0:00

What's one of the most common motives at the heart

0:02

of crime stories, the desire for money,

0:04

and a lot of it, from the museum of natural

0:06

history heist in New York to the Antorb

0:08

Diamond Heist The History Channel's new

0:11

original series, History's greatest

0:13

heists with Pierce Brosnan, delves into

0:15

eight elaborate high stakes attempts to

0:17

secure the riches of a lifetime. Pierce

0:19

Brosnan will step from behind the big screen

0:21

and into Times past to detail

0:24

the intricately laid plans of the audition

0:26

as criminal masterminds behind these headline

0:28

making heists. It's better than a movie.

0:31

This is real life. Tune in tonight.

0:33

At ten nine Renfrew only on the History

0:35

Channel and stream next day on the History

0:37

Channel app.

0:40

Hi there. As promised, we'll be back

0:43

next week with the next new episode,

0:45

and I'm pleased to say that we have a two part

0:47

series in post production that I'm looking

0:49

forward to releasing. Thank you so much for

0:51

giving me and the team some breathing space

0:54

to get things ready. So that we can move forward

0:56

with the podcast in a more sustainable way.

0:58

Until then, here's an updated

1:01

version of an episode that we originally

1:03

released a few years ago. The story

1:05

of the worst ever case of intimate

1:08

partner violence in the province of Ontario

1:11

and one of the worst in Canadian history.

1:14

We left off with the hope that there would be

1:16

an inquiry scheduled to examine

1:18

the many systemic failures that

1:20

led to the massacre. I am happy

1:22

to report that that inquiry finally

1:24

happened in two thousand twenty

1:26

two, and today's episode continues.

1:29

Unpacking the high level findings

1:31

of that inquiry, and of course, the response

1:33

from the families of the victims. And

1:36

before we start, I have to tell you about

1:38

Devil in the dorm, a new long

1:40

form podcast series just released

1:43

by our friends at the law and crime

1:45

network. And exclusively available

1:47

on Wonderry Plus. Devil in the

1:49

dorm is about a father named Larry

1:51

Ray, who in two thousand ten,

1:53

moved into his daughter's college

1:55

dorm room, inserted himself into

1:58

the lives of all her friends, and then spent

2:00

the next decade controlling them

2:02

in what many would describe as

2:04

a sex cult. A six part

2:06

podcast series composed from thousands

2:08

of pages of a federal trial

2:10

transcript. Devil in the dorm

2:12

explores how Larry Ray storted

2:15

millions of dollars from the young students

2:17

while abusing them physically, sexually,

2:20

and psychologically, driving several

2:22

of them to the brink of suicide and

2:24

perhaps beyond. Devil in the

2:26

dorm was co by Emily

2:29

Thompson of morbidology, and Aileen

2:31

McFarlane of CrimeLabs, a

2:33

dynamic duo who've also written

2:35

for this podcast. And the third

2:37

co writer was Adam Class field

2:39

of law and crime. The series is

2:41

hosted by actress Elizabeth Rom,

2:44

who attended the in question,

2:46

Sara Lawrence College in Bronxville,

2:48

New York. And because there are no cameras

2:50

or audio recordings permitted in

2:52

federal court, all of the testimony

2:55

has been recreated by some

2:57

of the biggest true crime content

2:59

creators. Law and crimes

3:01

devil in the dorm, now exclusively

3:04

on wondery plus. Find Wonderry

3:06

Plus in the app or on Apple

3:08

Podcasts, and stay tuned for a

3:10

trailer at the end of this episode.

3:13

Canadian True Crime is a completely independent

3:16

production funded mainly through advertising.

3:18

You can listen to Canadian True Crime ad

3:20

free and early on Amazon Music included

3:22

with

3:22

Prime. Apple Podcasts, Patreon,

3:25

and Supercast. The podcast often

3:27

has disturbing content and course language.

3:29

It's not for everyone. Please take care

3:32

when listening.

3:37

In the province of Ontario is an

3:39

area known as Renfrew County.

3:42

A part of the Ottawa Valley that

3:44

stretches west from Ottawa to

3:46

the northern tip of historic Elgonquin

3:48

Park. With rolling countryside,

3:51

gorgeous forests, glistening lakes,

3:53

and vibrant fall Renfrew

3:56

County has a population of a hundred

3:59

and seven thousand people spread

4:01

out over seven thousand square

4:03

miles. And it's known for traditional

4:06

rural values. In

4:09

two thousand Renfrew County

4:11

would become known for something else.

4:14

It would be the location of the

4:16

worst ever case of intimate partner

4:18

violence in Ontario. Nathalie

4:28

Walmadam had lived in Toronto with

4:30

her husband and two children. But

4:33

in two thousand five, they moved

4:35

back to the Ottawa Valley. Both

4:37

Natalie and her husband, Frank, had

4:39

been raised in the area. And

4:41

wanted that experience for their family

4:43

while their kids were still young enough to

4:45

benefit. And Natalie had

4:48

recently changed careers, She

4:50

was originally a technical writer,

4:52

but she had a yearning to care for

4:54

people, so she decided to go

4:56

back to school. She worked

4:58

hard, got her qualification, and

5:01

secured a job as a palliative care

5:03

nurse, providing care and

5:05

comfort to people with terminal or

5:07

degenerative illnesses. After

5:11

they moved to the Ottawa Valley, Natalie

5:13

and Frank's marriage would only survive a

5:16

few more years. At the

5:18

time of their separation, forty

5:20

three year old, Natalie, was working

5:22

at a community care access center,

5:24

traveling around the county, taking

5:26

care of patients. She

5:28

was known to be vivacious and

5:30

fun to be around. One

5:33

of the patients she cared for in

5:35

hospice had a son called

5:37

Basel, a fifty two year old

5:40

unemployed mill right or

5:42

person who works with factory machinery.

5:45

While Renfrew is a rural

5:47

community, it's also tight

5:49

knit and rumors spread like

5:52

wildfire. And basal

5:54

Burutsky was known to have a

5:56

troublesome past. But

5:58

from Natalie's experience, when he

6:00

came to visit his father in hospice,

6:03

they got on well. He seemed

6:05

like a nice guy. Baisel

6:08

would later insist that it was Natalie

6:10

who put the moves on him, but

6:12

a friend of hers would tell Charlene

6:14

that she remembered it differently. Quote,

6:17

anything you need to know about Basel

6:20

can be summed up by the fact that his

6:22

father was dying in hospice and

6:24

he was hitting on his father's nurse.

6:27

Natalie entertained the idea,

6:30

but her mother urged her not to get

6:32

involved. She'd heard that

6:34

Basil's marriage had ended with a terrible,

6:36

violent breakup, and his ex

6:38

wife had been physically assaulted. And

6:41

according to the word on the street,

6:43

there were others. Natalie

6:46

spoke with Basil about the situation

6:48

and he told her that even though

6:50

he'd been charged with assault, all

6:53

those charges were dropped. So

6:55

he'd never actually been convicted of

6:57

anything. He assured

6:59

her that his ex wife was just a

7:01

crazy woman. And any other

7:03

women that said anything bad against

7:05

him just had a vendetta. Regardless,

7:09

he insisted that whatever happened

7:11

was all in the past, Natalie's

7:14

ex husband Frank would tell the

7:16

national post that she was in a fragile

7:19

and emotional state after their marriage

7:21

breakdown. She was

7:23

vulnerable. I'm

7:32

Christie, an Australian who's

7:34

called Canada Home for more than a decade,

7:36

and this is my passion project.

7:41

Join me to hear about some of the most

7:43

thought provoking and often heartbreaking

7:46

true crime cases in Canada. Using

7:49

court documents and news archives,

7:51

I take you through each story from

7:53

beginning to end with a look at the way

7:55

the media covered the crime and

7:57

the impact it had on the immunity.

8:01

This is Canadian True Crime.

8:16

Basel Burutsky was born in nineteen

8:18

fifty seven to second generation Polish

8:21

immigrants. His father,

8:23

Walter, was a trapper. While

8:25

his mother Beatrice stayed home with the children

8:27

in Renfrew County. Batesville's

8:30

reputation can be traced back to his

8:32

school days. Some saw

8:34

him as someone who just did not

8:36

fit

8:36

in, and others saw him as

8:38

a bully. In

8:40

nineteen

8:41

seventy seven, twenty year old Batesville

8:43

was charged with his first

8:45

violent offense. He had

8:47

assaulted his girlfriend. He

8:49

was convicted of causing bodily

8:51

harm and uttering threats.

8:54

He then began a relationship with a

8:56

woman called Mary Anne,

8:58

known as a kind and giving person

9:00

who had a daughter from a previous

9:02

relationship. Basil's

9:05

violent attendants sees were always

9:07

looking under the surface. Marianne

9:10

would later describe what she

9:12

was subjected to as a

9:14

steady regimen of domestic

9:16

violence Relationships

9:18

marred by domestic violence

9:20

typically flow through a sequence

9:22

commonly called the cycle of abuse.

9:25

Stage one is where tensions

9:27

build and the survivor is on

9:29

edge. Stage two is

9:31

the incident. Whether it be verbal,

9:33

emotional, or physical abuse.

9:36

Stage three is reconciliation where

9:38

the abuser wooze the

9:40

survivor back into their good

9:42

graces. There's apologies. There's

9:44

excuses. There's promises not

9:46

to do it again. But

9:48

there's also gaslighting. It

9:50

wasn't that bad. No one will

9:52

believe you. And

9:54

victim blaming. You made

9:56

me do it. After

9:59

the abuser has succeeded in

10:01

getting the survivor back on side,

10:03

come stage four. Calm.

10:06

Everyone has settled down and moved

10:08

on from the incident. But

10:11

because it's a cycle, it doesn't take

10:13

long before the relationship is back

10:15

to stage one. With tensions

10:17

building again leading up to

10:19

another abusive incident. This

10:22

cycle can be seen over and

10:24

over in Marianne and Batesville's

10:26

relationship, which spanned some

10:28

twenty six years starting

10:30

from nineteen eighty. He

10:33

ended up in court on three

10:35

separate occasions on charges of

10:37

physically assaulting Marianne, who was

10:39

then considered his common law

10:41

wife. According to the

10:43

Ottawa citizen, the first

10:45

assault was in nineteen eighty

10:47

five. Batesville spent twenty

10:49

thousand dollars in legal

10:51

fees to defend himself against the charges

10:54

and was successful. The

10:57

cycle of abuse continued. The

10:59

next year, Mary Anne gave

11:01

birth to their first daughter

11:03

together. The second

11:05

assault on Mary Anne was at the end

11:07

of nineteen ninety three.

11:10

According to court documents, Batesville

11:12

pulled her hair, slapped her,

11:14

and tried to push her out of a

11:16

moving vehicle. Again, he

11:18

was charged with assault. But

11:21

this time, instead of spending the

11:23

money on an expensive legal

11:25

defense, He stalked Mary

11:27

Anne and pasted her to recant

11:29

her statement, telling her that

11:31

no one would believe her anyway because

11:33

of his previous acquittal.

11:35

He also threatened that she

11:38

would never see her children again,

11:41

but Mary Anne remained steadfast.

11:45

Now Basel was trained and

11:47

worked as a mill right, a high

11:49

precision skilled tradesman who

11:51

works with factory machinery,

11:53

plants, and construction

11:55

sites. But in

11:57

the time after the latest assault

11:59

charges, he injured his back

12:01

in a car crash and could no

12:03

longer work. So he went on

12:05

disability. Now Batesville

12:07

used every tool he had to his

12:09

advantage. He'd

12:11

changed. It wouldn't happen again. He

12:14

announced to Mary Anne that he wanted to get

12:16

married and start afresh. She

12:18

agreed to reconcile. In

12:21

the months leading up to his court appearance

12:23

for assaulting her, the

12:25

couple were married. And not long after

12:27

that, Mary Anne found out she

12:29

was pregnant with their second daughter.

12:32

She would later come to believe that his

12:34

sudden interest in marriage and

12:36

babies was part of a strategy

12:38

to beat the charges. Surely

12:40

no judge would send a married

12:42

father with a child on the way to

12:44

prison. In

12:46

court, Basel himself insisted that

12:48

he was innocent and Mary

12:50

Anne was just being vindictive. The

12:54

plan worked. Basel was

12:56

acquitted a second

12:57

time. But by the time

12:59

the baby was born, the couple

13:01

had separated again. Four

13:04

years later, Basil was able to

13:07

sweet talk Maryann into

13:09

reconciling again. It was

13:11

now nineteen ninety eight. Over

13:13

the next ten years, Mary Anne

13:15

battled breast cancer and survived.

13:17

But then something happened that

13:20

court documents would only describe

13:22

as a violent incident.

13:24

One of their daughters would say that her

13:26

mother came home bloodied and

13:28

dirty after the

13:29

incident. Whatever happened, Mary

13:32

Anne decided that was enough.

13:34

She laid

13:34

domestic assault charges and

13:36

the couple separated for the final

13:39

time after this incident. In

13:42

court, Batesville had the audacity

13:44

to insist that Maryann's injuries

13:46

were self inflicted. He was

13:48

charged with uttering threats and assaulting

13:51

his wife, but he agreed

13:53

to sign a peace bond and

13:55

the assault charges were dropped.

13:57

He walked away a free man, but

13:59

the court ordered that Basil had to

14:01

stay away from Maryann for

14:04

a year. He ignored

14:06

it. Instead, he

14:08

stalked her. Batesville

14:10

was highly disgruntled in his

14:12

life. He erected multiple

14:14

signs at the entrance to his property

14:16

with a long handwritten

14:18

list of people he declared were

14:20

his enemies. Mary Anne

14:22

was featured along with some

14:24

police officers and other people.

14:27

A neighbor would say that at least

14:29

one of the signs threatened

14:31

to shoot any intruders.

14:35

Two years later on New Year's Eve

14:37

of two thousand ten, Basel

14:39

was charged after a roadside breath

14:41

test where he was found to be over the

14:43

limit. He accused the

14:45

police of rigging the breathalyzer

14:47

His license was suspended.

14:51

The next year, forty nine

14:53

year old Mary Anne and fifty

14:55

four year old Basel attended

14:57

court to finalize their divorce.

15:00

Mary Anne testified about the

15:02

abuse she had suffered at Basil's

15:04

hands and how he quote,

15:06

destroyed her spirit with

15:08

his relentless threats and

15:10

abuse. She said even

15:12

after they separated he

15:14

continued to stalk her. He

15:16

denied it all, of course, and

15:18

flipped it as he always did.

15:20

It was he who lived in constant fear

15:22

of being falsely accused by

15:24

Mary Anne. Of course,

15:27

he again brought up the fact that he

15:29

was never convicted of anything

15:31

during their relationship. At

15:34

this hearing, both of their

15:36

daughters testified about the abuse they

15:38

had witnessed their mother encounter.

15:40

They described how their father was

15:43

violent, easily agitated, and

15:45

tyrannical toward his family

15:47

members. The court heard

15:49

that he had repeatedly threatened

15:51

to burn down the house they'd lived

15:53

in, and how after it had

15:55

been vacated, the

15:57

house did end up burning to the ground

15:59

in what the media called

16:01

mysterious

16:01

circumstances. There

16:04

was never any concrete proof

16:06

about what happened.

16:07

In his own defense,

16:10

Batesville produced a so called

16:12

marriage contract and pointed

16:14

out where he said Mary Anne agreed to

16:16

give him full custody of the

16:18

children and control of her

16:20

finances and where she declared she

16:22

had made false statements about

16:24

him. Mary Anne

16:26

testified that Batesville had coerced her

16:28

into signing the contract when

16:30

she was battling breast cancer.

16:33

The contract was discarded by the

16:35

judge who described their marriage

16:37

as being retchered. It

16:39

was this divorce that formed

16:41

the basis for the most recent rumors

16:44

about basal, but

16:46

the only thing on the public record that

16:48

indicated just how dangerous

16:50

he was was the conviction

16:52

from nineteen seventy seven

16:54

when he assaulted his girlfriend. A

16:57

one off from decades

16:59

ago, and this fact would be

17:01

something he would continue to

17:03

reference.

17:04

So Basil

17:09

was now trying to get with Natalie

17:12

Warmardan as she cared for his

17:14

dying father. She'd heard the

17:16

rumors about him, but friends and

17:18

family described her as always

17:20

seeing the good in people. Natalie

17:23

rationalized it to herself. Whatever

17:26

might have happened, surely if

17:28

Basil was actually guilty of

17:30

doing something wrong, he would

17:32

have been convicted of something,

17:34

and he seemed so nice.

17:36

Her daughter Valerie would say that he

17:38

told Natalie she was the most beautiful

17:41

amazing woman in the world. He

17:43

gave her comfort at a time

17:45

when she was going through a

17:47

separation and was feeling vulnerable she

17:49

decided to give Basil the benefit

17:51

of the doubt. Soon

17:54

after the two started dating,

17:56

Baisel talked his way in to moving into

17:58

her house. Natalie's friends

18:00

were concerned about him from early

18:03

on. Not only because of his

18:06

reputation, but because it was clear that he

18:08

had a serious drinking problem.

18:11

Natalie's ex husband Frank was

18:13

concerned as well. He had

18:15

moved to California for work,

18:17

and this man was living in

18:19

the same house as the two kids he

18:22

shared with Natalie. Frank

18:24

hired a private investigator

18:26

to run a criminal background check on

18:29

Basel Burutsky. The only

18:31

conviction on his record was that one

18:33

from nineteen seventy seven.

18:35

All other charges had indeed

18:38

been dropped. So there wasn't

18:40

much that Frank could do. Basil

18:43

lived there for two years.

18:45

Natalie's daughter Valerie in her mid teens

18:47

at the time would tell the

18:50

CBC that Basil showered her mother

18:52

with a constant barrage of

18:54

abuse. Shipping away at her self esteem

18:56

and making them all

18:58

fearful of him. By

19:00

two thousand twelve, the relationship had

19:03

completely fallen apart.

19:05

Basil's drinking was a major problem

19:07

and the house was a volatile environment

19:10

with increasing arguments

19:12

and yelling. By now,

19:14

Natalie and both of her kids were utterly

19:17

terrified. She wanted

19:19

him out of her house, but

19:21

he wouldn't leave. So in

19:24

aspiration, she moved into the guest

19:26

bedroom of her own house. Her

19:29

daughter Valerie in her mid teens

19:31

at the time would tell the fifth estate

19:33

that she and her brother heard

19:35

Basel keeping their mother up at

19:37

night, yelling at her. Telling

19:39

her that because they were common law,

19:41

he deserved half of her possessions.

19:44

Valerie also heard him

19:46

say, quote, If Mary Anne

19:48

ever puts me in

19:48

jail, don't wait for me because if I

19:51

get out, I'm going to kill

19:53

her. Natalie

19:55

was by now desperately afraid

19:57

for her and her children's

20:00

safety. And after a particularly violent

20:02

night, she decided enough was enough.

20:04

And went to the police.

20:06

In July of two

20:08

thousand twelve, Basel Barucchi was

20:11

charged with assaulting Natalie

20:13

Warmardan. As well as issuing two

20:16

threats, one to kill her dog,

20:18

and another to physically assault

20:20

and kill her son. And

20:22

this was not the first time. He

20:24

was hostile and aggressive as

20:26

he was arrested. He assaulted

20:28

a police officer And

20:31

once he was in jail, he

20:33

urinated on the wall and carpet of the

20:35

jail cell. These

20:37

incidents would be added to his record.

20:39

When it came to

20:41

Natalie's charges, Vasyl agreed

20:43

to plead guilty on the lesser

20:45

charge of uttering

20:47

threats. But only if the assault charge was

20:50

dropped.

20:50

While this seems unfair to

20:53

Nathalie, it meant that there would be no

20:55

trial and she wouldn't have

20:57

to testify. At his sentencing,

20:59

she submitted a victim impact

21:02

statement, quote, his

21:04

alcohol fueled rages left me to question

21:07

myself, my self worth, and

21:09

my judgment. When

21:11

it came to sentencing, the rules of the

21:14

Canadian legal system make it so that

21:16

previous charges brought against

21:18

base oil that had been dropped.

21:20

Weren't able to be taken into consideration.

21:23

So, Basel Burutski

21:25

was sentenced to five months

21:28

in jail. And with the four months

21:30

he'd already served, he would be

21:32

released in just thirty three

21:34

days after the sentencing. He

21:36

was also given a ten year

21:38

ban on possessing or owning weapons

21:41

and a two year probation. Which

21:43

required him to take part in a

21:45

partner assault program called

21:47

Living Without Violence. He

21:49

never showed Even with

21:52

his history of intimate partner violence

21:54

and repeatedly ignoring

21:56

his probation conditions,

21:58

he was not the one monitored.

22:01

Basel had been ordered to have no

22:03

contact with Nathalie, but

22:05

she was the one who had to monitor

22:07

it. She was given a panic

22:09

button with a GPS. And

22:11

told to press it if basal came

22:13

within five hundred meters.

22:15

She bought a shotgun to

22:17

keep by the bed She had

22:19

security cameras mounted inside

22:21

and outside her house.

22:24

She kept a tactical pen in

22:26

her purse She developed the habit

22:28

of backing into parking spaces

22:30

wherever she went. So if he did

22:32

turn up anywhere near her, she

22:34

could leave quickly. Nathalie

22:36

Walmadam was serious about

22:39

defending herself and

22:41

her family.

22:48

Anastasia Cusick, known as

22:51

Anna to friends, and Stacia or

22:53

Stacia to her family had

22:55

worked as a park ranger in

22:57

Algonquin Park before moving to

22:59

the community of Wilno in

23:01

the were valley, to be close to her two sisters

23:03

and mother. Anna was

23:06

known for being shy at first,

23:08

but someone who was a friend

23:10

to all. She loved nature

23:12

and animals and was known for

23:14

her passion for horses. She

23:16

rode competitively. She had competition

23:19

ribbons everywhere won

23:21

an Ontario Provincial Championship.

23:25

Anna had worked as a server at the

23:27

Wilno Tavern, a prime

23:29

hangout spot in the area, and

23:31

one that Basel Borutsky was known

23:33

to frequent on occasion. According

23:36

to Schatler Lane magazine, His

23:38

reputation proceeded him

23:40

even then. He was known to

23:42

be aggressive, the kind of guy

23:44

you didn't want to be around.

23:46

When he arrived at the tavern, some

23:48

locals would move to the other end of

23:50

the bar. But he

23:53

was always friendly to Anna, and

23:55

it wasn't hard to see why.

23:57

She was well liked, easy to

23:59

get along with, and

24:01

attentive to customers. was

24:03

also ambitious. She'd worked hard

24:05

to get her realtor's license so

24:07

she could become a real estate agent

24:09

on the side. And she was making

24:11

a serious success of it.

24:15

Word-of-mouth was growing. Batesville asked

24:17

her for help finding a

24:19

new home, after he and Mary

24:21

Anne separated. As

24:23

we know, it didn't take long before

24:25

he moved in with Natalie Walmiddem,

24:27

so that problem was solved.

24:29

Basel's father had now

24:31

passed away, so he also asked

24:34

Anna for help with selling his

24:36

father's home. They became so

24:38

friendly that at one point, Anna

24:40

and her boyfriend went

24:42

and visited Basil and Natalie where

24:45

they lived at Natalie's house. When

24:47

Basel went to prison for threatening

24:50

Natalie, Anna lost touch with

24:52

him. And when he got out five months

24:54

later, he needed a place to stay.

24:56

So he first called on a

24:58

favor from a friend who let him live

25:00

in a run down farmhouse.

25:02

As soon as he sorted that

25:04

out, he called Anna.

25:07

By this time, Anna's relationship with her

25:09

boyfriend had soured, and they

25:11

had broken up. Like

25:14

Natalie, Anna was feeling

25:16

vulnerable and emotional. Fifty

25:18

five year old Batesville

25:20

talked with thirty four year old

25:22

Anna about her breakup. And heard that

25:24

she was now struggling financially.

25:26

And the farmhouse she lived

25:28

in required a lot of renovations,

25:31

Basel offered to help her fix it

25:34

up. Anna was aware of his

25:36

history and brought it up with him

25:38

Just like he did with Natalie, he convinced

25:40

her that it was because of vengeful

25:43

crazy women and that he was

25:45

the victim. There

25:47

were several other similarities between

25:49

Natalie and Anna. They were

25:51

both fresh from devastating relationship

25:54

breakups. They both gave people the

25:56

benefit of the doubt. And

25:58

before too long, Batesville had

26:00

moved into Anna's

26:02

farmhouse. Just like he had with

26:05

Natalie. They were now a

26:07

couple.

26:07

It took just a

26:09

few months before the relationship came

26:12

apart. The day before New

26:14

Year's

26:14

Eve, Batesville brutally assaulted

26:17

Anna and tried to choke

26:19

her. She

26:19

would tell the police that she

26:21

saw his eyes turning black and empty,

26:24

and she thought he was going to either

26:26

kill her or rape her.

26:29

Quote, I was screaming. At

26:31

that point in time, I was begging

26:33

him to kill me. My face was

26:35

very sore, very battered up,

26:37

and he wanted me to stop talking.

26:39

He kept holding my mouth and

26:41

he had his hands around my throat,

26:44

like pressing. He said that

26:46

it wasn't me. He said that it was other

26:48

woman that I had taken the beating

26:50

for, the other women that had wrecked

26:52

his life. But

26:54

Anna didn't lay charges at

26:56

first, nor did she seek medical

26:59

attention for her injuries. She

27:01

was scared. Of basal,

27:04

and of what people would think.

27:06

She urged him to get help for his

27:08

issues and he acknowledged that

27:10

he needed

27:11

it. But a few days later,

27:13

he hadn't taken any action.

27:16

So she photographed her injuries

27:18

as a

27:19

precaution. When she brought

27:21

up the attack again, he effectively

27:23

gas lit her. Quote, he

27:25

didn't remember half the things I said

27:27

that he'd done. He didn't remember hitting

27:30

me. He didn't recall strangling

27:32

me like trying to hold my

27:34

throat upstairs. He said that it wasn't

27:36

me. But not

27:38

even three weeks later, basal

27:40

was added again. At midnight on

27:42

a night in January two thousand

27:45

fourteen, Anna threw

27:47

him out after they had an argument.

27:49

She then locked the door and went to

27:52

bed. But in the

27:54

morning, Batesville returned and he was

27:56

in a rage. He

27:58

busted down the door. He ran around the

28:00

house gathering what he knew were

28:02

Anna's sentimental handmade childhood

28:05

items, including an antique

28:07

rocking horse and a wooden

28:09

tabletop hockey game. Cruely,

28:11

he threw them into the fireplace

28:13

and set them alight.

28:15

Anna would test stify that she tried

28:17

to wrestle him and stop him,

28:20

but he fought her back so he could

28:22

watch them burn. He

28:24

then stole some of her other items, including

28:27

her cell phone, and then took

28:29

off in her mother's car

28:31

without permission. Anna

28:33

had been in contact with Natalie

28:36

Warmardam about their shared

28:38

experiences with Batesville. Natalie

28:40

urged Anna to lay charges

28:42

She had been outraged that

28:45

her own assault charges were

28:47

dropped in a plea deal, and she was

28:49

determined not to let it

28:51

happen again. Basel needed

28:53

to be convicted of assault

28:55

this time, or other women

28:57

won't know that he's a danger, and

28:59

this could happen again. Anna

29:02

summoned the courage and laid the

29:05

charges. Batesville was charged with the

29:07

assault, burning Anna's possessions,

29:09

stealing her mother's car. And

29:11

breaching his probation. Anna

29:14

testified about her experiences as

29:16

well as a disturbing dream Basel

29:18

told her about where he said

29:20

he held natalie under the water

29:23

and she drowned. The

29:26

prosecution noted that he had quite the

29:28

collection of violated court

29:30

orders, including a driving probation where

29:32

he'd been asked to forfeit his

29:34

driver's license and a

29:37

weapons probation. The court records

29:39

noted additional concerns about

29:41

Batesville's propensity to

29:43

reoffend and the fact that the charges

29:45

against him seemed

29:47

to be escalating each time

29:49

he came back to court.

29:51

This time,

29:53

Basel was found guilty and

29:55

sentenced to seventeen months in prison. But

29:58

he was out in

30:00

five with two years probation. His

30:03

ten year ban on weapons was upgraded to

30:05

a lifetime ban, and he

30:07

was also required to sign a

30:09

no contact document. Saying

30:12

he would stay away from

30:14

Anna. He refused to

30:16

sign, but he was

30:18

released anyway. And Anna had no

30:20

idea that he had even been

30:22

released because no one

30:24

from the criminal justice system

30:26

had bothered to tell her.

30:28

Another person

30:33

who didn't know was Nathalie

30:36

Walmadem. By now, she was starting to feel

30:38

a little safer. As

30:40

far as she knew, Batesville was still

30:42

behind bars, And

30:44

in any event, she felt that the time

30:46

that she was most at risk was

30:48

likely behind her. Natalie

30:51

even started to relax a little.

31:03

What's one of the most common motives at the

31:05

heart of crime stories, the desire

31:07

for money, and a lot of it, from the museum

31:09

of natural history heist in New York

31:11

to the Antorb Diamond Heist The history channel's

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31:16

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into eight elaborate heist stakes attempts

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to secure the riches of

31:22

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31:26

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31:28

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31:30

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31:50

Part of Basil's probation was

31:53

a renewed requirement to

31:55

attend the living without violence cause

31:57

from his previous probation. The

31:59

course coordinator told

32:01

the fifth estate that when he was

32:04

notified of Basel's required

32:06

attendance, he looked through his

32:08

records and was alarmed by what he

32:10

saw, especially the

32:12

sheer for Ross of the attack

32:14

against Anna Kuzic. In

32:16

his experience working with abusers,

32:18

this attack was far beyond

32:21

the norm. Because of this,

32:23

the coordinator looked out for Basil's

32:26

attendance at the cause, but

32:28

he didn't show up again.

32:30

The coordinator contacted his

32:32

parole officer to let them know,

32:34

but never heard anything back. While

32:37

base oil mostly did show up

32:39

for his scheduled parole

32:41

meetings, there was no record of any

32:43

follow-up or any kind of

32:45

consequences for these breaches of

32:47

probation. When

32:49

he was released, he moved to an apartment

32:51

block in a town called Palmer

32:54

Rapids, still in Renfrew County.

32:56

He made friends with neighbor there, Sheryl,

32:58

who described him to various

33:00

media outlets as a nice guy.

33:03

Who used to bring her over baked goods as well as

33:05

meals that he'd cooked himself.

33:08

He even planted a strawberry

33:10

patch under her picture window. And

33:12

did mechanical work on her

33:15

car. All he asked in

33:17

return was to borrow that car

33:19

several times a week to run

33:21

errands. It's not known if Shell

33:23

knew that he had forfeited his

33:25

driver's license. Shell did

33:28

say he asked her something else that

33:30

disturbed her one

33:31

time. He wanted her to ask her

33:34

boyfriend if he knew someone who

33:36

could sell him a

33:37

gun. Shell felt uneasy about it

33:40

and never did ask.

33:41

One day, Basel

33:44

was at the low or tavern when

33:46

he ran into a friendly acquaintance

33:49

and some time love interest that

33:51

he'd lost contact with when he was

33:53

in prison. Sixty six year old

33:55

widow, Carol Kaletteyn, was

33:57

shoring up plans for her upcoming

33:59

retirement after spending more than a

34:01

decade in the public service.

34:04

Her husband had died of cancer

34:06

a few years beforehand, and she was getting

34:08

her finances in order. She

34:12

had a small cottage nearby on

34:14

Kaminescag Lake that she planned

34:16

to sell as part of her retirement plan.

34:19

When she ran into basil at the

34:21

tavern, they caught up. And she mentioned

34:23

to him in passing that she had to

34:25

fix up her cottage before she

34:27

could sell it. He was quick to offer to

34:29

help her, saying he was bored and she'd

34:32

save money. At first,

34:34

she was okay with him giving it a

34:38

go. But boundaries were an issue for

34:40

basal. He would borrow

34:42

his neighbor Cheryl's car

34:44

and just show

34:46

up at Carol's cottage to

34:48

work on it. Carol wasn't

34:50

happy. She told friends that

34:52

not only was his work

34:54

not great, but he left projects she

34:56

wanted him to do unfinished and

34:59

would instead start other projects

35:01

she didn't ask for. She

35:03

started to feel like the cottage

35:05

wasn't hers anymore. As

35:08

well as showing up at her

35:10

holiday cottage, Basel also showed up unannounced at her

35:12

actual home, which was two

35:14

hours away. Carol had

35:16

never actually given him her address

35:20

but she would find out that he got it from a Christmas card.

35:22

Friends were concerned for

35:25

Carol. They told her that

35:27

it was clear he was pursuing her romantically

35:29

and in fact he seemed to be

35:31

stalking her. But she gave

35:34

the impression that she had the

35:36

situation under control.

35:38

In early September of

35:41

two thousand fifteen, Labor

35:44

Day weekend, Carol was at the cottage having drinks with

35:46

basil and a friend called

35:48

Jim. Carol was a fun person to

35:50

be

35:51

around. Friends described her as someone who had a dry sense

35:54

of humor and a twinkle in her

35:56

eye. Things were going

35:58

well

35:59

that night. Until Carl sat on Jim's

36:02

knee and Batesville became jealous

36:04

and angry. He and

36:06

Carl fought

36:07

about it.

36:08

To Carol, they weren't in a relationship

36:10

so what right did he have

36:12

to behave like this? He

36:15

retaliated by tearing up her flower garden. He even

36:17

stormed around to Jim's house

36:19

and demanded to know if he was

36:21

interested in Carol. The

36:24

second week of September, Carol celebrated

36:27

her retirement and started saying

36:29

goodbye to her work friends.

36:31

She'd worked hard

36:34

and had been through the hardship of losing her husband.

36:36

She was ready to start the next phase

36:38

of her life and would enjoy

36:42

doing gardening, playing cards, and just generally

36:44

enjoying herself. But basal

36:46

Burutsky was not making that

36:50

easy for her. He had been texting

36:52

incessantly, insisting that his

36:54

act of destroying her flower

36:56

garden was what a professional had

36:58

told

36:59

him to to deal with his anger issues. He said

37:02

it'd

37:02

been told to take them out on inanimate

37:06

objects. Carole wasn't

37:08

into the drama and didn't want to

37:10

engage with him, so she resorted

37:12

to only answering his texts

37:14

every so often, saying

37:16

things like I'm sorry you feel

37:18

this way. I really am. He

37:21

kept talking about putting

37:23

everything behind Quote, it's totally up to you now.

37:26

Are we going down the negative path

37:28

or the positive path?

37:30

Regardless of your

37:31

choice, I'm okay, but

37:34

obviously I prefer positive.

37:35

By the third week of

37:37

September, Carol had had enough.

37:40

On Sunday, September

37:42

the twentieth, She told

37:44

Basil that she had rekindled a

37:46

relationship with an old

37:48

flame and asked him not to bother

37:50

her anymore. He tasted

37:52

back begging her for an explanation

37:54

and trying to reassure her

37:56

that he was a good person not

37:58

someone who was violent or vengeful. The

38:01

next day, he drove over to

38:03

the cottage to confront her in person,

38:05

but she wasn't there.

38:08

He told her neighbor that he was very upset and

38:10

was there to collect his things. He

38:13

then left more than

38:15

ten handwritten messages all over

38:17

her property. They were incredibly

38:20

passive aggressive. One

38:22

said, thanks for leaving Carol

38:24

I was wondering how I was going to get rid

38:26

of you so I could do this. Happy positive retirement.

38:28

Sorry I'm such an asshole.

38:32

Carole took photos of each message with her digital

38:35

camera. Later that day,

38:38

his

38:39

attitude changed Now, he

38:42

was downright aggressive. He

38:44

sent her angry texts, calling

38:46

her a cruel, vindictive, self

38:49

centered human being. He cused her

38:51

of scamming him for free labor and told her he will

38:53

endure her betrayal and threatened

38:56

that Karma was going to

38:58

take over. Carol

39:00

planned to stay in the lake cottage by herself

39:02

that night because she was meeting a

39:04

real estate agent there in the morning to

39:06

talk about putting it on the market

39:09

Her new partner and friends were

39:12

seriously worried and warned

39:14

Carol to be careful,

39:16

but she insisted she would

39:18

be fine. And if anything were to happen, she would lock the

39:20

door and call 911.

39:26

That same night,

39:30

Batesville was complaining to his

39:32

neighbors. Some of them noticed that he

39:34

seemed depressed.

39:36

He told them the story that he had just broken up

39:38

with his girlfriend at her cottage

39:40

after finding her in bed

39:43

with another man. He said he

39:46

was angry and he ranted about women being sluts and whores.

39:49

Sheryl, the neighbor who

39:51

often lent her car to

39:54

Basel, heard that he hadn't slept at all the night before.

39:56

He said that Carol had rejected

39:58

him and he was upset.

40:02

Quote, Karma's gonna get

40:04

her. Scholl said she could see

40:06

the anger in

40:08

his face. She would say to the fifth estate, could

40:10

tell that night he was going to

40:12

snap. When she woke up

40:15

the next morning, her car

40:18

was gone. It

40:23

was early in the morning of September twenty

40:26

second two thousand fifteen.

40:29

Carol Colletton's close friend Teresa was calling the cottage

40:31

to make sure she was okay.

40:34

There was no answer.

40:36

She called back again,

40:38

same result. It

40:41

was still early though. She'd try again soon. Anastasia

40:50

Kazak,

40:51

the thirty six year old real estate agent,

40:53

had her sister Eva staying at

40:55

her house and will

40:58

know. It was about eight forty five in the morning and Ava

41:00

was upstairs folding laundry when

41:02

all of a sudden she heard Anna

41:06

scream. Eva ran downstairs

41:08

to see Anna crouched on the

41:10

floor of the kitchen. She said in

41:13

a whisper. It's basal. Ava

41:15

then saw the man near the kitchen

41:17

door. He seemed surprised to see Ava

41:20

and he

41:21

exited the house. Ava rushed out to confront him, yelling

41:23

at him to stay away from my

41:26

sister. She then ran to the

41:28

front door to make sure

41:30

he'd left but instead

41:32

she saw him coming back with a

41:34

big shotgun. So she ran back

41:36

into the house and peered out

41:38

the window. He was now on the porch walking towards the

41:40

kitchen door again. She

41:42

thought to herself, we're going to die,

41:44

and she knew she had to get

41:48

help. Then she heard the gun go

41:50

off. She ran barefoot out of the

41:52

house to get help and kept running

41:54

because she

41:56

heard footsteps behind her and thought he was following

41:58

her. It turned out to be Anna's

42:00

dog. As Ava approached

42:02

the highway,

42:04

she saw a line marking vehicle and ran to it. When

42:06

911 was on the line, a

42:08

distraught Ava told the dispatcher she

42:12

heard screaming. And she was

42:14

hoping he hadn't killed her

42:16

sister. The dispatcher told her to

42:18

breathe. As the

42:20

first responders rushed to the house,

42:22

Aver called their other sister Laura and then their mother who

42:25

all lived nearby. They met the

42:27

police back at the house where

42:29

they were given the devastating news that their

42:32

beloved Stacia was dead.

42:34

The thirty six year old

42:36

had been shot point blank as she tried

42:39

to hide behind her kitchen

42:41

island. And Basil was

42:44

nowhere to be found. He had fled

42:46

the scene.

42:47

By nine

42:52

AM, reports of an active shooter

42:54

was spreading throughout

42:56

the community. Police from three different townships

42:58

descended in the community of

43:00

Wilno where Anna lived.

43:02

An emergency response unit

43:04

had been raining in a

43:06

nearby park and they arrived as

43:08

well. The local schools

43:10

were put on lockdown.

43:12

Carol Calletton's friend Teresa was

43:14

still waiting for the news that her friend was okay. Teresa

43:17

turned on the TV.

43:19

Ontario provincial police were reporting

43:21

that there was a

43:24

shooter on the loose and will know just twenty minutes

43:26

from Carol's cottage, and

43:28

one person was dead. They

43:31

said the shooter is believed to be in

43:33

the area. And while the OPP

43:36

conducts ground and air searches for

43:38

the suspect, They advised

43:40

residents to lock their doors, stay

43:42

inside, and call nine

43:44

eleven if they have

43:46

any information. Teresa was starting to get very

43:48

worried. She called and texted

43:50

Carol urging her friend to

43:52

call and confirm she

43:54

was okay.

44:00

Over at forty eight year old Natalie

44:02

Walmer Dam's house, she was at

44:04

home eating

44:06

breakfast Also in the house was her twenty year old

44:08

son Adrian who was lying on

44:10

the couch watching TV. Her

44:12

daughter Valerie was at school. All

44:16

of a sudden, Adrian heard a scream from the

44:18

other room where her mother was. He

44:20

thought maybe she was just startled

44:23

by a spider, but she

44:25

screamed again louder. Adrian

44:28

ran over to check it out and saw

44:30

his mother running towards him with someone chasing her,

44:32

pointing a shotgun at her.

44:35

He then recognized the

44:37

man as basal Burberry

44:39

ski. Someone he hadn't seen

44:41

for a while, given it had been

44:43

three years since he and Natalie

44:45

had

44:45

broken up.

44:46

Adrian feared for his life and he ran.

44:49

Bearfoot, he exited the back

44:51

door. And as he ran crossed

44:53

the field and into the bush to hide, he heard

44:56

a single gunshot. As

44:58

he laid on his stomach hiding in

45:00

the bush, he called nine eleven his cell phone

45:02

to tell them that his mother

45:05

was under attack. And that's

45:07

where he stayed until the

45:10

police came. Forty eight

45:12

year old Natalie Walmerdam's

45:14

body was found on the

45:16

staircase. A shell casing from a

45:18

twelve gauge shotgun was

45:20

found nearby. Natalie's eighteen

45:28

year old daughter, Valerie, was at high

45:30

school at the time of the lockdown.

45:32

Classwork stopped and the students wondered aloud why they

45:35

could not leave the premises.

45:38

After a

45:40

time, Valerie's name was broadcast over the intercom to

45:42

come to the principal's office,

45:44

and she instinctively knew that

45:46

Basel Burutsky was somehow involved.

45:50

Not long after she was given the tragic news

45:52

that her mother had been

45:56

killed. Real

46:01

estate agent, Kathy Pitts, was

46:03

scheduled to meet Carol Coletta

46:05

at the Lake cottage

46:07

at eleven AM that morning.

46:10

But when she arrived, a

46:12

window was smashed and the door looked

46:14

like it had been

46:16

kicked open. Cathy was uncomfortable entering the property

46:18

alone, so she went to a neighbor for

46:20

help and they

46:22

returned together. first,

46:24

nothing else seemed out of place

46:26

until Kathy got to the bedroom

46:28

and saw what she thought

46:30

was a rolled up sleeping bag.

46:33

But then she realized

46:35

it wasn't. It was a

46:37

person. It was Carol. There

46:39

was no blood but Carol

46:41

was unresponsive. Kathy called 911.

46:48

There was at

46:51

least one more

46:54

woman to be concerned about.

46:58

ex wife, Maryann.

47:00

The OPP called her on her cell

47:02

phone as she was driving to a doctor's

47:04

appointment and told her to get

47:06

to a safe She immediately drove

47:09

to a provincial park and stayed in

47:11

the park office waiting for police to

47:13

give her the word that

47:15

it was safe. By

47:18

now, a police manhunt had been

47:20

established to locate base

47:22

oil with ground and air

47:24

searches continuing. Multiple news

47:26

reports were telling residents to stay

47:28

secure in their homes. As

47:30

well as schools, the OPP decided

47:32

to put the local Pembroke Court

47:35

House on lockdown as a as well as several

47:37

OPP detachments. Renfrewtown

47:40

Hall was also evacuated

47:44

as a caution, and staff were escorted to their

47:46

vehicles. Three women were

47:48

dead, and the police didn't know

47:50

what else this man had planned.

47:53

It was clear that he was on a murder

47:56

spree. News spread quickly

47:58

in the small communities that make up

48:00

Renfrew County. People were

48:03

exchanging stories about what they'd heard. Who were

48:05

the three people who were dead? Who

48:07

was the suspect? And why

48:09

did it happen? As

48:12

the hours went by, warnings spread wider

48:15

than Renfrew County to Ottawa,

48:17

and more than one site in that

48:19

city was placed on

48:21

lockdown. And added police presence was seen at the

48:24

Ottawa courthouse.

48:30

Meanwhile,

48:30

Batesville's neighbor, Cheryl, was wondering what

48:33

was going on. It was

48:35

now after lunchtime, and she hadn't

48:37

seen her car all

48:40

day. Where had basal gone with it? At

48:42

almost two PM, she got a

48:44

text message. It was basal.

48:48

He told Cheryl that her car was at Carol's

48:50

cottage at the lake. Quote,

48:52

sorry, I left a

48:54

hundred dollars for gas.

48:58

friend. The police

49:00

were tracing basal cell phone, and a

49:02

command center had been set up on a

49:04

side road near where his phone had

49:08

too. Batesville had been tracked east

49:10

near a hunting cabin owned by

49:12

relatives. Dozens of police

49:14

officers were involved now. From

49:17

both the Ontario provincial police and

49:19

the Ottawa regional police

49:22

services. Helicopters were

49:24

circling overhead There was now widespread

49:26

fear in Renfrew County. No one could rest until

49:28

the shooter had been captured.

49:32

Ottawa police were put in touch with Basil's brother,

49:35

Arthur Burutsky. They wanted him

49:37

to cooperate with police and text

49:39

message with his

49:42

brother. And frame the messages so that basal surrender

49:45

peacefully. After some

49:47

messaging back and forward, Arthur

49:50

texted, quote, nobody wants

49:52

to hurt you. Follow the instructions,

49:54

hands up, no gun. Borutsky

49:57

texted his brother back, quote, the

49:59

guilty have

50:00

paid. It is not my fault.

50:04

He then raised his hands and surrendered to

50:07

the

50:07

police. The five

50:10

hour manhunt was over. The

50:13

police announced they had arrested a suspect,

50:16

although they wouldn't release his name

50:18

until charges were late.

50:20

As the loved ones of

50:22

Natalie Warmardem, Anastasia

50:24

Kazak, and Carol Kaletan

50:26

came to terms with their

50:27

loss. Local residents were able to breathe

50:30

a

50:31

sigh of relief.

50:33

Basel Burutsky was taken to

50:35

the Pembroke OPP detachment where

50:38

he spent the night. The

50:40

next morning,

50:42

detective Sajan Kayley O'Neil arrived to interrogate

50:44

him. O'Neil brought coffee and

50:46

breakfast for Basil, which he ate

50:48

as the detective tried to get him

50:50

to talk. Firstly, by

50:52

explaining his role and

50:54

asking Basil if he understood what

50:56

was going on. Basil

50:58

was quick to establish himself as

51:01

a reluctant participant who had multiple

51:03

issues with police officers. He

51:05

could not be described

51:07

as cooperative. He

51:10

and he was nonchalant. Early

51:12

on, he stated that he did

51:14

not murder those women. With

51:17

special emphasis on the word murder.

51:19

He said he killed them,

51:22

implying that murder is wrong

51:24

and killing isn't. He cited his own

51:26

reading of the ten

51:28

commandments, which he said he believed would

51:30

provide vindication.

51:32

Saying he consulted his personal bible on the eve of

51:35

the murders. Detective O'Neil asked

51:37

him to explain, Basel

51:41

spoke about his own studies of the bible. In fact, he'd

51:43

been reading it the night before

51:45

the murders. The five

51:48

hour interrogation

51:50

was released to the public, but I've selected just a few quotes

51:52

to play to give an indication of how

51:55

Batesville sounded as he spoke,

51:57

and I'll summarize the

52:00

rest. Clips have been edited

52:02

slightly to remove long gaps and silence.

52:05

In this clip, Basel

52:07

quotes what he says is one of the ten

52:10

commandments as justification for

52:12

what he

52:12

did. O'Neil corrects him,

52:16

but Basel insists he is right.

52:18

What's the difference between

52:19

killing and murder?

52:20

That'll show. No.

52:24

Murder. Manage.

52:28

Mhmm. So

52:29

it's killing

52:31

justified. Is that weird?

52:34

Say again?

52:35

Let me see.

52:38

Yeah.

52:38

I believe sashy

52:41

better

52:41

shall not kill You're wrong,

52:44

but it's still being

52:47

viable. Yeah? Yeah.

52:50

Final version before

52:51

they changed it. Detective

52:54

sergeant O'Neil was clearly just

52:56

reading from the wrong version

52:58

of the

52:59

Bible. He moved on to

53:01

the next

53:01

question. Why would why

53:04

would I have you, Joe? Who's

53:06

away? Okay. So that seems kind

53:08

of counterintuitive.

53:09

No. The real reason could there be for

53:12

that? No. To me.

53:14

It seemed

53:16

like It seemed like God

53:18

was trying to show

53:20

me that the commandment is

53:23

an down shell, non

53:26

kill. It is down shell,

53:28

not murder.

53:30

And when somebody hits

53:33

murder, kill some

53:35

maybe that's innocent. That's

53:38

why I couldn't kill myself because

53:42

I thought about shooting myself

53:45

I can't do that because

53:48

I had his and didn't do it

53:49

wrong, because that would be me

53:52

murdering myself.

53:53

I don't does that

53:55

make any

53:57

sense? So in

53:58

terms of Carol and Anastasia,

54:01

I don't

54:01

say you killed them or murdered

54:04

them?

54:04

I killed them

54:07

because they were not

54:12

innocent. They were guilty.

54:16

I was

54:18

innocent. I Done. Nothing.

54:39

Bassil painted a self portrait of a

54:42

man who was a

54:44

chronic victim. None of what happened was his fault. He

54:46

was wronged by all his

54:48

previous partners who he called by

54:50

Paula Looney and

54:52

Crazy. He

54:54

choose them all of framing him. He claimed he

54:56

was also wronged by what he described as

54:59

a corrupt police system. He

55:02

sat with one arm across his chest and the other holding

55:04

the side of his head. He

55:06

repeatedly said he was the victim

55:09

of malicious prosecution by the

55:12

police and that no one ever

55:14

listened to him. He said the police

55:16

had even framed him for

55:18

his DUI. When asked if

55:20

he wanted to call a lawyer, he

55:22

said, I don't want to talk to

55:24

any crooks. Batesville

55:26

Burutsky's complaints and criticism didn't

55:29

end there. He complained about

55:31

the lack of humanity in

55:33

his treatment by police after he

55:35

was arrested. He requested

55:38

a doctor citing chronic back pain. He complained

55:40

about health problems of vitamin

55:42

deficiency. Four ruptured discs

55:46

are hernia a history of concussions and about the

55:48

medications he was on. He

55:50

also declared that he

55:52

had PTSD d because

55:54

of his treatment at the hands of the

55:56

criminal justice system.

55:58

He was asked, what had

56:00

the women done to make him so angry

56:02

that he decided to kill them. He said that if the

56:05

community really wanted to know, they should

56:07

start an independent inquiry,

56:10

quote, because

56:12

Basel Burutsky is a kind, caring, god

56:15

fearing human

56:15

being. He had referred to

56:18

himself in the

56:20

third person. Quite a few

56:22

times throughout this

56:23

interrogation. One by one,

56:26

he listed what he perceived to be

56:28

slight against him by

56:30

his ex partners, each slight as

56:32

ridiculous as the last.

56:34

Marianne was the one who beat him

56:36

up, not the other way around, Natalie

56:40

was apparently in with a man stealing backhoe,

56:42

and Basil accused her of trying

56:44

to frame him for it.

56:46

And as for

56:48

Carol, She had simply rejected him after he did all that

56:50

work on her cottage.

56:52

After a

56:53

few hours of back and forth

56:55

and continued references

56:58

to the bible as well as his lack of sleep.

57:00

Bassil Burutsky told his version

57:02

of what happened the morning of

57:05

September twenty second. Two thousand

57:08

fifteen. He

57:10

said he left his apartment in Palmer

57:12

Rapids just after seven thirty AM.

57:15

Taking off in his neighbor Shell's

57:18

car. He said, as he drove the car,

57:20

he felt that God was helping

57:22

him to do

57:24

what's right. He had a twelve gauge shotgun with

57:26

him that he told police he found at

57:28

an old farmhouse two years

57:30

earlier. As

57:32

you'll remember, He had a

57:34

lifetime ban on weapons, and

57:36

his firearms license had been

57:38

revoked, but he still

57:40

carried the spired permit card around with

57:41

him. Basil said

57:42

he drove about fifteen minutes

57:46

northwest to Carole

57:48

Culetton's cottage on Caminus Gag

57:50

Lake. She saw him

57:52

arrive and he said something to her

57:54

like, why do you

57:56

hate me? She went inside and locked the door.

57:58

He smashed the window open with his

58:00

elbow, unlocked the front door

58:02

and

58:03

entered the cartridge. She said, this is not you

58:05

basel. This is not you.

58:08

He chased Carol

58:09

to her bedroom, grabbed

58:12

a coaxle television cable and wrapped it around her head

58:14

and neck six times while she

58:16

begged for her life. He

58:20

strangled her. As Carol lay dead on the bedroom

58:22

floor with numerous defensive

58:24

injuries and bruises on her hands

58:26

and arms, basal smoked

58:28

a cigarette. He

58:30

discarded the butt in Carol's kitchen sink along

58:33

with his DNA. He emptied

58:35

out the contents of

58:38

her purse and took her cell phone and the keys to

58:40

her car. He left

58:42

Shell's car parked at the cottage

58:44

with a hundred dollars in it

58:46

for gas and then

58:48

fled in Carol's car.

58:50

At this point, no one had

58:52

any idea that a killing

58:55

spree had started. Basel drove about half

58:57

an hour northeast to Wilton where

59:00

Anastasia Cuzic

59:00

lived. He arrived at

59:02

around eight forty five AM.

59:06

After the confrontation with her sister Eva,

59:08

who fled out the house on

59:10

foot, Batesville said he low located

59:14

Anna cowering behind the kitchen

59:16

island. He asked her,

59:18

why did you lie in court?

59:20

And she said, I didn't.

59:22

He fired the gun killing her with a single shot.

59:25

A twelve gauge shell casing was

59:27

found near her body along

59:29

with a fingerprint that

59:31

matched to base oil. Next,

59:34

he drove another half an hour

59:36

this time south east to

59:38

the farm of Natalie Warmadam.

59:41

The same farm where he lived

59:43

for two years. Surveillance

59:46

footage shows him walking into her house

59:48

with a shotgun. He chased her

59:50

around the corner with that shotgun as

59:52

her son ran out of the

59:54

house, and then he fired one

59:56

shot, also killing

59:58

her instantly. The same

1:00:00

sized shell casing was found near

1:00:02

her

1:00:02

body. Two minutes later, surveillance

1:00:05

footage captured him walking

1:00:07

back

1:00:07

out. By nine twenty

1:00:10

AM, three women were

1:00:12

dead. And Batesville told each

1:00:14

of these stories without

1:00:16

a shred of remorse or even

1:00:18

emotion. He was

1:00:20

completely nonchalant.

1:00:22

As you'll remember, his complaint about Natalie was

1:00:24

that she was apparently in with

1:00:27

a man stealing backhoe. And

1:00:29

had tried to frame him. According

1:00:32

to sources close to Natalie, she had

1:00:34

nothing to do with whatever went on,

1:00:38

but Basil decided that this man would be his next

1:00:40

target. The man owned a

1:00:42

sawmill, so Batesville said he

1:00:44

drove there and asked around

1:00:46

for him. He was

1:00:48

told that he wasn't there.

1:00:50

Batesville decided to leave.

1:00:52

In reality, the owner

1:00:54

knew that Batesville was there

1:00:56

hiding in the

1:00:57

bushes, decision which saved his life.

1:01:00

Batesville

1:01:00

drove around for a bit before

1:01:03

heading out east to Kinburn,

1:01:06

Ontario where a relative

1:01:08

had a property. Just

1:01:10

before two PM, he parked

1:01:12

the car on the outskirts

1:01:14

of town. Sat down at a picnic table and texted

1:01:16

his neighbor's show to let her know where

1:01:18

her car was. He then

1:01:20

ran into the bush with a few

1:01:22

bottles of along

1:01:24

with the shotgun. His

1:01:26

plan was to drink himself

1:01:28

stupid and then die by self

1:01:30

inflicted gunshot,

1:01:32

but he decided not to. Quote, yeah,

1:01:34

you can't do that basal. You're innocent.

1:01:36

If you blow your head off, you'll

1:01:39

never go to heaven. Just thirty minutes

1:01:42

later, he was arrested.

1:01:44

He pointed to where the shotgun was

1:01:46

so police could

1:01:48

take it. It was

1:01:50

an old rusty and rundown gun

1:01:52

determined to be in poor condition,

1:01:55

but it worked. Police also found ammunition, which

1:01:57

matched the shell casings found at the crime

1:02:00

scene. They also found a

1:02:02

note that

1:02:04

read, I have no gun. Don't

1:02:06

murder me. I give up. And inside the

1:02:08

car that he stole, Carol's

1:02:10

car, they found a large machete.

1:02:14

As you remember,

1:02:18

the police

1:02:20

had warned Basil's ex wife,

1:02:24

Maryann, to find a safe space. But when he was

1:02:26

asked about her, he told police he

1:02:28

hadn't actually thought of

1:02:30

including me Ian in the

1:02:32

day's plans. At the

1:02:34

end of the confession, detective O'Neil

1:02:36

asked Basel if he understood

1:02:39

what happened to Anna, Carol, and Natalie was

1:02:42

wrong. Basil replied,

1:02:44

yeah. O'Neil asked, would you

1:02:47

take it back if you could? Basel

1:02:50

replied, of course, I would,

1:02:52

but then continued on into another

1:02:54

rant about how Natalie Carol

1:02:56

and Anna brought it

1:02:58

upon themselves. He also said that he was prepared to shoot

1:03:00

any police officer that got in his

1:03:02

way. The only shred of

1:03:04

remorse he

1:03:06

showed was the fact that he

1:03:08

borrowed his neighbor's car and

1:03:10

left her gas tank empty.

1:03:13

During the interrogation, Detective O'Neil repeatedly

1:03:15

offered him legal counsel, but he turned

1:03:18

it down. With

1:03:24

Basel Barucchi finally captured,

1:03:26

the Renfru County community were

1:03:30

feeling safer. But still reeling in especially

1:03:32

those who knew Carol, Natalie,

1:03:34

and Anastasia. As for

1:03:38

Basil's family, His estranged

1:03:40

brother Will told the Canadian press

1:03:42

that they were angry and embarrassed, quote,

1:03:46

we're all in disbelief. Right now,

1:03:48

the only ones we're thinking about is

1:03:50

the victims, the children,

1:03:52

the families, the friends.

1:03:54

Our hearts and souls go out

1:03:56

to them. By now,

1:03:58

the media had started reporting

1:04:00

on who Batesville

1:04:01

was, including his criminal past

1:04:04

and all the times he had

1:04:06

evaded conviction.

1:04:07

There was a lot of outrage at how

1:04:09

this man with his history of

1:04:12

escalating violence towards women

1:04:14

was allowed to return to

1:04:16

the community time and time again even through

1:04:18

multiple breaches of probation

1:04:20

orders. Kathy Pitts,

1:04:22

the real estate agent who just

1:04:25

garbage Carol Kaletan's body, told

1:04:28

CTV news, quote, I'm

1:04:30

very angry with the legal system for

1:04:32

allowing an animal like that man be

1:04:34

back out out on the loose. My

1:04:36

heart just bleeds for the families of these

1:04:38

women and what they have to go

1:04:41

through. Women's advocate groups

1:04:43

had started to point out that this, the

1:04:45

worst ever case of intimate partner violence

1:04:47

in Ontario, wasn't receiving

1:04:50

the kind of public attention

1:04:52

it deserved. Many

1:04:54

media outlets noted that the murders happened in

1:04:56

the middle of the two thousand fifteen

1:04:59

federal election campaign. The

1:05:01

day after, the three main political

1:05:04

leaders were supposed to have a debate

1:05:06

on women's issues. The

1:05:08

debate had action been

1:05:10

canceled a month earlier under

1:05:12

controversy, but the media noted

1:05:14

that none of the three political

1:05:16

leaders made a single

1:05:18

public comment. About the

1:05:20

massacre as they campaigned.

1:05:22

This absence was a missed

1:05:24

opportunity to educate the public

1:05:27

about domestic and the red flags that Basel was

1:05:29

at high risk to continue

1:05:32

reoffending, like his repeated

1:05:34

refusal to follow his

1:05:36

probation conditions. As

1:05:38

journalist Sadia Ansari wrote in

1:05:40

a blog post for the Huffington Post,

1:05:44

quote, A mass shooting fueled by misogyny is no

1:05:46

doubt a national tragedy. So

1:05:48

how many women have to die before

1:05:52

the issue warrants the political attention it deserves.

1:05:56

As Basil had his first appearance

1:05:58

in court,

1:06:00

where he remained absolutely silent. A woman's

1:06:02

support group gathered outside the building

1:06:05

to hold a vigil. Joanne

1:06:08

Brooks director of the women's sexual

1:06:10

assault center of Renfrew County was one of the organizers.

1:06:14

Quote, When events

1:06:16

happen in communities, what happens

1:06:18

is it triggers rawness for

1:06:20

many women. We all live with

1:06:23

the threat of violence, and I think

1:06:25

it's important to be out and publicly

1:06:27

visible for the women who

1:06:29

cannot come forward.

1:06:30

The group were

1:06:31

there again for Basil's second appearance in

1:06:33

court a few weeks later.

1:06:35

This time, he uttered

1:06:37

just one word. When he

1:06:39

was asked to identify himself, he

1:06:42

said, god.

1:06:44

It seemed fitting given what the

1:06:46

police had found in his apartment.

1:06:48

They seized three books, the bible, the Jerusalem bible,

1:06:51

and a book called The Key

1:06:53

to Freedom, which

1:06:55

is a essentially the bible rewritten in

1:06:58

contemporary English.

1:06:59

The police also seized various

1:07:02

writings they found from Basel

1:07:04

to be used for handwriting

1:07:06

analysis against the messages

1:07:08

that he wrote all around Carol's

1:07:10

cottage.

1:07:12

PACKed memorial services were

1:07:14

held for the three women who

1:07:16

were loved and missed by

1:07:18

many. There were strong undercurrents

1:07:20

of anger at how the massacre

1:07:22

was allowed to have happened. Anastasia

1:07:24

Kazak was described as a

1:07:26

lover of nature and a friend to

1:07:29

everyone. Bagpipes played amazing

1:07:31

grace in a hall

1:07:33

that featured walls of photos, as well

1:07:35

as a giant display of the

1:07:37

many ribbons she'd won in

1:07:39

horse riding competitions. Her

1:07:42

family asked for donations in her

1:07:44

memory to be made to the local

1:07:46

women's shelter. Those

1:07:49

who gathered to memorialize Carol Kaletan described her

1:07:51

as wonderful, someone who

1:07:53

loved all animals. Friends

1:07:57

said Carol didn't know the extent of Basil's past. And

1:07:59

because she was such a

1:08:01

trusting person, she gave him the benefit

1:08:03

of the doubt. Natalie

1:08:07

Warmardam was remembered as someone

1:08:09

who smiled with her whole face and

1:08:11

had an infectious laugh.

1:08:15

Her friend, Danielle Picora Gauzy, told

1:08:17

the crowd that the justice system

1:08:19

had let Natalie down. And

1:08:22

they needed to channel their anger into

1:08:24

bringing about change in the

1:08:27

justice system. Quote, we need a

1:08:29

system that works differently in cases of abuse

1:08:31

against women. We need a justice system that puts the protection

1:08:35

of the victims over the

1:08:39

rights of the

1:08:43

abuser.

1:08:44

In the meantime, CBC were investigating for

1:08:47

the fifth estate. They had requested a

1:08:49

phone call with

1:08:51

Basel from prison. And

1:08:54

to their surprise, he called back in the months after the murders. But it was more the

1:08:56

same as what he

1:08:59

said in the interrogation. He'd

1:09:02

been wronged. It was the police's fault. It

1:09:05

was the women's

1:09:05

fault. It was the systems fault.

1:09:07

In the end, he

1:09:09

declared, you're judging me and

1:09:12

hung

1:09:12

up. True to

1:09:13

their word, the women's support

1:09:15

group was organizing again for

1:09:17

the one year anniversary

1:09:19

of the Renfruk County

1:09:22

murders. Dozens attended a candlelight memorial to remember the three women.

1:09:28

They marched through the streets holding

1:09:30

signs that read take back the night in reference to the movement

1:09:33

to end

1:09:36

domestic violence. Natalie Warmadam,

1:09:38

Carol Kaletan, and Anastasia Kazak's names were etched into a

1:09:40

monument that had been erected

1:09:42

in memory of more than twenty

1:09:46

women killed by their partner

1:09:48

or ex partner. Many were

1:09:50

reflecting on how gaps in

1:09:53

the justice system allowed this to

1:09:55

happen. And how one year on, Renfrew County was no safer for

1:09:58

abused women than before.

1:10:02

According to Statistics Canada,

1:10:04

a woman is called by

1:10:06

her partner every five days

1:10:09

on average. And women in rural

1:10:12

areas are even more susceptible. They

1:10:14

are often put at a disadvantage

1:10:16

because of traditional moral and

1:10:19

religious beliefs. And rural areas. Women also feel

1:10:21

they can't leave an abusive

1:10:23

relationship for financial reasons.

1:10:27

Often, their livelihood is tied to a farm. But

1:10:29

they're also afraid to leave

1:10:31

because everyone knows everybody

1:10:34

else in these areas. There's isolation and poverty.

1:10:36

There's also the fact that many

1:10:38

of the men are hunters, so

1:10:40

have access to

1:10:43

firearms and other weapons. In

1:10:45

cases like this massacre and the fact that Batesville was allowed to get away with

1:10:47

not following his probation orders

1:10:52

repeatedly, hardly encourage

1:10:54

women to step forward or trust the system. And what's worse,

1:10:57

Joanne Brooks from

1:11:00

the women's sexual

1:11:02

assault center of Renfrew County told the media about a disturbing trend.

1:11:04

Several women they

1:11:07

helped at the center reported

1:11:10

that their abusive partners had

1:11:12

started using the name of

1:11:14

Basel Borutski as a threat. She

1:11:17

said that while there had been improvements in the

1:11:19

justice system to warn women who were at risk when a man

1:11:22

is released from jail, quote,

1:11:25

at the end of the day, if a man chooses to kill a woman, it

1:11:27

will happen. There are restraining orders and bail

1:11:29

conditions, but those just get

1:11:32

walked right through,

1:11:35

especially in rural areas where we

1:11:37

are isolated without services. We

1:11:39

don't have neighbors that

1:11:41

might call us and

1:11:43

say, I just saw him coming your way down the

1:11:45

street. We don't have

1:11:48

neighbors necessarily.

1:11:51

Basel Barucchi's trial started in

1:11:54

October of two thousand seventeen, just

1:11:58

over two years after he murdered

1:12:00

three women. He was charged

1:12:02

with two counts of first

1:12:04

degree murder for Anastasia Kazak and

1:12:06

Nathalie Walmadem and one count of second degree murder in the death

1:12:09

of Carol Kaletin. This suggests

1:12:11

that he did not plan

1:12:15

to murder Carol, who was the first victim.

1:12:17

But then, he did plan

1:12:19

on driving to Anastasia's

1:12:22

and natalie's and killing

1:12:24

them.

1:12:24

In the lead up to the trial, the fifty nine

1:12:26

year old was ordered to have a psychiatric test,

1:12:29

but he refused

1:12:32

to comply. When

1:12:34

asked what his name was, he said, I don't know. When asked what people call him,

1:12:39

he said, asshole. The

1:12:42

psychiatrist reported back to the court that an attempt was made, but due to Basel's

1:12:45

noncompliance, the assessment

1:12:48

wasn't possible. Basel

1:12:51

was no different at the trial. As

1:12:53

the judge would put it, he

1:12:55

decided not to actively

1:12:58

participate in his own defense despite

1:13:00

repeated requests by the court. He refused

1:13:02

to hire a lawyer or request legal

1:13:07

aid he just sat there in the prisoners box staring straight

1:13:09

ahead. In cases like

1:13:12

this, the court can appoint

1:13:14

what is called an amicus curie.

1:13:17

Which means friend of the

1:13:19

court. In Basel Borutski's case, the role assisted the trial

1:13:22

process by offering him

1:13:24

information, expertise,

1:13:27

and insight. In

1:13:28

the opening address, the crown prosecutor

1:13:31

argued that the trial is

1:13:33

not a who done it.

1:13:35

Because the evidence that was going to be presented is overwhelming.

1:13:37

It was clear that the

1:13:40

killings were

1:13:42

all about justice his kind of justice.

1:13:44

He believed there was a corrupt

1:13:46

justice system out to get him

1:13:48

and women paid

1:13:51

the ultimate price. Quote, he thought about

1:13:54

it before he did it, and then he executed his plan perfectly.

1:13:57

The videotaped interrogation

1:14:00

where basal explained

1:14:02

his twisted logic would become the centerpiece of the crown's considerable evidence.

1:14:08

Other evidence included

1:14:10

testimony from Carol's new partner, the one she had just gotten back together with

1:14:15

about Basil's erratic avia

1:14:18

leading up to the murders.

1:14:20

The unannounced visits, the botched

1:14:22

projects that Carol never asked for,

1:14:24

and the jealous possessive behavior. There was

1:14:27

blood on basal clothes that matched to Natalie and

1:14:29

Anna, and his fingerprint

1:14:31

was found at Anna's

1:14:34

house. The cigarette butt in

1:14:37

the sink of Carol's cottage with

1:14:39

his DNA on it. Surveillance footage

1:14:41

showed him pulling out of his apartment block in

1:14:43

his neighbor Cheryl's car, which was recovered from Carol's cottage.

1:14:48

Inside Shell's car was his

1:14:50

wallet containing all his ID and bank cards and his

1:14:55

expired firearms permit. As well

1:14:57

as a hundred dollars for as his to just he

1:15:00

was arrested. Surveillance

1:15:04

from Natalie's house showed him going in and coming

1:15:06

out minutes later. There was a lot of evidence. Anastasia's

1:15:12

sister Eva testified about the

1:15:14

nine eleven call she'd made

1:15:16

when Batesville entered the

1:15:18

house. At this point, basell suddenly came

1:15:21

to life tapping on the

1:15:23

glass and asking for

1:15:25

a piece of paper. Basel had

1:15:27

questions for Eva, which he wrote

1:15:29

on the paper. The amicus

1:15:32

Curier asked the questions

1:15:34

saving Eva from having to give

1:15:36

her answers to Basel himself in

1:15:38

the prisoners box. The questions were not overly poignant.

1:15:43

She was asked where she was in the house and when she

1:15:45

first saw the gun. There was

1:15:47

no explanation about why

1:15:49

the questions were asked. Or what he was trying to

1:15:52

infer by way of

1:15:53

defense. As you'll remember,

1:15:55

Batesville was

1:15:58

a prolific writer. Carol Calletton's brother testified

1:16:00

about a letter Carol's neighbor gave him

1:16:02

in the days after the murders.

1:16:04

It was postmarked

1:16:07

from Palmer Rapids, Ontario. The

1:16:09

town where Batesville lived. Kevin knew immediately that it was evidence so he

1:16:11

took the envelopes straight to

1:16:15

the police unopened. The

1:16:18

letter was entered into evidence. A

1:16:21

rambling nine page missive

1:16:24

that starts Carol

1:16:27

positive positive positive Bacell then writes about what

1:16:29

he thinks are the positive changes he made in her life and his

1:16:32

motivation for

1:16:35

it. Quote, I am a loving, caring human being.

1:16:37

I am a good person. I am

1:16:39

living in a world where

1:16:41

society teaches us

1:16:43

to be

1:16:44

greedy. And at the end,

1:16:46

he says, talk to me. It's not too late.

1:16:51

The try trial was supposed to have lasted for seventeen weeks, but

1:16:53

instead, lasted six, thanks

1:16:56

to Basil's

1:16:59

refusal to participate. There was no defense

1:17:02

put forward whatsoever. No witnesses were called. He did come

1:17:04

to life for

1:17:07

a second time halfway through

1:17:09

the judge's instructions to the jury. When

1:17:11

asked if he had any comment about it, he responded by complaining

1:17:13

about the trial process,

1:17:15

about not being able

1:17:19

to address the jury and that he

1:17:21

wasn't given a pencil and paper

1:17:23

when he was. And at

1:17:25

the end of the jury charge,

1:17:27

he was again given the opportunity to comment.

1:17:29

He simply said, I

1:17:31

am not guilty. The

1:17:34

jury did not agree. Basal Burutsky

1:17:37

was found guilty of the

1:17:39

two counts of first degree

1:17:41

murder and the one count

1:17:43

of second degree murder. At the sentencing

1:17:45

hearing, the judge described him as being devoid

1:17:47

of mercy. He

1:17:50

said that for the family friends of the women,

1:17:52

the effect the losses had

1:17:54

on them is incalculable, particularly

1:17:56

for Anna's sister Eva

1:17:59

and Natalie's son Adrian who

1:18:02

were there at the time of

1:18:04

the attacks and will have to carry those memories

1:18:06

for the rest of their lives. Justice Robert Miranda

1:18:10

quoted Nathalie Walmadam's mother from

1:18:12

her victim impact statement. Quote,

1:18:15

there's a huge hole in

1:18:17

our lives and in our

1:18:19

hearts. Daily, we walk under a

1:18:21

black cloud. Our health and family dynamics have been

1:18:23

sorely affected due to

1:18:26

everlasting stress and sorrow.

1:18:29

The justice also referred to a community impact statement that

1:18:31

had been submitted by

1:18:36

a group called end violence

1:18:38

against women County. Batesville Burutsky's murder

1:18:40

spree had an incredible

1:18:43

impact on the community. The

1:18:46

lines of police cars on the rural roads,

1:18:49

serious safety concerns as schools

1:18:51

and businesses were

1:18:53

locked down. The statement said that

1:18:56

women still don't feel safe

1:18:58

walking on rural roads or

1:19:00

hiking, and what's worse in

1:19:02

Renfrew County during hunting season, the sounds of gunshot was considered normal.

1:19:05

But since

1:19:08

the murders, the gunshots

1:19:10

were now triggering all four memories. Quote, the sight of police vehicles once

1:19:12

a symbol of safety

1:19:15

and security for many and

1:19:18

now a reminder of these horrific murders

1:19:21

and fears of future

1:19:23

violence. Basal Burutsky was

1:19:26

sentenced to life in prison with no

1:19:28

chance of parole for seventy years, which will

1:19:30

bring him to around a hundred and twenty eight

1:19:34

years old. He will die in prison. The

1:19:37

judge characterized him as

1:19:39

a violent, vindictive, calculating

1:19:43

abuser of women. Who, on September twenty second

1:19:45

two thousand fifteen, took his hatred to its ultimate

1:19:48

climax and committed

1:19:50

the triple murders of Carol

1:19:53

Koleton, Anastasia Cuzic, and Nathalie

1:19:56

Walmadam. Outside

1:20:00

court, Natalie's daughter Valerie spoke to CBC

1:20:02

News about the difficulty moving forward with her life

1:20:04

without her mother's

1:20:07

advice and help. As well

1:20:09

as her experiences not being able to trust people. She said she was glad to

1:20:12

see the increased awareness and

1:20:14

was hoping and waiting to hear

1:20:16

about what

1:20:19

changes might be made to the justice system. Ironically,

1:20:22

the sentencing decision

1:20:25

was delivered on the

1:20:27

anniversary of the nineteen eighty nine Ecol polytechnique massacre, which

1:20:29

became the national day of

1:20:32

remembrance and action

1:20:34

on violence against women. Outside

1:20:38

the courthouse, flags flew at half masked to commemorate this anniversary.

1:20:40

Also, the day women

1:20:42

in Renfrew County learned based

1:20:45

Renfrew Burutsky, will

1:20:47

never be a threat

1:20:51

to them again.

1:20:54

In August of two thousand nineteen, the

1:20:56

Ontario government announced an inquiry

1:20:59

to examine the circumstances

1:21:01

of the deaths of Natalie, Carol,

1:21:03

and Anna. Even though this was

1:21:05

good news, their loved ones and

1:21:07

the community were

1:21:10

wary. Natalie's daughter Valerie told

1:21:12

CBC that she hoped the inquest

1:21:14

would do some good, but added

1:21:16

that recommendations are good and

1:21:18

well but what's really needed is for politicians to

1:21:21

follow through and implement

1:21:23

them. Women's rights advocates

1:21:25

noted that there had

1:21:27

been similar inquest held over the

1:21:30

years only to see recommendations shelved afterwards. They how another

1:21:32

inquest would help

1:21:35

without actually following through. Whatever

1:21:40

happens, for many, the inquiry

1:21:42

is too little, too late.

1:21:44

Basel Barucchi showed an escalation

1:21:46

of violence and stalking behavior and never stuck to

1:21:49

the conditions of his

1:21:50

probation, and the system failed

1:21:54

to protect the survivors.

1:22:04

The long awaited inquiry into

1:22:06

the Renfrew County murders happened

1:22:09

in June of two

1:22:11

thousand twenty two. A

1:22:14

jury looked at the circumstances and

1:22:17

offered recommendations for system

1:22:19

changes to reduce the risk

1:22:21

of it happening

1:22:22

again. The inquest heard there were many systemic

1:22:24

failures that led up to

1:22:26

basal Burutsky's murder spree in

1:22:29

September of two

1:22:31

thousand fifteen. He was not well

1:22:34

supervised by probation officers, and he also was not held accountable

1:22:36

when he failed to

1:22:39

comply with probation conditions. For

1:22:42

example, he ignored several

1:22:44

court orders to attend partner

1:22:47

assault response but there were

1:22:49

no consequences or charge for

1:22:51

breaching a court order. An expert

1:22:53

witness testified that in

1:22:55

situations like these where

1:22:58

a known abuser is not held

1:23:00

accountable. It can embolden them to

1:23:02

escalate their behavior. And it did. The

1:23:05

jury heard that

1:23:08

basal Burutski threshened the

1:23:10

women who pressed intimate partner violence charges against him until they dropped those

1:23:13

charges out

1:23:16

of fear. And because

1:23:18

he was highly

1:23:19

manipulative, he would reassure new partners who'd heard about the incidents, telling

1:23:21

them the charges had

1:23:24

been dropped.

1:23:26

And he'd been unfairly targeted. He

1:23:29

even told Nathalie Walmadam

1:23:31

as a threat that if

1:23:33

his ex wife press charges and he

1:23:35

ended up in jail. He'd find a way to

1:23:37

kill her and he didn't care about the

1:23:40

consequences. A

1:23:43

year before the Renfrew County murders. He was released from

1:23:45

his latest stint in custody and

1:23:48

a rehabilitation

1:23:50

office emailed the probation service with concerns

1:23:53

that his release put the women

1:23:55

he'd been harassing at risk. Nothing

1:23:59

was done. Despite repeated

1:24:01

reports from women that he'd

1:24:03

become violent when drunk, not

1:24:05

once was he ever referred to treatment for substance

1:24:07

use. His parole officer also dropped the

1:24:10

ball in several different ways.

1:24:14

Including allowing him to drop contact

1:24:16

in the months before the

1:24:19

murders, again, with no

1:24:21

consequence.

1:24:22

The inquest heard that there

1:24:24

are specific challenges faced by

1:24:26

intimate partner violent survivors in

1:24:29

rural areas, like Renfrew

1:24:31

can accounty. As well as a lack of privacy,

1:24:33

there's limited transport options,

1:24:36

limited services

1:24:38

available to help them and also a higher prevalence

1:24:41

of guns. Domestic homicides

1:24:44

involving a fire

1:24:46

are twice as common in rural

1:24:48

communities. And there is still a gap

1:24:50

in tracking guns and ensuring people with

1:24:52

a hit history of intimate partner

1:24:54

violence do not have access to them. At the time of the

1:24:59

murders, Batesville Burutz had technically

1:25:01

been banned for life from owning weapons of any

1:25:03

kind, but he still had his firearms possession

1:25:06

and acquisition license card.

1:25:10

The inquest jury recommended that the

1:25:13

Ontario government needs to formally

1:25:15

declare intimate partner

1:25:17

violence as an epidemic. A

1:25:19

recommendation described by many as

1:25:21

groundbreaking. One of those was

1:25:24

lawyer and women's

1:25:27

advocate Pamela Cross. Who attended the inquiry

1:25:29

and spoke with Canadian women dot org saying the

1:25:31

term epidemic has enormous symbolic

1:25:34

value because it validates the

1:25:37

experiences of anyone who has had to deal with intimate partner

1:25:39

violence, especially those who were manipulated

1:25:42

into thinking that what they

1:25:44

experienced

1:25:47

was their own fault. The inquiry

1:25:49

heard that since the ran

1:25:51

through county murders, a hundred

1:25:53

and eleven more people

1:25:56

in Ontario have been murdered

1:25:58

by their current or former partner. And according to Statistics Canada,

1:26:00

a woman is killed by

1:26:02

her intimate partner every six days

1:26:07

in Canada. As well as

1:26:09

declaring intimate partner violence and

1:26:12

epidemic, the dural recommended

1:26:14

an independent commission be established to eradicate it. Other recommendations

1:26:16

included a twenty four

1:26:19

seven hotline for men. An

1:26:23

emergency fund to help women seek safety and

1:26:25

include a role of advocate

1:26:27

for survivors regarding their

1:26:30

experience in the justice

1:26:32

system. The jury recommended

1:26:34

adding coercive control and femicide to the criminal code of Canada,

1:26:36

allowing victims of abuse

1:26:39

to testify and court via

1:26:42

video and establishing a royal

1:26:45

commission to review and recommend

1:26:47

changes to the criminal justice

1:26:49

system them, to make it more

1:26:51

victim centric and more responsible to

1:26:53

root causes of crime. Three of

1:26:56

the recommendation were

1:26:58

centered around the inquest findings that poor cell phone service and connectivity

1:27:00

played a role

1:27:03

in the murders. There

1:27:06

was a call for expanded cell

1:27:08

service and high speed internet

1:27:10

in rural and remote areas

1:27:13

of Ontario, which would

1:27:15

improve safety access to services and

1:27:17

may have had an impact on communication in

1:27:19

general during the rampage. With

1:27:22

more reliable service, our electronic

1:27:24

monitoring of high risk offenders in the area

1:27:27

would also have been possible, meaning base

1:27:30

or baruch ski could have worn a device that would have

1:27:33

telegraphed his movements to

1:27:36

police. One of

1:27:38

the people who testified

1:27:40

was Valerie Warmardan, the daughter

1:27:42

of Nathalie Warmardan, who brought an empathetic perspective

1:27:47

to the table. She said that the

1:27:49

recommendations were a good start if they're actioned, but she

1:27:51

wasn't holding her breath

1:27:55

because enquests off and don't bring about

1:27:57

any action. Valerie Walmadem also said that the threat of

1:28:00

prison time is only a

1:28:02

band aid solution to protect victims.

1:28:06

And it often doesn't work

1:28:08

because perpetrators either don't care or

1:28:10

aren't in a place where they are

1:28:12

capable of considering and accepting the

1:28:15

consequences of their actions. Same thing when it comes to restraining orders

1:28:18

and strict bail conditions.

1:28:22

Valerie said they aim to protect

1:28:24

survivors, but do nothing to

1:28:26

stop the offender from finding

1:28:28

new victims, and that's exactly

1:28:30

what he did. Valerie told the inquest some

1:28:32

details about the two years

1:28:35

basal Burutsky lived in

1:28:37

her home with her mother,

1:28:39

Natalie. said wasn't all bad. He had good

1:28:41

aspects to his character as well

1:28:44

and focusing only on

1:28:46

the bad after the fact

1:28:49

isn't going to stop real

1:28:51

everyday people who are perpetrating these harms as they escalate their

1:28:54

behavior. She said, quote,

1:28:57

You have to build a system

1:29:00

that isn't just for catching monsters because really

1:29:02

most folks won't see them as monsters until

1:29:06

after these types of events have

1:29:08

occurred, and that doesn't

1:29:10

do anybody any good. In

1:29:12

response to talk that basal

1:29:14

Burutsky may have suffered abuse in his childhood. Valerie told

1:29:16

the jury that she would be interested

1:29:18

to hear about any recommendations for

1:29:24

early intervention. We know that not

1:29:26

all children who have suffered abuse go on to become killers. But Valerie's

1:29:28

point was that if he

1:29:30

did suffer abuse in his childhood,

1:29:34

perhaps proper education and care

1:29:36

earlier in his life may have

1:29:38

made a difference to his outcomes

1:29:42

later. She added, quote, I want

1:29:44

to be very clear. What we

1:29:46

want out of this is recommendations

1:29:48

that make people the

1:29:51

safest, everybody the Even if that

1:29:53

might mean less harm coming to perpetrators, the best

1:29:55

option is the one where

1:29:57

most people are

1:30:00

the safest. She said

1:30:02

that when perpetrators like basal Burutsky feel isolated in it can be

1:30:07

a destabilizing factor. And

1:30:10

building circles of accountability and support around them is very

1:30:12

important.

1:30:18

One of the recommendations was

1:30:20

a meeting to reconvene one

1:30:22

year after the inquest verdict to

1:30:24

discuss the progress in implementing

1:30:26

these recommendations. So far, there hasn't been a lot of news. None

1:30:29

of the inquiry's recommendations

1:30:31

to the Ontario government our

1:30:35

binding, but a government spokesperson said they would be

1:30:37

taking the time to review and

1:30:40

properly consider

1:30:43

these important recommendations. And in December

1:30:46

of two thousand twenty two, inside Ottawa Valley reported that Lennar

1:30:48

County which

1:30:51

neighbors Renfrew County, was the first rural county

1:30:54

to take a stand and declare

1:30:56

intimate partner violence

1:30:58

and epidemic in its

1:31:00

communities. This kind

1:31:02

of news is encouraging, but we joined the loved ones of Carol Kaletteyn, Anastasia Coosa's

1:31:08

and Natalie Warmerdam in the hope that we

1:31:10

will continue to see progress, that this inquiry will

1:31:13

be different to

1:31:15

so many others. But

1:31:18

this isn't the final update

1:31:21

to this case. A month

1:31:23

before the inquiry, the Supreme

1:31:25

Court of Canada released

1:31:28

a Stating that imposing long parole and

1:31:30

eligibility periods, like the seventy years given to

1:31:32

Basel Burutsky, brings

1:31:35

the administration of just us

1:31:37

and to dispute. The decision read that these kind of sentences

1:31:39

are, quote, intrinsically incapable

1:31:43

with human dignity because

1:31:46

of their degrading nature as

1:31:48

they deny offenders any moral

1:31:51

autonomy by depriving them in advance

1:31:53

and finitivly of any possibility of reintegration into

1:31:55

society. The decision goes on to

1:31:59

state that life sentences without

1:32:01

a realistic possibility of parole leaves offenders with no

1:32:04

incentive to rehabilitate

1:32:06

themselves. In other words, If

1:32:10

they know they'll likely be in prison until they die, why bother trying to get

1:32:12

better? The

1:32:17

Supreme Court decision is referred to as

1:32:19

RV Bissonette after the Quebec mosque shooter,

1:32:22

who will now be to

1:32:24

apply for parole when he is

1:32:26

fifty two years old instead of age sixty seven. But it

1:32:29

obviously has widespread implications

1:32:31

when it comes to

1:32:34

other cases where consecutive sentences have been imposed, like Basel Burutsky.

1:32:36

It's not known if

1:32:39

he will apply to have

1:32:42

his parole ineligibility period reduced,

1:32:45

but it certainly is unsettling

1:32:47

news for the women who were

1:32:49

con

1:32:49

accident, he would never

1:32:52

be a threat to

1:32:55

them again. The last

1:33:05

update is not so dark.

1:33:06

In two thousand twenty one, the brother of Natalie Warmardom, Joshua

1:33:10

Hopkins, had an idea

1:33:13

to raise awareness of violence

1:33:15

against women and to encourage men to own responsibility to

1:33:20

end violence against women. It

1:33:22

was announced that he teamed up with Margaret Atwood, Canadian author of the

1:33:25

Handmaid's Tale

1:33:28

and Composer Jake Hagey

1:33:30

for a commission of eight songs by Houston Grand Opera and Canada's National

1:33:33

Arts Center

1:33:36

Orchestra. Margaret Atwood

1:33:38

wrote a series of poems called songs

1:33:40

for murdered sisters. Jake set them to music and

1:33:42

Natalie's brother Joshua is a professional singer. A

1:33:47

baritone, so he provided the vocals. At the

1:33:50

time, Joshua told the media

1:33:52

that he felt

1:33:54

so numb after his

1:33:56

sister's a death, it was almost

1:33:58

impossible to comprehend, quote, but Margaret's words and Jake's music

1:34:02

have opened a door. allowed

1:34:04

me to access all my

1:34:06

complicated feelings surrounding Natalie's death. This

1:34:11

set of eight songs have now been released

1:34:13

as both a film and a digital

1:34:15

album and was launched

1:34:17

in March of two thousand twenty

1:34:19

one to align with

1:34:21

International Women's Day. In

1:34:24

this week, starting Thursday,

1:34:26

February ninth two thousand twenty three. The

1:34:28

National Arts Center Orchestra will be going on a

1:34:30

mini tour with the orchestral premiere of

1:34:35

these songs. Which is now titled Atwood, Heggie, and

1:34:37

Bromms. They will be playing

1:34:39

Ottawa, Toronto, and Kingston. Please

1:34:42

see the show notes for more information. Thanks

1:34:46

for listening, as

1:34:50

well as court documents this

1:34:52

episode relied on the reporting and

1:34:54

journalism of Sarah Bosevelt for shadow lane magazine. Aidan

1:34:58

Helmer for the Ottawa citizen and Judy Trent for

1:35:01

CBC News. For the full list

1:35:03

of resources we relied on

1:35:05

to write this episode and anything else you

1:35:07

want to know about the podcast,

1:35:09

including how to access ad

1:35:11

free episodes, visit canadian true

1:35:14

crime dot CA. This podcast donates

1:35:16

regularly to Canadian charitable

1:35:18

organizations that help victims

1:35:20

and survivors of justice. With

1:35:23

this re released episode, we have

1:35:25

again donated to the women's sexual

1:35:27

assault center Renfrew County,

1:35:29

who offers support for women

1:35:31

in the area who've experienced or are

1:35:33

experiencing some form of violence. And don't forget to stay

1:35:35

tuned for the

1:35:39

trailer for in the dorm, a new six part podcast series

1:35:41

from the lore and crime

1:35:43

network exclusively on Wonderry

1:35:45

Plus. That'll be in

1:35:47

about thirty seconds. Thanks

1:35:49

to Deirdre Bradley for research in the original episode of this case.

1:35:51

Audio editing and production was by

1:35:54

We Talk of Dreams, who also

1:35:56

composed the

1:35:59

theme songs. Writing, narration, sound design, and additional

1:36:02

research was by me, and

1:36:04

the disclaimer was

1:36:06

voiced by Eric

1:36:07

Crosby. I'm be back soon with

1:36:10

a new Canadian True Crime episode. See you then.

1:36:12

Everything

1:36:13

about the Sarah Lawrence

1:36:15

campus speaks to its uniqueness.

1:36:18

A green lawn haven forty five minutes north of glass concrete in Steel New York City,

1:36:21

its nineteenth

1:36:24

century tudor viable

1:36:26

architecture stands in a sharp contrast to the towering skyscrapers just fifteen miles south.

1:36:29

The campus is

1:36:32

surrounded by forty four

1:36:34

acres of lush woodland, shaded by oak, maple, and cherry trees, and wisteria vines on Arbor.

1:36:36

I often call the College

1:36:38

the Land of Broken Toys. If

1:36:43

you struggle to function or fit in anywhere else, Sarah Lawrence

1:36:45

is the perfect place for

1:36:48

you. This is the quality of

1:36:50

Sarah Lawrence College that Larry Ray

1:36:52

exploited to create

1:36:54

what is all the hallmarks of a cult on campus in twenty ten.

1:37:11

Him. I'm not blowing. Hello. I'm going to kill each of

1:37:13

those two. We're filming, and I can be

1:37:16

having love as a

1:37:17

bully. Why don't you? Because

1:37:19

I'm trying to talk

1:37:21

to you. Hey, you know what? I'm going back to

1:37:23

work. Stop. I don't want you to tell me what Stop touching me.

1:37:25

Stop pulling me. Stop

1:37:27

slapping me. Stop

1:37:30

scratching me. Stop bullying me. I'm sick

1:37:33

of it. Please stop it. I love you.

1:37:35

Let me go.

1:37:35

I don't

1:37:36

want you touching me. What do I have

1:37:38

to do to

1:37:39

convince you, stop name is Elizabeth Rome.

1:37:41

I'm an actress and a proud

1:37:43

Sarah Lawrence college graduate.

1:37:46

In fact, I'm eternally full to

1:37:48

Sarah Lawrence for who I've become as a woman and

1:37:50

as an artist. My mom went there. I've served on the board and

1:37:54

I've even gone back in caught there. For me, Sarah Lawrence

1:37:56

College is like a unicorn in a

1:37:58

world where education isn't often uniquely formatted

1:38:01

for creative children a lot of depth. One of the

1:38:04

school slogans is were different, so

1:38:06

are you, and I felt that

1:38:08

motto in my

1:38:09

bones. It's not a

1:38:12

little decline. Why are you crying, Claudia? I

1:38:14

don't want it. Where you are? Why are you crying? Look look at this recording.

1:38:16

I'm saying a lot

1:38:18

of all your Facebook friends.

1:38:20

I don't want to. I don't

1:38:22

want to do much things. When

1:38:27

I first learned that a man named Larry Ray started what has been called a

1:38:29

cult that took root in my old college.

1:38:31

I was shocked, sickened, disturbed,

1:38:34

and it takes a lot to disturb me. For

1:38:37

four years, I played a Manhattan prosecutor

1:38:39

on the TV series law and

1:38:41

order, and you also may have seen in

1:38:43

David O'Russell's black comedy American Hussle and Bombshell,

1:38:45

a film about the sexual harassment

1:38:47

scandal inside Fox

1:38:49

News. But nothing prepared me for the

1:38:52

strange, twisted, and sorted details of

1:38:54

the Larry Ray story. Devil in the

1:38:56

dorm draws from thousands of pages

1:38:58

of trans scripts exhibits audio files and

1:39:00

video recordings from a federal sex

1:39:02

trafficking trial. There are no

1:39:05

cameras or audio recordings

1:39:07

in federal court. So all of the testimony

1:39:09

that you'll hear has been recreated by actors. Prosecutors say

1:39:11

Larry extorted the students of

1:39:14

hundreds of and sometimes millions of dollars brutalizing them

1:39:17

with a set of pliers, hammer,

1:39:19

a belt, duct tape, and

1:39:22

simply with his fists. A according

1:39:24

to testimony from multiple victims in court. Over

1:39:26

the course of roughly a decade, Larry would drive several

1:39:28

students to the brink of suicide,

1:39:31

and according to at least one

1:39:34

account pushed one of them the of forcing into

1:39:36

sex trafficking. Long

1:39:39

crimes podcast does in

1:39:43

the dorm, explores how that happened and

1:39:45

what became of him. His followers,

1:39:47

his enablers, and his

1:39:49

picked and I personally look into the

1:39:52

question I can't stop asking myself as a

1:39:54

parent. How did this slip under the nose

1:39:56

of the collar I love.

1:40:00

This podcast

1:40:03

contains themes and

1:40:06

prescriptions of sexual assault, violence, suicide,

1:40:08

and self harm. If these are

1:40:10

difficult topics for you, the national

1:40:13

sue aside prevention hotline is now 988

1:40:15

and it can be dialed anywhere in the United States. The lifeline provides twenty

1:40:17