I Got a Name

The Murder of Krystal Senyk

By: Eliza Robertson, Myles Dolphin

Narrated by: Eliza Robertson

INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A vivid and meticulous true-crime story that exposes the deep fractures in a system that repeatedly fails to protect women, while tracking the once-cold trail of a murderer still at large.

Krystal Senyk was the kind of friend everybody wants: a reliable confidant, a handywoman of all trades, and an infectious creative with an adventurous spirit. Most importantly, she was tough as nails. So when her best friend needed support to leave her abusive husband, Ronald Bax, Krystal leapt into action.

But soon Krystal became the new outlet for Bax’s rage. He terrorized and intimidated her for months on end, and finally issued a chilling warning to her and his ex-wife: the hunt is on. Krystal was scared but she was smart: she reached out to the RCMP for a police escort home. The officer brushed her off.

Bax’s threat had been all too real. At 29 years old, the woman who seemed invincible—who was a beloved sister, daughter, and friend—was shot and killed at her home in the Yukon. Ronald Bax disappeared without a trace.

Three decades later, Eliza Robertson has re-opened the case. In compelling, vibrant prose, she works tirelessly to piece together Krystal’s story, retracing the dire failings of Canadian law enforcement and Bax’s last steps. I Got a Name uses one woman’s tragic story to boldly interrogate themes of gender-based violence and the pervasive issues that plague our society. In this riveting true-crime story about victimhood, power, and control, Robertson examines the broken system in place, and asks: if it isn’t looking out for the vulnerable, the threatened, the hunted—who among us is it protecting?

©2023 Eliza Robertson and Myles Dolphin (P)2023 Hamish Hamilton

Critic reviews

“I Got a Name is a chilling story that transcends the true crime procedural it might have been to offer a heartfelt and sobering contemplation on the horrors of intimate partner violence and misogyny. Robertson takes us on a journey from the far north to the deep south to show how the dismissal of gender-based violence by those tasked with public protection has continued to put lives at risk, and exact a terrible price.”—Pauline Dakin, author of Run, Hide, Repeat

“Beyond its investigation of a murder and a disappearance, I Got a Name gives readers a flickering evocation of who Krystal Senyk was: her wit, kindness, frankness, independence, her existence. A profound and valuable look at the endless impacts of violence.”—Nathan Ripley, author of Find You in the Dark

Poignant, thoughtful storytelling

Eliza does an excellent job revealing the story of this tragedy and how it intersected with her life, needing to be told. She also shines a crucial light on the painful truths and inequities that persist around gender-based violence. A very necessary and well-told story.