Police in manhunt feared walking into an ambush

Police testifying at Basil Borutski’s trial said they were aware of the potential for further victims that day.

A number of buildings were locked down, including an Ottawa law office, the Pembroke courthouse and the Stonecrest Elementary School adjacent to the Kinburn field where Borutski was arrested.

Police testified they were aware of Borutski’s anti-police sentiment, and several officers said there were fears they could have been walking into an ambush that day.

Borutski told the detective the morning after the murders he had calmed himself by writing in

a notebook that police later recovered from the Kinburn scene.

The notebook, along with many of Borutski’s writings, was entered into evidence at his trial.

On one page, he wrote: “The guilty have paid. All except the fat man,” referring to sawmill owner Kyle Bancroft. “I tried.”

Attempts to reach Bancroft, who is incarcerated while awaiting trial, were unsuccessful. His family members did not return messages, and an Ottawa lawyer listed on court documents as having recently represented Bancroft declined to take a phone call, saying Bancroft was no longer a client.