PEMBROKE – On a cold, crisp afternoon in late winter, a group of women stand holding placards among the heaps of fresh snow outside the Pembroke courthouse.
Cars and trucks speeding between traffic lights on Pembroke Street sound their horns as they pass the women. The black placards hold white lettering; ‘Nathalie,’ ‘Anastasia,’ ‘Carol,’ ‘End violence against women.’
Inside was Basil Borutski, accused of the murder of Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam and Carol Culleton on September 22, 2015. He appeared before Ontario Court Justice R.G. Selkirk.
The small courtroom was crowded with men and women in dark clothing; lawyers and paralegals, some family members and friends of the accused and the women, those awaiting their own trials on motoring and other similar offences and members of the local media, sitting in the front row.
When Borutski was led into the court by police, he was wearing a faded nylon overcoat with a thick leather belt around his middle. He now has a grey curly beard. His eyes flitted around the courtroom. During the hearing, he was never addressed directly, nor did he attempt to speak.
Get your March 9, 2016 edition of The Valley Gazette to read the full story.