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1 5 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 5 Man charged with murdering ex-lover kills himself at ROH
- Federal policy adviser accused in Dec. 11 slaying of ER doctor - Hanged himself in hospital room
Don Campbell
A once-successful senior policy adviser with the federal government was scheduled to be in court tomorrow in the next step toward his trial for first-degree murder in the December killing of his ex-girlfriend, an emergency room doctor.
Instead, the family of Burns Coutts is making funeral arrangements after the 36-year-old hanged himself Sunday night at the Royal Ottawa Hospital where he had been recently sent for psychiatric assessment following the Dec. 11 strangling of 40-year-old Dr. Dorothy Halton.
Staff at the hospital called paramedics at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday after finding Mr. Coutts unconscious. Paramedics' attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. Police quickly determined Mr. Coutts took his own life. Ottawa police are releasing few other details about his death. An inquest will be held into the suicide, which occurred in the hospital's secure wing.
Yesterday, Dr. Halton's relatives in her home town of Calgary expressed sympathy for Mr. Coutts' family.
"This is a total tragedy and this is just one more score in that tragedy," said Joe Hillaby, who is married to Dr. Halton's sister, Ester. "Regardless of what happened, nothing was going to bring Dorothy back." Mr. Hillaby said the family learned of the death in the hours immediately following the discovery of Mr. Coutts' body.
"We respect the fact there is more than one family grieving," he said. "We feel great sympathy for the Coutts family for the things they are going through. It is never easy to lose a child and regardless of what has transpired, they, too, have lost a child."
Dr. Halton, a classical musician and emergency room doctor, was found dead in her condominium on Main Street in Sandy Hill the morning of Dec. 11. Later that night, police arrested Mr. Coutts after he returned from a wild trip to his home town of Montreal where he fled and later threatened to jump from a hotel balcony.
"This has brought everything back to what I felt like after Dorothy's death," said Eleanor Halton, Dr. Halton's mother. "And despite the fact I have never met the man, I am in shock.
"It's all just such a waste. I mean I felt like his life was pretty much over anyway ... but it's just such an utter waste."
Ms. Halton said she is torn by a sense of relief the matter will never go to trial, and wondered how it could have happened. "The hospital must have been very lax to let something like this happen," Ms. Halton said.
Dr. Halton and Mr. Coutts met a year before her death through a mutual friend. It was a love-at-first-sight kind of story, but apparently it quickly turned to abuse before ending in death. In the good times, the pair shared a passion for cycling, travelling and the outdoors.
Professionally, he was an expert on climate change, who spoke at panels and forums. Away from the office, he was a bodybuilder with a love of outdoor sports.
When he and Dr. Halton met, he was living in a turn-of-the-century red-brick home in Lowertown. An eight-year marriage had ended in divorce and he was living alone.
It wasn't long after they met that they embarked on a whirlwind relationship. After just weeks together, they pulled up stakes and went on a 21/2-month trip through Asia in early 2004.
"I'm very excited, this two-month trip is a return journey to Laos for me," wrote Mr. Coutts on a travel website on Dec. 28, 2003. "I'm leaving Canada in two weeks -- Happy New Year to all!"
When they returned to Ottawa, they began living together. They mixed well with each other's friends and all seemed to be going well. But by the fall of last year, friends began noticing the tell-tale signs of an abusive relationship, the kind of relationship that can be difficult to end.
Friends say Mr. Coutts was scheduled to enter an addiction rehab centre in November. He knew himself he needed it, then failed to enter the program. And in the weeks leading up to her death, friends said Dr. Halton feared Mr. Coutts had been breaking into her apartment. One friend noticed Dr. Halton had a bruised right cheek when she went to visit her.
Dr. Halton even confided in friends she was worried Mr. Coutts had bugged her apartment, because he "knew things" she didn't think she had told him about.
Then came the morning emergency crews broke down the door to her home to find Dr. Halton's body.
"This was a smart guy who worked hard in life and we just don't know what happened," said Steven Parkin, a longtime friend of Dr. Halton who also knew Mr. Coutts. "Somehow it all went wrong for a well-rounded individual with a lot going for him.
"These were two really exceptional people and it all crumbled in a short time. What a tragedy to see."
It wasn't long after the discovery of the body that a relative of Mr. Coutts contacted Montreal police saying he was at the downtown Delta hotel, threatening to end his life.
By the time emergency personnel arrived, however, Mr. Coutts was headed back to Ottawa after leaving a note behind. The contents of that letter were never made public, though a trial would certainly have revealed its contents and maybe key information as to why he did what he did. Montreal police also found Dr. Halton's silver 2003 Audi in the hotel parking lot.
Mr. Coutts was arrested about 8:30 that night when he returned to Ottawa. He was charged with first-degree murder and theft, for taking Dr. Halton's car. It's believed he entered the ROH only in recent weeks.
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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
