Prisoner Found Guilty of Murdering Three Eastern Ontario Women in 2015 Passes Away in Jail

An Ontario man who was convicted of killing three women in Renfrew County has passed away in prison due to natural causes, according to officials.

The Correctional Service Canada announced that Basil Borutski died on March 28 at Millhaven Institution in Ontario while serving a minimum of a 70-year sentence for first and second-degree murder.

In 2017, Mr. Borutski was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of Anastasia Kuzyk, 36, and Nathalie Warmerdam, 48, as well as second-degree murder in the case of Carol Culleton, 66.

All three women were killed by Mr. Borutski during a violent spree that lasted for hours on September 22, 2015.

This incident sparked a public inquiry to investigate intimate partner violence in rural areas and the management of high-risk offenders on probation.

The inquiry revealed that Mr. Borutski had been stalking Ms. Culleton in the months before her murder after she rejected him and pleaded for him to stay away.

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Mr. Borutski had past relationships with Ms. Kuzyk and Ms. Warmerdam, and had a history of being jailed for threats and violence against them.

During his sentencing in late 2017, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger described Mr. Borutski as a cruel, calculated murderer whose actions marked a tragic day in the region’s history.

Justice Maranger labeled Mr. Borutski as a violent, vengeful abuser of women who refused to take responsibility for his actions and carried his hatred to its extreme.

At the time of the murders, Mr. Borutski was on probation and had violated his probation several times, including failing to attend a court-ordered program for violent offenders.

The investigation also revealed that Ms. Kuzyk and Ms. Warmerdam were not adequately informed about Mr. Borutski’s whereabouts before their deaths.

Last summer, Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani responded to the inquiry’s 86 proposals, notably supporting the creation of a new criminal offense for coercive control.

Coercive control occurs when an abuser exerts power over a victim through various methods such as threats and isolation.

Mr. Virani expressed openness to establishing such an offense and also reviewed harassment laws to ensure they address contemporary understanding of the behavior’s nature.