Don't be afraid to help perpetrators, murder victim's daughter tells inquest

On the first day of an inquest into the murders of three women in and around Renfrew County, a daughter of one of those victims told jurors not to be afraid to make recommendations that help perpetrators of domestic violence.

The threat of prison is a "band-aid solution" to protect victims, Valerie Warmerdam said on Monday, especially when perpetrators don't place much value in their lives outside of jail and aren't capable of considering and accepting the consequences of their actions.

Restraining orders and strict bail conditions, which are aimed to protect abuse victims after the fact, also don't prevent perpetrators from going out and finding other people to hurt, she said.

That is what Basil Borutski — who murdered Nathalie Warmerdam, Carol Culleton and Anastasia Kuzyk on one day in 2015 — did time and time again.

• Victims' families begin coroner's inquest into Ottawa Valley triple homicide
• Experts at Ottawa Valley triple homicide inquest urge action

"Because of this, tools used to help perpetrators change are our best tool to prevent future victims," said Nathalie's daughter Valerie Warmerdam, who is one of the inquest's three parties of standing.

"I want to be very clear, what we want out of this is recommendations that make people the safest, everybody the safest. Even if that might mean less harm coming to perpetrators, the best option is the one where the most people are the safest."

Not much faith in the system

Even after everything that occurred, Valerie told the inquest that if she were in her mother's shoes today, she doesn't know if she'd press charges.

"It's very hard to see jail time as actually improving the situation for victims," she said.

"I'm under the impression that the exes that he didn't kill are alive today because they didn't go through with charges, and that's part of why I think this [inquiry] process is so important … People should feel like using these systems is something safe and a good idea for them to do, and is something that will make them safer."

It's very hard to see jail time as actually improving the situation for victims.- Valerie Warmerdam

Warmerdam also testified that the decision to go to police was likely especially challenging in her mother's case because she herself had little faith in local officers after hearing about and witnessing possible incidents of police harassment.

Her mother also "bore no ill will" against Borutski, didn't want him to come to harm and even wanted a "happy ending" for him — a common trait among abuse victims, Valerie Warmerdam noted.

She probably realized pressing charges would put her in specific mortal danger, Warmerdam added, because Borutski had earlier told her if any of his exes managed to put him in jail, she shouldn't bother waiting for him to get out, because when he did he'd kill them to get justice.

"While it took him a few years, that certainly seems like the same thought process that applied on Sept. 22, 2015 [the day of the murders], that he went first to kill all of the exes that had succeeded in him getting in jail," she testified.

Life with a soon-to-be killer

Valerie Warmerdam was candid about life with Borutski at her mother's farmhouse from 2010 to 2012, and said it wasn't all bad. He taught her how to pluck chickens and told boyfriends to have her home by 10 p.m. and "treat her right, or else" (including the boyfriend who became her husband).

Focusing only on the bad, she said, is "not going to stop the real people who are perpetuating these harms.

"You have to build a system that isn't just for catching monsters, because really, most folks won't see them as monsters until after these types of events have occurred. And that doesn't do anybody any good."

Borutski was an alcoholic and he and Nathalie Warmerdam frequently screamed at each other. He constantly made himself out to be the victim — "everyone was out to get him" — and he "actually believed those interpretations of reality," which made him believable, Valerie Warmerdam testified.

After two years things were "definitely deteriorating," Valerie told the inquest. The drinking and fighting were happening more often, and while she doesn't know what the final straw for her mother was, concern for the safety of Valerie's brother was a big factor. 

When she finally asked Borutski to leave, he refused, and his reaction "brought to her mind the danger she was in."

Despite her reservations, she then went to police and pressed charges to make her family and herself safe, Valerie Warmerdam said.

In December of 2012 Borutski was convicted of threatening Nathalie Warmerdam's son and pets, among other charges, and he spent about a month in jail after the conviction.

After he was out of their lives her mother bought a gun, trained with it and kept it under the bed in case her ex-boyfriend ever showed up. A security system was installed. She backed into parking spots in case she ever needed to make a quick exit and made backup plans for any possible encounters.

When she heard about Borutski's beating of Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam reached out to her to encourage her to testify out of concern for future victims, Valerie said.

There was talk about whether Borutski had himself suffered abuse in his youth, and Valerie said she wonders whether proper education and care for him as a young man may have made a difference.

She testified she's interested to hear about any recommendations for early intervention programs in this type of case.

She also hopes to hear more about something that's weighed heavily on her mind in the years since the murders — why police didn't warn her mother of the danger after Kuzyk was killed. Kuzyk's sister had called 911 moments after Borutski showed up.

It's a "long drive from Killaloe to mom's place," she told the inquest.

When the family were clearing their voicemails after the murders, they noted someone in the community had called to say things weren't safe probably about 10 minutes after Nathalie Warmerdam had been shot to death.

"If members of the community were able to get that through the grapevine in that time, I'd love to see a system that could more reliably have gotten information to her through proper channels a little bit faster," Valerie Warmerdam said.