The RCMP say a man killed his wife. Her daughters say police won't admit he's an ex-Mountie

The daughters of a woman who was killed in Nova Scotia twelve days ago by her husband before he killed himself are calling on the RCMP for more transparency around domestic violence, alleging the force is covering up what happened because their mother's husband was a retired Mountie. 

Tara Graham, 41, and Ashley Whitten, 38, say their mother, Brenda Tatlock-Burke, 59, was in a toxic and controlling relationship with their stepfather, Mike Burke, for more than 30 years and had told them she was planning to leave him just two days before she was killed. 

The women are upset about the information — or lack thereof — that the RCMP have released about the case, saying it has led to a false narrative about what occurred and that they want their mother's story known publicly to raise awareness of domestic violence. 

"I just want [the RCMP] to acknowledge the facts and the truth of what the situation was," said Graham during an interview at her home in Cochrane, Alta.

The RCMP did not immediately label Tatlock-Burke's death a case of domestic violence and won't confirm it involved a retired officer. Only after CBC News told the RCMP the family was upset the force had not done so, it released a statement confirming the investigation shows this case to be an incident of intimate partner violence.

The RCMP declined an interview request, but in a statement said, "we're unable to confirm or disclose any individual's past employment status unless it's to advance an investigation."

In a case in Ottawa last week, where a woman was stabbed to death in a park by a man she knew, the Ottawa Police Service publicly stated it was a case of femicide within 24 hours. 

The RCMP first issued a news release on the evening of Oct. 18, saying it had received a request that morning to do a wellbeing check on two people at a home in Enfield, N.S., at around 10:45 a.m. 

The release said officers found the remains of two adults deceased inside the residence, that they were known to each other and that their deaths were being treated as suspicious.

Four days later, on Oct. 22, the RCMP issued an update saying they had determined the woman had died as a result of homicide and the man as a result of self-inflicted injuries. 

This release said that "in consideration of the Privacy Act and out of respect for the families," the force would not be releasing any further information. 

Graham and Whitten say they were never asked whether they wanted information released. 

This is what they want people to know. 

At the end of August, Tatlock-Burke went to Alberta to spend nearly two months with her daughters.