OTTAWA -- Canada has approved permanent residency status for the Sri Lankan brother and father of an Ottawa man whose wife and four children were killed in a gruesome mass stabbing.
Febrio De-Zoysa was sentenced to life in prison last fall after pleading guilty 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.
The children's father Dhanushka Wickramasinghe was injured in the attack but survived.
Wickramasinghe's brother and father came to Canada after the murders to support him and last year asked the federal government for help as they faced immigration challenges.
Immigration lawyer Ronalee Carey, who is representing the family, says both the brother and father had their applications approved earlier this month and are now just waiting for their cards to arrive.
Carey says Wickramasinghe's brother is now planning to sponsor his wife and daughter, who previously were denied visitor visas that would allow them to travel to Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 19, 2026.