Sri Lankan international student Febrio De Zoysa, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder after killing six people, including four children, in a mass stabbing in Barrhaven, Ottawa, last March. He admitted to murdering Inuka, Ashwini, and Ranaya Wickramasinghe, along with family friend Gamini Amarakoon, while pleading to lesser charges for the deaths of their mother and infant sister. Legal experts noted the rarity of such a guilty plea for first-degree murder, given the strength of the evidence against him. De Zoysa’s motive stemmed from financial desperation as he faced the expiration of his student visa, despite the family’s kindness towards him.
