(Ottawa) A multi-faith funeral service will be held Sunday afternoon in Ottawa for the six victims of the massacre, which decimated a family in Barrhaven.
The service is open to the public and is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the city’s Infinity Convention Center.
Six people, including four children, were found dead on March 6 in a townhouse in the southern suburb of Barrhaven in Ottawa.
The victims are Darshani Ekanayake, a 35-year-old mother, and her four children, aged from two months to seven years, as well as a family friend.
Her husband and the children’s father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, suffered injuries to his hands and face.
Funeral organizers had asked for privacy to mourn the loss of the family, but say they are very grateful for the overwhelming support received.
The victims were Sri Lankan newcomers to Canada. Their baby, however, was born in the country.
Police arrested a 19-year-old Sri Lankan man on the evening of the attack and charged him with six counts of premeditated murder and one count of attempted murder.
The accused Febrio De-Zoysa was an international student who was living with the family at the time of their deaths, according to Ottawa police.
The accused’s lawyer, Ewan Lyttle, said his client is in protective custody and his family is “obviously very upset” by the allegations.