N.S. gunman's spouse, set to undergo restorative justice, lived 'in survival mode,' says lawyer

When Lisa Banfield was on a trip to Cuba with her common-law spouse and his parents, her father-in-law asked her to meet him in his hotel room, where he gave a warning.

Paul Wortman, whose face was swollen after being beaten up by his son near the pool by their resort, told Banfield that she needed to leave. 

"He's just like … 'I was a bastard to my wife, I was a bastard to my son, and Gabriel's gonna do the same thing to you … don't tell him I told you because he'll, he'll do more damage to me,'" Banfield later recounted to police after her partner of 19 years murdered 22 people in Nova Scotia. 

In a series of interviews with investigators, Banfield described Gabriel Wortman as being unpredictable and materialistic, an alcoholic who could fly into rages, a loner who suffered from abuse at the hands of his father and grew up to lash out at others physically and verbally, including herself. 

"He would just make me feel so low," Banfield said in a recorded interview with RCMP on April 28, 2020. 

She estimated there were at least 10 times he attacked her during their relationship, including once when his uncle and a neighbour found him punching and choking her on the ground in Portapique, N.S. Another time, he became irate when she tried to drive him home from a party after he'd been drinking, and she fled into the woods screaming. 

"Sometimes I would stick up for myself because I would be so angry that he'd talk to me like I'm pathetic. And then other times, I would just do and say whatever he wanted because I was just scared," she told RCMP in the third of a series of interviews.

The issue of control would have been central to a criminal trial, according to Banfield's defence lawyer, James Lockyer, who spoke after his client's case was referred to restorative justice last week.

Lockyer withdrew Banfield's not guilty plea on the charge of providing the gunman with ammunition he used when he attacked friends, neighbours and strangers on April 18 and 19, 2020. Police have always said Banfield didn't know how he'd use it. 

Crown lawyer Cory Roberts said the process would require Banfield to accept responsibility, but she would not be pleading guilty. If she completes the process, she won't have a criminal record. 

The decision to refer the case —15 months after she was charged and two weeks before a scheduled trial — was "the right decision, [and] long overdue," said St. John's lawyer Erin Breen, who represents a coalition of groups participating in the public inquiry into the mass shooting. The group includes the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, Avalon Sexual Assault Centre and Women's Wellness Within. 

Breen, a defence lawyer, said restorative justice offers options for addressing harm that "frankly [are] not often achieved in the criminal justice process." 

It's not clear what restorative justice will look like for Banfield, though it could involve her engaging with people impacted by her partner's violence.

Barbara Miller Nix, executive director of the Community Justice Society, which oversees restorative justice referrals in Halifax, couldn't comment on the case. However, she said generally the goal of restorative justice is to help people see things from each other's perspectives, and the exact approach is adapted depending on the individuals involved.