- 注册
- 2002-10-07
- 消息
- 402,179
- 荣誉分数
- 76
- 声望点数
- 0
Wearing the raw emotion from the ordeal of her mother’s murder and, after enduring the details of her death through the trial of her killer, Valerie Warmerdam stood on the Renfrew County courthouse steps and began asking the tough questions.
“There’s certainly been some increased awareness and there’s a lot of people pushing for change and using this as their foothold for change,” said Warmerdam, whose mother Nathalie was murdered by Basil Borutski on Sept. 22, 2015.
Borutski, 60, will spend the rest of his life in prison after receiving consecutive life sentences for the “cold-blooded, vicious” murders of Warmerdam, Carol Culleton, and Anastasia Kuzyk.
Borutski had previous convictions for domestic violence against Warmerdam and Kuzyk, former partners, and court heard that Borutski began his murderous rampage that morning after Culleton rejected his advances.
Family members and friends of the slain women, plus a growing chorus of voices combatting domestic violence in rural communities such as Renfrew County, have pointed to perceived failings in law enforcement and judicial systems they say did not do enough to protect the victims from Borutski’s wrath.
Valerie Warmerdam outside the courthouse after the sentencing hearing for Basil Borutski at the Renfrew County Courthouse in Pembroke. Julie Oliver/Postmedia
“I’m certainly hoping and waiting to hear bills that actually sound like they’re going to make a difference, but I continue to wait,” Valerie Warmerdam said. “We’ll see.”
Through the nearly seven weeks of his trial, court heard that Borutski had refused to sign a court order barring him from contacting Kuzyk following his release from jail in 2013 after serving time for beating her. He had not attended a single session of court-ordered counselling for domestic violence and partner abuse.
He continued to drive even though his licence had been suspended.
He was also able to keep his firearms possession and acquisition licence – police retrieved it from Borustki’s wallet on the day of the killings — even though he was under a court-ordered lifetime weapons ban as a twice-convicted domestic abuser.
One way to address some those shortcomings, advocates say, would be through a coroner’s inquest.
The deaths of each of the three victims will already undergo mandatory review by the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario through its Domestic Violence Death Review Committee.
The 19-member panel, which includes coroners, social workers, law enforcement, Crown attorneys, child welfare specialists, researchers and academics, has reviewed hundreds of cases being formed in 2003 and it has made a number of recommendations to legislative bodies and related agencies.
The DVDRC “does have some teeth,” said Pamela Cross, lawyer and a renowned expert on domestic violence issues who provides guidance to the province through her role on the Violence Against Women Roundtable.
“I think there should be a coroner’s inquest,” Cross said. “There were systemic failings: the fact (Borutski) moved back into the community when he should not have; he got released (from jail in 2013) even though he did not sign his probation conditions.”
Cross pointed to a “lack of accountability … that allowed Borutski to offend again and again, and still move freely around the county.”
In a victim impact statement filed in court, Nathalie Warmerdam’s father, Frank Hopkins, said Borutski “has shown utter contempt for parole conditions, going wherever he pleased and procuring arms contrary to the terms (of his release).”
Hopkins also spoke of the “daily terror” his daughter endured after her relationship with Borutski ended with his arrest in 2012 for threats against her family.
“It is not right that anyone should have to live in perpetual fear, carrying electronic warning devices or keeping a shotgun under the bed,” Hopkins said.
Nathalie Warmerdam kept a “panic button” around her neck and at her bedside as a direct line to police, and she kept a shotgun within reach under the bed, out of fear over the return of Borutski.
Kuzyk’s family has maintained its privacy since the day of the killings, but family members have expressed belief that law enforcement and the courts did not do enough to keep Kuzyk safe.
“Personally, I think we are looking at this the wrong way,” said JoAnne Brooks, director of the Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County and co-chair of the End Violence Against Women (EVA) community advocacy group.
“Women choose for their safety and their children’s to seek shelter from abusers, (which) totally interrupts their lives. But abusive men are in the public, perhaps with conditions they may or may not choose to adhere to. Wouldn’t it be marvellous to have men attend shelter to protect us?”
Brooks and EVA co-chair Jennifer Valiquette said they were “very moved and inspired” by Justice Robert Maranger’s words during sentencing. The judge spared no mercy in sentencing Borutski — for crimes that he said were “so deplorable, so devoid of mercy” — to consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 70 years.
Courtroom sketch of convicted murderer Basil Borutski.
A “true life sentence,” Maranger called it.
“He has set a strong precedent for men who kill women when there has been a history of abuse,” said Brooks, who read into the record a victim impact statement on behalf of the Renfrew County community. “(The judge) also formally acknowledged that communities are harmed by such men and that the penalty should reflect that, which is groundbreaking.”
Advocates like Cross hope policymakers are paying close attention.
“We are at the best moment for this possible change than we have been for decades in Ontario,” said Cross, who expressed cautious optimism. “There are bigger systemic issues about how the justice system does not identify high-risk men early on and deal with assault and other charges more appropriately, before the behaviour escalates to homicide.”
•
The Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, which will now review the deaths of Borutski’s victims, published its most recent annual report in October 2015, just weeks after Borutski’s killing spree.
Of 199 cases the panel reviewed from 2003 to 2014, involving 290 deaths, it found that 72 per cent involved couples with histories of domestic violence.
The top risk factors identified by the panel would be familiar to anyone who heard the abundant evidence against Borutski: obsessive behaviour by the killer; depression; an escalation of violence; prior threats to kill the victim; prior attempts to isolate the victim; a victim who had “an intuitive sense of fear towards the perpetrator;” and a perpetrator who was unemployed.
At least seven high-risk factors were identified in 80 per cent of the 290 domestic deaths the panel reviewed.
•
Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion, regional supervising coroner, said the DVDRC panel had the power to make “strong” recommendations, though they were non-binding.
A coroner’s inquest could be called at the discretion of the coroner. “But it really has to be in the public interest,” said McNaughton-Filion, who spoke in general terms and could not address questions specific to Borutski’s case.
“A member of a victim’s family can ask for an inquest if they feel it is in the public interest,” McNaughton-Filion said. “We do not pass judgment, and we do not lay blame. But they may believe there are recommendations that could prevent deaths in similar circumstances.”
McNaughton-Filion said if a victim’s family member wrote a letter requesting an inquest and explaining the reasons they believed one should be called, the regional supervising coroner was obliged to respond.
“Any request from a family member would be considered quite strongly,” she said.
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
“There’s certainly been some increased awareness and there’s a lot of people pushing for change and using this as their foothold for change,” said Warmerdam, whose mother Nathalie was murdered by Basil Borutski on Sept. 22, 2015.
Borutski, 60, will spend the rest of his life in prison after receiving consecutive life sentences for the “cold-blooded, vicious” murders of Warmerdam, Carol Culleton, and Anastasia Kuzyk.
Borutski had previous convictions for domestic violence against Warmerdam and Kuzyk, former partners, and court heard that Borutski began his murderous rampage that morning after Culleton rejected his advances.
Family members and friends of the slain women, plus a growing chorus of voices combatting domestic violence in rural communities such as Renfrew County, have pointed to perceived failings in law enforcement and judicial systems they say did not do enough to protect the victims from Borutski’s wrath.
Valerie Warmerdam outside the courthouse after the sentencing hearing for Basil Borutski at the Renfrew County Courthouse in Pembroke. Julie Oliver/Postmedia
“I’m certainly hoping and waiting to hear bills that actually sound like they’re going to make a difference, but I continue to wait,” Valerie Warmerdam said. “We’ll see.”
Through the nearly seven weeks of his trial, court heard that Borutski had refused to sign a court order barring him from contacting Kuzyk following his release from jail in 2013 after serving time for beating her. He had not attended a single session of court-ordered counselling for domestic violence and partner abuse.
He continued to drive even though his licence had been suspended.
He was also able to keep his firearms possession and acquisition licence – police retrieved it from Borustki’s wallet on the day of the killings — even though he was under a court-ordered lifetime weapons ban as a twice-convicted domestic abuser.
One way to address some those shortcomings, advocates say, would be through a coroner’s inquest.
The deaths of each of the three victims will already undergo mandatory review by the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario through its Domestic Violence Death Review Committee.
The 19-member panel, which includes coroners, social workers, law enforcement, Crown attorneys, child welfare specialists, researchers and academics, has reviewed hundreds of cases being formed in 2003 and it has made a number of recommendations to legislative bodies and related agencies.
The DVDRC “does have some teeth,” said Pamela Cross, lawyer and a renowned expert on domestic violence issues who provides guidance to the province through her role on the Violence Against Women Roundtable.
“I think there should be a coroner’s inquest,” Cross said. “There were systemic failings: the fact (Borutski) moved back into the community when he should not have; he got released (from jail in 2013) even though he did not sign his probation conditions.”
Cross pointed to a “lack of accountability … that allowed Borutski to offend again and again, and still move freely around the county.”
In a victim impact statement filed in court, Nathalie Warmerdam’s father, Frank Hopkins, said Borutski “has shown utter contempt for parole conditions, going wherever he pleased and procuring arms contrary to the terms (of his release).”
Hopkins also spoke of the “daily terror” his daughter endured after her relationship with Borutski ended with his arrest in 2012 for threats against her family.
“It is not right that anyone should have to live in perpetual fear, carrying electronic warning devices or keeping a shotgun under the bed,” Hopkins said.
Nathalie Warmerdam kept a “panic button” around her neck and at her bedside as a direct line to police, and she kept a shotgun within reach under the bed, out of fear over the return of Borutski.
Kuzyk’s family has maintained its privacy since the day of the killings, but family members have expressed belief that law enforcement and the courts did not do enough to keep Kuzyk safe.
“Personally, I think we are looking at this the wrong way,” said JoAnne Brooks, director of the Women’s Sexual Assault Centre of Renfrew County and co-chair of the End Violence Against Women (EVA) community advocacy group.
“Women choose for their safety and their children’s to seek shelter from abusers, (which) totally interrupts their lives. But abusive men are in the public, perhaps with conditions they may or may not choose to adhere to. Wouldn’t it be marvellous to have men attend shelter to protect us?”
Brooks and EVA co-chair Jennifer Valiquette said they were “very moved and inspired” by Justice Robert Maranger’s words during sentencing. The judge spared no mercy in sentencing Borutski — for crimes that he said were “so deplorable, so devoid of mercy” — to consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 70 years.
Courtroom sketch of convicted murderer Basil Borutski.
A “true life sentence,” Maranger called it.
“He has set a strong precedent for men who kill women when there has been a history of abuse,” said Brooks, who read into the record a victim impact statement on behalf of the Renfrew County community. “(The judge) also formally acknowledged that communities are harmed by such men and that the penalty should reflect that, which is groundbreaking.”
Advocates like Cross hope policymakers are paying close attention.
“We are at the best moment for this possible change than we have been for decades in Ontario,” said Cross, who expressed cautious optimism. “There are bigger systemic issues about how the justice system does not identify high-risk men early on and deal with assault and other charges more appropriately, before the behaviour escalates to homicide.”
•
The Domestic Violence Death Review Committee, which will now review the deaths of Borutski’s victims, published its most recent annual report in October 2015, just weeks after Borutski’s killing spree.
Of 199 cases the panel reviewed from 2003 to 2014, involving 290 deaths, it found that 72 per cent involved couples with histories of domestic violence.
The top risk factors identified by the panel would be familiar to anyone who heard the abundant evidence against Borutski: obsessive behaviour by the killer; depression; an escalation of violence; prior threats to kill the victim; prior attempts to isolate the victim; a victim who had “an intuitive sense of fear towards the perpetrator;” and a perpetrator who was unemployed.
At least seven high-risk factors were identified in 80 per cent of the 290 domestic deaths the panel reviewed.
•
Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion, regional supervising coroner, said the DVDRC panel had the power to make “strong” recommendations, though they were non-binding.
A coroner’s inquest could be called at the discretion of the coroner. “But it really has to be in the public interest,” said McNaughton-Filion, who spoke in general terms and could not address questions specific to Borutski’s case.
“A member of a victim’s family can ask for an inquest if they feel it is in the public interest,” McNaughton-Filion said. “We do not pass judgment, and we do not lay blame. But they may believe there are recommendations that could prevent deaths in similar circumstances.”
McNaughton-Filion said if a victim’s family member wrote a letter requesting an inquest and explaining the reasons they believed one should be called, the regional supervising coroner was obliged to respond.
“Any request from a family member would be considered quite strongly,” she said.
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
查看原文...
