Police should've done more to keep Kevin Runke in custody: Law expert
Kevin Runke, 46, killed himself days after his ex, Camille Runke, was shot to death in St. Boniface
Police should have done more to keep homicide suspect Kevin Runke in custody before his estranged wife Camille Runke was killed, a Manitoba law expert says.
Karen Busby, a law professor at the University of Manitoba, said Kevin Runke could have been charged with criminal harassment based on his behaviour in recent weeks.
"There could have been things that were done differently," Busby said. "Maybe the police could have tried harder to find an offence to charge him with."
Camille complained to police 22 times over three months about vandalism to her condo and property she believed was committed by Kevin. She had also taken out a protection order against him.
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She was shot to death at a Marion Street business on Oct. 30.
On Monday, Kevin shot himself to death just outside St. Malo, Man., after police tried to pull his vehicle over. He is a suspect in Camille's death, police said Tuesday.
Violent tone
Busby said the frequency of the vandalism Camille reported to police before her death had tone of violence that should've raised red flags for authorities.
"Camille needed much better advice on how to put herself in a place of safety. She should have realized she was not in a safe place," Busby said, adding Camille's efforts to protect her home with security cameras proved she was afraid.
If men are willing to shoot them in broad daylight, there isn't a criminal justice system in the world that can stop them from doing that.- Karen Busby
"Nobody wants their oil drained. Nobody wants their gas lines cut. Nobody wants their cars vandalized. Nobody wants threats against their household," said Busby, referring to the kinds offences Camille endured. "Anybody who wasn't afraid in those circumstances, you should just objectively know they're not telling the truth."
Busby admitted it is difficult for police to lay charges with no eyewitness accounts of the vandalism.
"One of the elements of criminal harassment is you have to show the defendant knew that his conduct was unwanted. With a protection order, it says, 'Stay away from me.' So you can prove he knows his conduct is not wanted through the protection order," Busby said.
"The second element of a criminal harassment charge is you have to show that she's afraid, and showing fear can be a really difficult thing," Busby said.
3 protection orders filed against Kevin Runke
Busby said women may not want to press charges against abusive partners and the law needs to be more accommodating for them in those cases.
"Some victims of domestic violence will keep their fear in check because they want to appear strong and in control," Busby said. "If they have kids, they don't want to scare them. That can work against the victims."
The criminal justice system isn't capable of keeping every person in danger safe 100 per cent of the time, Busby said, adding "you need a continuum of services for women so they can leave, and counselling for men."
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Busby said there is only so much police can be expected to do to stop an abusive partner.
"The best laws aren't going to keep women safe," Busby said. "If men are willing to shoot them in broad daylight there isn't a criminal justice system in the world that can stop them from doing that."
"Many provinces have a really active domestic death review committee system which looks really closely at what went wrong in the situation and what could have been done differently. Manitoba doesn't have a robust death review system, so that might be one change that could be made."