It’s entirely dependent on the course of the pandemic, but the Chief Coroner’s Office wants to begin the inquest into the murders of three Renfrew County women sometime this year.
In comments made to Moose FM, the Chief Counsel for the Office of the Chief Coroner Prabhu Rajan says the inquest into the deaths of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Nathalie Warmerdam is entirely dependent on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three women were murdered by Basil Borutski in 2015 in their homes across North Hastings and Renfrew County. Borutski was convicted of their murders in 2017 and is serving consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 70 years in prison. The inquest aims to make recommendations to prevent further deaths.
With the jury-led inquest different from regular court proceedings, Rajan says it would be improper to do it virtually. The Office is aiming to do the inquest in June of 2022.
Currently, all inquests by the Coroner’s office have been suspended until March. Rajan hopes the office will be able to make a decision in February about if they will be able to proceed with the inquest in June. However, he says given the current situation, nothing is certain.
Rajan also confirmed that the inquest will be held in the Pembroke area, and the Coroner’s Office always intended it to be held in the region where the murders happened.