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Chilling details revealed by serial killer NS . spouse

HALIFAX – A day after 22 people in rural Nova Scotia were fatally shot by a man disguised as Mountie, his usual spouse described him as a controlling, abusive, and controlling man. manipulative, who had long warned that he would “go out with a bang. ”

Lisa Banfield’s previously undisclosed comments are contained in the transcript of a two-hour interview with an RCMP officer on April 20, 2020, published late Tuesday by a regulatory committee. Independent investigator investigating mass shootings.

The results of the interrogation offer chilling new details about Banfield’s 19-year relationship with the killer as well as his profound personality and upbringing. It was also the first time that the public was allowed to judge Banfield’s story in her own words.

In the interview, Banfield made it clear Gabriel Wortman was a “loving, kind and generous” man when they first met. But his erratic, unpredictable mood led to beatings and cursing shortly after they began living part-time in an upscale “small house” he built in Portapique. , NS, in 2003.

“In the past he has been abusive and I will appease him and say whatever I can to make it stop,” she told RCMP Staff Sgt. Greg Vardy during an interview at Colchester East Hants Medical Center in Truro, NS

“I never said anything (about the abuse) because I just didn’t want to get him in trouble. And in hindsight, I wish I would, because maybe this didn’t happen.”

At the time of the interview, Banfield was being treated for an injury she sustained on April 18, 2020, when Wortman attacked her at the cottage after they argued over plans to celebrate their 20th as husband and wife.

Medical records describing Banfield’s injuries after the attack, also released late Tuesday, show she suffered fractures on either side of her vertebrae, two broken ribs and multiple bruises and scratches on her upper body. face, hands, feet, legs and shoulders.

The beating, previously described in search warrant documents released by the RCMP, was shortly before Wortman’s 13-hour murder rampage. The next morning, April 19, 2020, he was shot dead by a Mountie who spotted him at a gas station north of Halifax.

In a hospital interview a day later, Banfield – then 51 – described other “sporadic” beatings at the cottage, saying the couple’s explosive rage often stemmed from from small disputes.

“When little things happen, he loses his mind,” she said.

Aside from the most recent assault, Banfield said the last time she was physically abused by her partner was three years earlier.

Among other things, the mandate of the public investigative body includes investigating the role of gender-based violence.

Banfield also spoke extensively about Wortman’s childhood, which she said was marked by his strange relationship with his father, whom he increasingly resented.

She was only three years old when his father first threatened him with a gun, she said. And when he was 10 years old, she said that his dad put a gun in his son’s hand and said, “I know you want to kill me, (so) kill me.” Her longtime partner also complained of being beaten, she said.

Years later, when the family was in dispute over finances for the house, Wortman planned to kill her parents, she said. His plan includes a request that Banfield help him shave off all his hair to prevent contaminating the crime scene with his DNA.

It’s unclear from the interview what really happened, but Banfield confirmed police were involved, albeit without consequences.

Banfield said her partner has learned to live with turmoil, which helps explain his insecurities with stable, healthy relationships.

At one point, Banfield told him, “When things are going well, you always have to put a bump in the road because you don’t know how to deal with the normal,” she said during the interrogation. of the police. “But he knows how to deal with chaos.”

A loner who hardly trusts people, Wortman develops fantasies about committing crimes and outsmarting the police, she added.

“He used to say, ‘When I go out, I go out with a bang. It will be in the news,” she told Vardy. “I’ll just ignore it…. I know he was crazy about him but I never thought it would get to that point.”

And she marvels at how a healthy, independent wealthy man can appear lost, alone, and angry.

“He has all the toys he wants,” she said, referring to his motorcycle collection and online shopping obsession. “It wasn’t enough… He was always trying to find the next thing to… fill the void in his life.”

Although her life is “partially a nightmare,” Banfield says she can still see the good in the 51-year-old dentist. She mentioned that he would do his best to help his neighbors in Portapique, sometimes fixing their dentures for free.

“I just feel bad for him and I feel bad for all the people who died,” she told the officer as she explained how she escaped from him just before he started shooting people. people in Portapique. “But I don’t know what I can do. If I had stayed, he probably wouldn’t have shot all those people.”

In total, Banfield spoke to the police four times, including shortly after she escaped all night in the woods.

The federal-provincial investigation, which began hearings last week, is tasked with determining the circumstances of the shooting and producing a final report in November that includes recommendations on how to improve public safety. add.

On Wednesday, attorneys representing several of the victims’ relatives argued that Banfield faced questioning during the inquest hearing, something the three commissioners overseeing the proceedings in Halifax have maintained. has not been confirmed.

Attorney Sandra McCulloch said Banfield should be forced to testify because there were gaps in her testimony to police, which raised questions about her credibility.

McCulloch said the investigation must learn more about what happened in the hours before the couple’s argument and Banfield’s subsequent nighttime escape into a wooded area near the home.

One of Banfield’s attorneys, Craig Zeeh, said her police statements should be sufficient to inform the investigation.

This Canadian Press report was first published on March 3, 2022.

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