Man facing murder charges allegedly had history of domestic abuse
OT TAWA Basil Borutski’s ex-wife says he went to extraordinary lengths to manipulate the court system and avoid penalties for repeated incidents of domestic assault.
Borutski faced a judge on three separate occasions, in 1985, 1994 and 2008, to answer charges of assaulting Mary Ann Mask during their 26-year relationship, which began in 1982. Each time, Borutski walked out of court a free man. Twice he was acquitted at trial, and once the charges were withdrawn after he agreed to sign a peace bond.
Mask lived in fear of her husband for years, and was terrified on Tuesday when she learned that police were pursuing a gunman across the Ottawa Valley. The gunman left three women dead in his wake.
Basil Joseph Borutski, 57, faces three charges of first-degree murder in connection with those killings. All of the victims formed relationships with Borutski in the years after his marriage to Mask permanently collapsed.
Mask was driving to a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday when the Ontario Provincial Police contacted her on a cellphone and told her to get to a safe place, her brother told the Ottawa Citizen. She immediately drove to Bonnechere Provincial Park and stayed in the park office until police told her it was safe to leave.
“She was very terrified that day and so was the rest of the family,” said Arthur Mask, who lives in Round Lake Centre, north of Wilno, Ont.
“Mary Ann is doing OK now. She’s obviously shook up — and real sad for the women killed that day.”
Mask suffered through a long and volatile relationship with Borutski. She told a judge in 2011 that Borutski “destroyed her spirit by relentless threats and abuse.”
Although they grew up in the same small town — Round Lake Centre, about 180 kilometres west of Ottawa — Borutski and Mask first connected in Kitchener, where they were both working in the early 1980s.
Mask first alleged domestic assault in 1985 — the year before their daughter, Amanda, was born. Borutski spent $20,000 on legal fees and successfully defended himself against the charges.
For his part, Borutski maintained that he was the innocent victim of false allegations.
Mask’s brother, Arthur, said his sister was always afraid of what would happen if she testified against Borutski since he would not be in jail for long, even if convicted. “That’s our court system around here,” he said.