An independent review of a Nova Scotia sexual assault case that was dismissed as “unfounded” six weeks before the alleged attacker killed the complainant, a 58-year-old woman who lived next door, has found “serious deficiencies in the handling of every aspect” of the investigation.

Susan Butlin was shot and killed by Ernie Duggan in September, 2017 – six weeks after the RCMP dismissed her report that he had sexually assaulted her.

A new report by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP found the case was “tainted by discredited myths and stereotypes about sexual assault and the expected behaviours of sexual assault victims” – noting that her death occurred just six months after The Globe and Mail drew attention to the problem in its landmark investigation, Unfounded.

The Globe’s analysis found that, on average, police in Canada were dismissing one in five sexual assault claims as unfounded, meaning the investigator believed the allegation was either false or baseless – a figure dramatically higher than the unfounded rate for other crimes.