela Ge Gamini Amarakoon