The inquest into the murders of three Renfrew County women has begun.
Prabhu Rajan, Chief Counsel of the Coroner’s Office, delivered opening comments in the case that will look into the circumstances around the murders of Carol Culleton, Anastasia Kuzyk and Natalie Warmerdam by Basil Borutski. Rajan says the inquest is an opportunity to take a fresh look into intimate partner violence, and find new, useful, creative, concrete, and innovative solutions to the issue. Rajan adds that if it saves one woman’s life, it will be worth it.
The inquest jury will hear testimony from several people over the next several days, including witnesses, experts, police, victims and organizations that deal with domestic violence. Rajan says the inquest is not intended to lay blame, or revisit the actions of police or the judicial system in the leadup to the murder. Rather, they will aim to make improvements to stop further murders from happening.
The first day of the inquest included testimony from the families of the three women. Several outlined their experience with Borutski, and how the justice system failed to protect them. The case manager from the OPP who investigated the homicides also outlined the timeline of events leading up to the murders.
The inquest is scheduled to take 15 days.