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Family of Ottawa mass murder victims calls on immigration department for help

Click to play video: 'Ottawa police identify victims, suspect in city’s worst mass killing'
Ottawa police identify victims, suspect in city’s worst mass killing
WARNING: This video contains disturbing details. Viewer discretion is advised. A mother, her four young children and an adult family friend have been killed in Barrhaven, a suburb about 20 kilometres southwest of downtown Ottawa. Febrio De-Zoysa, 19, has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Mackenzie Gray reports on the police investigation, and has reaction from stunned neighbours – Mar 7, 2024

The brother and father of an Ottawa man whose wife and four children were killed in a gruesome mass stabbing last year are asking the federal government for help as they face immigration challenges.

Febrio De-Zoysa was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty on Thursday to killing Darshani Ekanayake, her four children including a two-month-old infant, and their family friend, Gamini Amarakoon, in an Ottawa townhouse in March 2024.

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The children’s father Dhanushka Wickramasinghe was injured in the attack but survived.

His application for permanent residency on compassionate grounds was approved in principle almost a year ago, but he has heard nothing about it since.

His brother and father, who came to Canada after the murders to support him, have heard nothing at all about their own permanent residency applications.

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Wickramasinghe’s brother is also looking for an extension to his temporary resident permit so he can work, and is asking the government to reconsider after denying his wife and daughter visitor visas so they could also travel to Canada.

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