Basil Borutski has a long criminal record dating back to 1977. A large proportion of these records were marred by incidents of domestic violence, threats of violence and uncontrolled drinking. Over the years, the vast majority of these charges have been dropped and hidden from the public. Until September 2015, three women — Anastasia Kuzyk, Nathalie Warmerdam and Carol Culleton — were at Brutally murdered near the quaint Ontario town of Virno. “Why Didn’t We Know?”, a new documentary produced by CBC News, examines the justice system’s failure to protect these women from known threats.
Each of these women had been lured to Borutski at a vulnerable and uncertain stage in their lives, and was largely unaware of his previous skirmishes with law enforcement. Occasionally two of them were severely beaten by him, and all three were afraid of him. When his victims mustered up the courage to press charges against their abusers, the courts did little to punish him for his crimes. The lack of enforcement of these allegations inadvertently put more women at risk as he was able to continue his abusive reign. These mistakes set the stage for a ticking time bomb that no player can stop.
The filmmakers interviewed family members and close friends of each victim, and their emotionally raw testimonies shed light on a system that has abandoned the same citizens it was created to protect. In a phone conversation with CBC News correspondent Gillian Findlay, we also learn about Borustiski’s own shocking twist. While he doesn’t deny that he murdered them, he still blames reporters for not understanding how he fell victim to a vengeful woman to tarnish his name.
Domestic violence is a worrisome and widespread cancer affecting every corner of society. Tell chilling accounts of why we don’t know? Suggesting the need to be more sensitive to the red flags that lead to these abuses and the urgency for judicial reform to stop their escalation.
