PEMBROKE – In courtroom 1 of the Pembroke Courthouse, Justice Robert Maranger delivered his verdict last Wednesday in the case of a serial woman abuser, who murdered three people at three different locations in the morning of September 22, 2015.
By an Ottawa jury, Basil Borutski was found guilty of the second degree murder of Carol Culleton at her cottage on Kamaniskeg Lake, guilty of first degree murder of Anastasia Kuzyk in her home in Wilno and guilty of first degree murder of Nathalie Warmerdam in her home in Cormac.
While the trial was held in Ottawa, once the jury decided upon the verdicts, Crown Attorney Jeffrey Richardson requested the sentencing be held in Pembroke, where the crimes were committed.
On Wednesday in the Pembroke Courthouse, the sentencing hearing had to be moved from courtroom 3, to the larger courtroom 1, to accommodate the number of people in attendance.
Before passing sentence, Maranger asked Borutski whether he had anything to say. Borutski, his long slicked back hair curling over the collar of a green winter jacket, grey beard reaching down to his grey shirt, handcuffed and in shackles, remained unresponsive. Through the six week trial, he did not enter a plea, did not stand, did not answer the many questions directed at him.
For more pick up a copy of the December 13, paper.