Full Analysis Summary
Mass stabbing sentencing details
A Sri Lankan international student, Febrio De-Zoysa, was sentenced to life in prison in Ottawa.
He pleaded guilty to a mass stabbing that killed six people from the same community.
The victims included 35-year-old mother Darshani Ekanayake, her four children aged from two months to seven years, and family friend Gamini Amarakoon, 40.
The father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, survived the attack with injuries.
Reports differ on De-Zoysa’s age, with some stating 19 and others 20.
There is also variation in coverage regarding his eligibility for parole.
However, all accounts agree on the life sentence and the scale of the killings that occurred in March 2024.
Coverage Differences
Contradiction
The Island.lk (Other) reports De-Zoysa as 'a 19-year-old Sri Lankan international student,' while The Star (Asian) reports him as 'a 20-year-old student.'
Missed information
The Island.lk (Other) specifies 'without parole for 25 years,' a detail The Star (Asian) does not include; The Star adds the month ('March 2024') which The Island.lk snippet does not specify.
Details of De-Zoysa Family Murders
Accounts agree De-Zoysa lived with the family.
The Island.lk details the sequence: he first killed family friend Gamini Amarakoon in the basement.
He then deceived the household by claiming the noises were from a horror film before moving upstairs.
Upstairs, he fatally stabbed the mother and children.
The Star corroborates that he was living with the family and confirms the identities and ages of the victims.
Coverage Differences
Missed information
The Island.lk (Other) reports granular crime-sequence details—including the alleged 'horror film' deception and the basement-to-upstairs progression—while The Star (Asian) does not include these specifics.
Narrative/tone
The Island.lk (Other) emphasizes a narrative of betrayal and calculated deception, while The Star (Asian) presents a concise factual summary focusing on identities and the life sentence.
Judicial Response to Violent Crime
In court, the judge denounced the killings in the strongest terms.
The Star quotes Justice Kevin Phillips calling De-Zoysa’s actions “stupefying” and “monstrous.”
The Island.lk characterizes the crime as “one of the worst in the city’s history,” stressing “brutal betrayal and violence.”
The reports highlight the profound impact on the victims’ family and community.
Both depictions underscore extraordinary judicial condemnation and societal harm.
Coverage Differences
Tone
The Star (Asian) foregrounds direct judicial quotes—'stupefying' and 'monstrous'—whereas The Island.lk (Other) stresses broader community impact and labels the massacre as among the worst in Ottawa’s history.
Missed information
The Star (Asian) names the judge (Justice Kevin Phillips), a detail not present in The Island.lk (Other) snippet, while The Island.lk provides extensive commentary on community impact not present in The Star extract.
Victims and Survivor Details
The identities of the victims and the survival of the father are consistent across reports, though the level of detail differs.
The Star lists the names and ages of the four children—Inuka (7), Ashwini (4), Ranaya (3), and two-month-old Kelly—alongside the adults.
The Island.lk describes the children as 'aged two months to seven years.'
Regarding the survivor, The Star says the father 'was wounded but survived.'
The Island.lk adds that he was 'severely injured but survived after fighting off De-Zoysa and escaping.'
Coverage Differences
Missed information
The Star (Asian) provides full names and ages for the children; The Island.lk (Other) gives an age range but not the children's names. Conversely, The Island.lk adds detail about the father's struggle and escape that The Star omits.