After years of abuse and extortion, she went to police. Now this woman hopes to inspire others with her story
CBC
An Edmonton woman hopes going public about how she managed to escape a violent and emotionally abusive relationship inspires others to find the strength and courage to do the same.
In 2016, Natalie Bak mustered the courage to file a complaint to Edmonton police about the years of abuse she suffered at the hands of Hewton Murray.
Last month, Bak successfully argued for a court-mandated publication ban on her name to be lifted so she could tell her story.
"I think it's important that others know that it's OK," she told CBC News in an interview.
"It can get better."
Bak was 19 in 2008 when she met Murray at a northern Alberta work camp. She thought he was charismatic.
"I thought I was in love," Bak said. "Definitely infatuated."
Not long after she moved into an Edmonton basement apartment with Murray, Bak saw red flags.
"It was a lot of emotional abuse. A lot of yelling, screaming," she said in the interview.
Murray wouldn't allow her to make her own friends or to see anyone socially without him. He cut her off from her family. She didn't want to tell her parents she'd made a mistake.
"Out of shame and pride, I didn't want to admit defeat," Bak said.
By the end of 2011, the couple agreed the relationship wasn't working. They broke it off but continued to live together.
That's when the extortion and sexual assaults began.
Murray made Bak believe that a criminal gang had put a bounty on their heads and that she and her parents were in danger. Over time, she gave Murray between $120,000 and $130,000 to pay off the gang.
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