buddhist monastery to hold memorial for 2024 barrhaven attack victims
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a file photo shows flowers left seen outside the barrhaven house where six people were killed in in march 2024.
spencer colby
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postmedia
one year after losing his wife, four children and a close family friend in the biggest mass killing in ottawa history, dhanushka wickramasinghe is still trying to pick up the pieces from the unimaginable tragedy.
“he’s getting better, but it’s not a topic he likes to talk about,” said bhante sumanarathana, a close friend of wickramasinghe and resident monk at the hilda jayawardenaramaya buddhist monastery on heron road. “he needs some mental support at the temple. it has been difficult for him to focus. (the memories) keep coming back again and again.”
wickramasinghe has not spoken publicly since the tragedy.
a file photo of the multi-faith funeral service for victims of the mass killing in barrhaven on march 17, 2024. dhanushka wickramasinghe, middle, was able to attend despite being seriously injured in the attack.
ashley fraser
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postmedia
when he arrived at his berrigan drive home in barrhaven after working at his cleaning business at 10:30 p.m. on march 6, 2024, he saw 19-year-old febrio de-zoysa holding a knife outside the front door. de-zoysa had been living in the home that wickramasinghe and his family were renting.
after fighting off de-zoysa, wickramasinghe entered his house and witnessed the calamity: his wife, dilanthika ekanyake, seven-year-old son inuka, four-year-old daughter ashwini, three-year-old daughter ranaya and two-month-old daughter kelly, along with family friend gamini amarakoon had all been murdered.
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de-zoysa was subsequently charged with six counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. he remains in custody and is set to stand trial in front of a jury starting on nov. 17. pre-trial motions are to be heard in superior court of ontario on sept. 29.
wickramasinghe has since moved to another home near the heron road temple. on saturday, the monastery will hold a memorial in honour of the wickramasinghe’s family and friend.
mayor mark sutcliffe, who has stayed in touch with wickramasinghe during the past 12 months, will also be among those in attendance.
“i still get emotional when i think back to that day,” sutcliffe told postmedia this week. “like him, i’m a husband and a father. i just remember feeling upset, and i met him briefly at the memorial service a few days later.”
the city rallied to support the grieving father, including raising more than $200,000 in a gofundme fundraiser.
“i went to see him at the temple and i was amazed at the kind of person he was,” sutcliffe said. “it’s incredible that, while he was going through so much grief, he was also so gracious. he talked about how much he loved the city and wanted to contribute to life here.”
a month after the tragedy, wickramasinghe, through sutcliffe, expressed his gratitude to police officers, paramedics, hospital workers and other city residents for their support.
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in may, sutcliffe took to the streets of downtown ottawa in an additional fundraiser, raising cash by running the ottawa marathon in honour of wickramasinghe.
“i was surprised that he met me at the finish line,” the mayor said.
a file photo of the victims of the mass killing in barrhaven on march 6, 2024. clockwise from bottom left: darshani dilanthika ekanyake, kelly wickramasinghe, ranaya wickramasinghe, ashwini wickramasinghe, inuka wickramasinghe and gamini amarakoon.
postmedia files
sutcliffe said wickramasinghe was deeply religious and humble.
“he faced many challenges, including finding a new place to live and in trying to get his business back on track,” sutcliffe said. “he also suffered some injuries, as well. i feel very inspired by him. i have empathy and sympathy for a man who lost his family.”
wickramasinghe arrived in ottawa from his native sri lanka on a student visa in 2021, aiming to start a new life for his family.
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