'We're in an epidemic': Deaths of two women in alleged domestic abuse cases raising red flags

Advocates for domestic abuse survivors say the deaths of an Edmonton woman and a Calgary mother and her father over the holidays shows domestic abuse is an “epidemic.”

On Dec. 29, a Calgary mother of three, Ania Kaminski and her father, Stanislaw Wardzala, were allegedly killed by her husband. Dozens of people attended the vigil on Friday outside of Ania’s home where she was found dead.

A day later in Edmonton, 43-year-old Ashley Burke’s body was found on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River.

On Sunday, Edmonton police arrested and charged 31-year-old Daniel Boothman with second-degree murder. Police say the two were “known to each other,” describing her death as an intimate partner homicide.

“We continue to push that it’s an epidemic, it’s something that is taking over so many people’s lives,” said Cat Champagne, executive director of Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.

Champagne says added stress and more time spent together over the holidays can exacerbate abuse.

“There’s all this conversation about it being an epidemic because we’re seeing it in different places, we’re seeing it in different family dynamics and we’re seeing instances where parents are involved too,” Champagne said in an interview with CTV News Edmonton.

In the past three months, six people have died due to domestic violence across the Maritimes.

Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, Edmonton police received nearly 7,700 calls for domestic conflict.

The biggest way to help someone in a domestic abuse relationship is to believe someone when they have the courage to say what’s happening to them.

“That constant support of checking in, making sure that they believe them, helping them find resources,” Champagne said.

In his year-end interview with CTV News, outgoing police chief Dale McFee said the issue is one of the biggest for whoever takes over.

“I think the thing that we have to target differently from a crime perspective, as well as the whole domestic interpersonal violence (is that) now it’s our largest volume of calls for service of any one category.”

To speak with someone at a shelter near you, you can call the Alberta Council of Womens’ Shelters toll free line at 1-866-331-3933.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg and CTV News Calgary