OTTAWA – Last Thursday at the Ottawa Courthouse, Crown attorney Julie Scott led two OPP forensic data retrieval specialists through information from Carol Culleton’s cell phone and the cell phone retrieved from Basil Borutski.
Basil Borutski is accused of the first degree murder of Carol Culleton in Combermere, Anastasia Kuzyk in Wilno and Nathalie Warmerdam in Cormac all on September 22, 2015. The court entered a plea of not guilty on Borutski’s behalf as he has failed to respond to the charges.
Borutski, who is deemed to be representing himself, remained unresponsive as the Crown attorney read out hundreds of texts.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) digital forensic specialist Daniel Bingham went through a report of the data from the phone retrieved from Borutski at the moment of his arrest in a field in Kinburn, near Ottawa, on the afternoon of September 22, 2015.
The data from a second phone, that belonging to Carol Culleton, found where Borutski told police he threw it at the side of Foymount Road after the murders, was presented by another OPP forensic specialist, Rachel Anderson.
Though it is very difficult to prove who sent a specific text, the texts from Borutski’s phone are consistent with other evidence presented in court. This corroborating evidence includes the accused’s five hour video statement in which he describes his actions and motivations on the fatal day. There is also a September 21 letter sent to Carol Culleton postmarked ‘Palmer Rapids’ where the accused was living. The texts from Borutski’s phone were also consistent with black felt messages left on pieces of wood arranged around Culleton’s cottage on Kamaniskeg Lake where she was murdered.
For more pick up a copy of the November 1, paper.