Murder in Barrhaven: Protestant Christian mass to honor victims

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A Protestant Christian mass in honor of the victims of the Barrhaven murders was celebrated Saturday morning in the Nepean neighborhood.

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A Protestant Christian mass in honor of the victims of the sextuple murder that occurred in Barrhaven on the evening of March 6 was celebrated Saturday morning in the Nepean neighborhood, west of Ottawa.

More than 200 worshipers gathered in memory of the mother, Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake, her four children, Inuka Wickramasinghe, Ashwini Wickramasinghe, Ranaya Wickramasinghe, and Kelly Wickramasinghe, and 'a friend of their family, Gamini Amarakoon Amarakoon Mudiyanselage, all killed by stabbing.

The man accused of murdering six people at a Barrhaven residence, Febrio De-Zoysa, has appeared in court twice since the tragedy.

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Darshani Dilanthika Ekanayake (right), her four children (center), and a family friend were found dead on Wednesday 6 March late evening, in a residence in the Barrhaven neighborhood. Her husband and father of four children, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe (left), was seriously injured.

Prayers and tributes were said. An audio recording of the wife and two daughters of the slain family friend, Gamini Amarakoon Amarakoon Mudiyanselage, was played in the room.

According to testimonies read during the mass, this father was currently following a process to immigrate his wife and two daughters to Canada.

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The husband of the woman killed and father of the four children who died during the tragedy, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe, was not present for the mass.

Father Pierre Champoux, pastor at Santa Monica Church, did not know the family personally. Some of the children killed during the tragedy were, however, enrolled in a Catholic school, he reports.

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Father Pierre Champoux is pastor at Santa Monica Church.

It will take time for the community to mourn, he regrets. The whole community is affected, I think, because their innocence is destroyed.

It takes a lot of courage in times like these.

A quote from Pierre Champoux, pastor at Santa Monica Church

To In his eyes, the best the community can do is be there for the family.

The day after the tragedy, we knew we had to do something as a community, says Damithri Silv, who took part in organizing the gathering.

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Damithri Silv took part in organizing the rally.

Holding such a mass was important to the community, Silv said.

The mass was Protestant Christian, but brought together a range of faiths.

An Ottawa Muslim, Muzakir Majeed, took part in the rally.

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An Ottawan of Muslim faith, Muzakir Majeed.

It's nice to see that everyone has come together to support each other, all religions, all communities, he says.

According to him, this mass allows us to begin the healing process and to mourn this loss.

This is a tragic loss for the entire community. I think it's an understatement to say that we are in a state of shock.

A quote from Muzakir Majeed, an Ottawa Muslim

It will take a long time for people to grasp the seriousness of the situation and heal from it, he fears.

The weekend is marked by gatherings in honor of the six victims of the tragedy. A public funeral in memory of the decimated family will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Infinity Convention Center in Ottawa.

With information by Camille Kasisi-Monet

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