Borutski found guilty of murder of three women in 2015

Jurors found Basil Borutski guilty Friday on two counts of first-degree murder and one of second-degree murder in the deaths of three women killed two years ago during a revenge-fuelled rampage across the Ottawa Valley.

The first-degree murder convictions came in the deaths of 36-yearold Anastasia Kuzyk and 48-yearold Nathalie Warmerdam, while jurors convicted Borutski on a lesser charge of second-degree murder in the death of Carol Culleton, 66.

All three murders took place in the space of less than an hour on Sept. 22, 2015.

Clad in a grey shirt and slacks, black Croc sandals and leg chains, Borutski, 60, sat expressionless, staring straight ahead, during the verdict, which it took 11 members of the j ury some 14 hours to reach. When it was over, he was ushered out of the prisoner’s box by police.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5 in Pembroke, Ont.

Prior to the murders, Borutski — who defended himself at trial but barely said a word during the proceedings, which lasted nearly two months — had twice spent time in jail after two of the women accused him of assault and uttering threats.

A victims’ rights group, Because Wilno, which was formed in the aftermath of the killings, issued a statement urging lawmakers to do more to combat domestic violence.

“For too long, Canadians have looked away from violence in our homes that predominantly harms women and children in every neighbourhood, district, municipal ward and constituency of this country,” the statement said.

The group said the system failed in the Borutski case.

“Our municipal, provincial and federal leadership must be seized with aligning and properly resourcing the patchwork of services meant to intervene when violence occurs and ultimately to prevent it.”