Suspect of Barrhaven mass killing faces multiple charges in court

Local

CTV: Febrio De-Soysa, 19, the suspect in the Barrhaven mass killing, appeared in the Elgin Street courthouse Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

It has been just over a week since the Ottawa homicide occurred.

The mother Banbaranayake Gama Walwwe Darshani Dilanthika Ekanyake and her four children Inuka, Ashwini, Ranaya and Kelly Wickramasinghe are dead, while the father, Dhanushka Wickramasinghe is in the hospital in stable condition.

Gamini Amarakoon Amarakoon Mudiyanselage, a friend of the family, was also found dead at the home.

The accused is facing one count of attempted murder and six counts of first-degree murder.

“I can comment that he’s in protective custody. He’s doing okay,” said De-Zoysa’s lawyer, Ewan Lyttle.

De-Zoysa is scheduled to appear in court on March 28.

National

Global: Former Liberal MP Kim Rudd passed away at the age of 66 on March 12.

For four years, Rudd represented the riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South.

Rudd, married to Tom, was the mother of two daughters, Alison and Stefanie and a grandmother of four.

In addition, Rudd was the chair of the Parliamentary Health Research Caucus and served on the House of Commons finance and natural resources committees.

Rudd is a “thoughtful and tireless advocate for Canadians,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he expressed his condolences.

International

Radio-Canada: SpaceX’s Starship rocket officially launched from Boca Chica, Texas into space earlier this morning around 9 a.m.

The 120-metre-tall rocket is the most powerful rocket to have launched from Earth.

The previous two attempts were cut short.

As the ship began to descend, the signal was lost as the vehicle itself was as well.

The ship likely had broken during the descent as it was not able to perform the proper procedure.

There are still tweaks and improvements to be made, but there is the expectation that more test flights are soon to come.