Intimate partner violence in Sault Ste. Marie hits close to home for grieving mother

Fartumo Kusow says the moment she heard the horrific incident in Sault Ste. Marie this week was being labelled as domestic violence, she turned off the radio out of sadness, frustration and anger.

The Windsor, Ont.,mother's daughter was found dead in a field in early June after going missing May 26. Sahra Bulle was 36 years old.

"These deaths just keep on happening," said Kusow.

"We know what we need to do to stop them and we're not doing it."

Bulle's estranged husband, Brian Aaron Marbury, who was living in Michigan, remains in jail charged with first-degree murder. The allegations against him have not been proven in court.

Kusow says her daughter needed support and a safe place to be, but because her ex-partner wasn't living in Canada, she wasn't eligible for "a lot of services."

"She was an adult. Even though traumatized, the adult couldn't sleep at night. At 36, she lived with me for the last two years. She would run from her bedroom in the basement and come to my bed because she was so rattled and had a nightmare. But nobody would listen."

LISTEN | Fartumo Kusow speaks with Windsor Morning about intimate partner violence:

Windsor Morning15:11Intimate partner violence

Fartumo Kusow, whose daughter Sahra was killed 4 months ago, speaks with CBC Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge about intimate partner violence.

Kusow says her daughter's death andwhat happened in the northern Ontario communityare unique in many ways, but also both incidents of intimate partner violence.

Bulle had been with her estranged husband since she was 18, according to Kusow, with her daughter attempting to leave him multiple times staying at a local shelter when she went missing.

Kusow says sitting on the sidelines and witnessing the alleged domestic violence take place was comparable to watching a train go by.

"You could see the tracks are broken up ahead and this train is barreling down. You could see it and you're telling everybody we need to stop this train, but nobody listens."

In Sault Ste. Marie, a 44-year-old man who killed three children, an adult and then himself had previously been investigated for intimate partner violence, local police confirmed. Another adult was also brought to hospital with a gunshot wound.

"Our politicians come in and say Ontario stands with you or you're not alone. Of course we're alone," said Kusow.

"As these incidents are the result of intimate partner violence, the names of the accused and victims are not being released," the police service said Tuesday.

The town's police chief has also requested an inquest into the deaths.

WATCH | Sault Ste. Marie police chief calls for inquest into intimate partner violence:

'Let's not let this happen again,' Sault police chief says

12 months ago

Duration 0:45

Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson says he would welcome an inquest into the issue of intimate partner violence after five people, including three children, were found dead at two homes in the northern Ontario city on Monday night. 'I think all governments have to look at this situation and ... treat it a little more seriously,' Stevenson said.

"The suggestion of an inquest, when we have one already in the books, that tells us things we need to do," said Kusow.

"It's like we know what we need to do, but we don't want to do it."

An inquest into domestic violence was held last year about a triple-femicide seven years prior in Renfrew County.

Three womenwere murdered by the same man on the same day.

In that inquest, 86 recommendations were made to prevent intimate partner violence in Ontario.

Kusow says a number of the recommendations have not been addressed.

"I think it's almost to push the issue away to make ourselves feel good and say we're doing an inquest and seven years later, by the time the inquest report comes in, it's not any valuable to those in power."

In June, Ontario rejected a recommendation to declare intimate partner abuse an epidemic.

Pamela Cross, lawyer and advocacy director at a centre for abused women in Oshawa, Ont., says despite the province's decision she believes there is progress being made.

"In a strange sort of way, I feel hopeful in the sense that the police in Sault Ste. Marie immediately declared this to be a case of intimate partner violence," said Cross.

"But there were 86 recommendations made, not just that one. And a number of those, if they had been implemented and properly funded, might have contributed to saving these lives in Sault Ste. Marie."

Cross says better programming and more stable funding for services and support for victims and survivors are desperately needed to get women and their children to a safe place.

"I would say that there's been a massive prevention failure. Very seldom does an intimate partner violence homicide happen out of the blue. There are normally more than seven warning signs. And yet the deaths continue to happen."

According to Cross, Ontario is fortunate to have a domestic violence death review committee that looks at these deaths identifying 41 risk factors, she says.

"Usually there are at least seven. In most cases people outside the family are aware of the intimate partner violence but don't know what to do. We've got to work on that level to empower people who are aware so they know how to intervene in a way that's going to be helpful for everybody."