Williams paid $12K a month behind bars
April 9th, 2010
Kenneth Jackson
QMI Agency
OTTAWA — Accused killer Col. Russell Williams continues to collect a paycheque to the tune of nearly $12,000 a month while he sits in a jail cell.
Williams, 47, has been locked up at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., since his arrest Feb. 7 and has racked up about $24,000 in pay.
He was relieved of his duties as the Trenton base commander Feb. 8.
But no matter how long Williams continues to pull in thousands a month, the Canadian Forces said it will claw it all back if he's convicted of two counts of murder and sexual assault.
"If found guilty, a member must reimburse pay received while held in custody," spokeswoman Carole Brown said in an e-mail to QMI Agency.
Williams is getting paid because he's still a member of the Canadian Forces, she said.
Whether he's convicted or not, Brown said, Williams will still receive his pension because the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act determines when a former member is entitled to a pension.
"Entitlements are linked to years of service, not reason for leaving the Canadian Forces," she said.
Williams does face a Canadian Forces' administration review, which could lead to him being fired, Brown said.
Such a review takes place when a member's viability is brought into question.
"(The review) is commenced with the intent of determining whether the CF should continue to employ the member, and if so, under what conditions," said Brown.
It has yet to be determined when the review — which is independent of the criminal court findings — will wrap up.
Williams is accused killing Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd in the Belleville area as well as two sex attacks on women in nearby Tweed last fall.
Police are following his footsteps throughout his entire career.
Over the Easter weekend, Williams tried to commit suicide by jamming a cardboard toilet roll stuffed with foil and cardboard down his throat an apparent bid to suffocate himself.
William wrote a suicide note in mustard on the wall of his segregation cell saying his affairs were in order and his feelings are too much to bear.
He jammed the lock in his cell door with cardboard and foil in an attempt to prevent staff from getting into his cell quickly and stopping him.
His bid was unsuccessful and he was put on a 24-hour suicide watch which has since been lifted. He's now said to be on a hunger strike.
Article ID# 2528153
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Police expected to charge Williams in break-ins
Police expected to charge Williams in break-ins
Posted By KENNETH JACKSON AND JON WILLING, QMI AGENCY
April 29th, 2010
Police are poised to lay charges in connection with Ottawa break-ins allegedly linked to accused rapist and killer Col. Russell Williams.
The charges are expected to come as early as today by the Ontario Provincial Police, according to police sources.
As soon as Williams was booked on two first-degree murder charges in February, police in the Ottawa area opened their files to find connections to local sex crimes.
Police were specifically looking at incidents where women's underwear were stolen during several 2008 break-ins in the Orleans area of Simoneau Way and Wilkie Drive, where Williams lived at the time.
Williams is already charged in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, of Brighton and Jessica Lloyd, 27 of Belleville.
He was also charged with two home-invasion sex assaults.
While OPP have been investigating the violent attacks in eastern Ontario, police immediately swooped into the trendy Westboro home Williams shared with his wife after his arrest. Police put the home under a forensic lockdown for a week as they searched for evidence.
Some of the items hauled away included hundreds of pairs of women's underwear.
The investigation would soon stretch across the city.
Ottawa police have been assisting the OPP in the break-ins but they are not leading the local investigation.
A middle-aged couple told the Sun Wednesday evening someone tried to break into their home twice in a two-month period in 2008 on Simoneau Way.
Police visited their home and took the incidents seriously.
"We're concerned because the break-ins are sexual in nature," Karen remembers a detective telling her. She didn't want her last name used.
The couple was warned that there were a number of break and enters along Simoneau Way and Wilkie Drive.
"We didn't know who this was. We just thought it was a petty idiot," said Karen.
When they heard Williams was being investigated for the break and enters it all sort of sunk in.
"We went 'oh jeez,'" she said. Karen was also shocked when
she saw Williams' picture in the paper.
"I remembered him. I said 'why does he look familiar?' Then I remembered I used to see him walking. I think he even smiled at me a couple times."
Police told her whoever was behind the break-ins was studying the victims.
"He seemed to know the habits of the people here on the street," she said.
Article ID# 2555385
Submit content
Posted By KENNETH JACKSON AND JON WILLING, QMI AGENCY
April 29th, 2010
Police are poised to lay charges in connection with Ottawa break-ins allegedly linked to accused rapist and killer Col. Russell Williams.
The charges are expected to come as early as today by the Ontario Provincial Police, according to police sources.
As soon as Williams was booked on two first-degree murder charges in February, police in the Ottawa area opened their files to find connections to local sex crimes.
Police were specifically looking at incidents where women's underwear were stolen during several 2008 break-ins in the Orleans area of Simoneau Way and Wilkie Drive, where Williams lived at the time.
Williams is already charged in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, of Brighton and Jessica Lloyd, 27 of Belleville.
He was also charged with two home-invasion sex assaults.
While OPP have been investigating the violent attacks in eastern Ontario, police immediately swooped into the trendy Westboro home Williams shared with his wife after his arrest. Police put the home under a forensic lockdown for a week as they searched for evidence.
Some of the items hauled away included hundreds of pairs of women's underwear.
The investigation would soon stretch across the city.
Ottawa police have been assisting the OPP in the break-ins but they are not leading the local investigation.
A middle-aged couple told the Sun Wednesday evening someone tried to break into their home twice in a two-month period in 2008 on Simoneau Way.
Police visited their home and took the incidents seriously.
"We're concerned because the break-ins are sexual in nature," Karen remembers a detective telling her. She didn't want her last name used.
The couple was warned that there were a number of break and enters along Simoneau Way and Wilkie Drive.
"We didn't know who this was. We just thought it was a petty idiot," said Karen.
When they heard Williams was being investigated for the break and enters it all sort of sunk in.
"We went 'oh jeez,'" she said. Karen was also shocked when
she saw Williams' picture in the paper.
"I remembered him. I said 'why does he look familiar?' Then I remembered I used to see him walking. I think he even smiled at me a couple times."
Police told her whoever was behind the break-ins was studying the victims.
"He seemed to know the habits of the people here on the street," she said.
Article ID# 2555385
Submit content
Williams to plead guilty: reports
Williams to plead guilty: reports
Posted By QMI Agency
April 29th, 2010
QMI Agency
A final and dramatic chapter may be writing itself in the case of disgraced Canadian military officer, Col. Russell Williams.
The website for The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the former base commander at CFB Trenton plans to plead guilty to murder, sexual assault and 82 burglary related charges.
It would be an astonishing conclusion — and unusual legal end — to a case that's stunned military ranks and captivated the nation. Though everything about the arrest and troubled incarceration of the once respected commander has been anything but normal or expected.
The latest report of a possible pending guilty plea came hours after Williams made a video appearance here to face the new break-in charges.
Citing two unnamed sources, the national newspaper said prosecutors and defence lawyers for the accused killer have agreed in principal that Williams will plead guilty to all charges.
Williams faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a military flight attendant from Brighton, Ont., and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville, Ont.
The body of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville was found on Feb. 7 after she was reported missing two weeks earlier, launching a massive search.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton, Ont., was discovered dead in her home last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s.
Williams' fall from those days are something out of a movie script.
On Thursday, appearing via a video feed, he appeared clean shaven with his trademark buzz cut looking newly trimmed. He looked nothing like a man who recently attempted a hunger strike after his suicide bid was foiled by guards at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., where he has been since his arrest in February.
Williams seemed at ease as he stated his name "David Russell Williams" — leaving out the colonel designation.
He was remanded until his next court appearance on June 24.
The 82 charges, laid just before Williams attended his court appearance, were not read aloud in court. And there was no outward hint of any guilty plea arrangement having been reached.
It was all, in the life of the courts, rather normal.
The 61 counts of break and enter, 11 counts of attempted break and enter, and 10 counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence relate to a string of burglaries in Ottawa, Belleville and mostly in Tweed,Ont.
Many of the homes in Tweed listed were on the street, Cosy Cove Lane, where Williams lived when he served as base commander at CFB Trenton a 30-minute drive away.
The homes in Ottawa are in the city's Fallingbrook neighborhood. Williams and his wife shared a home in west Ottawa.
Ottawa police, Belleville police and Ontario Provincial Police, with the help of Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, conducted an extensive review of unsolved crimes in the three areas before laying the new charges, the OPP said.
Sgt. Kristine Rae of the OPP said she could not expand on the "intent to commit an indictable offence" charges noting there are a number of things under the Criminal Code that are considered an indictable offence.
Due to the fact the investigation is ongoing, she said she could not reveal what those offences are.
Following Williams' arrest in February, police searched his homes in Tweed and Ottawa.
According to police documents, detectives searched the home of a previous suspect in the cases eventually linked to Williams, looking for baby blankets, lingerie and other items reportedly taken from the crime scenes.
- with files from Jason Miller, QMI Agency
Article ID# 2556918
Posted By QMI Agency
April 29th, 2010
QMI Agency
A final and dramatic chapter may be writing itself in the case of disgraced Canadian military officer, Col. Russell Williams.
The website for The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that the former base commander at CFB Trenton plans to plead guilty to murder, sexual assault and 82 burglary related charges.
It would be an astonishing conclusion — and unusual legal end — to a case that's stunned military ranks and captivated the nation. Though everything about the arrest and troubled incarceration of the once respected commander has been anything but normal or expected.
The latest report of a possible pending guilty plea came hours after Williams made a video appearance here to face the new break-in charges.
Citing two unnamed sources, the national newspaper said prosecutors and defence lawyers for the accused killer have agreed in principal that Williams will plead guilty to all charges.
Williams faces two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a military flight attendant from Brighton, Ont., and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville, Ont.
The body of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville was found on Feb. 7 after she was reported missing two weeks earlier, launching a massive search.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton, Ont., was discovered dead in her home last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s.
Williams' fall from those days are something out of a movie script.
On Thursday, appearing via a video feed, he appeared clean shaven with his trademark buzz cut looking newly trimmed. He looked nothing like a man who recently attempted a hunger strike after his suicide bid was foiled by guards at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., where he has been since his arrest in February.
Williams seemed at ease as he stated his name "David Russell Williams" — leaving out the colonel designation.
He was remanded until his next court appearance on June 24.
The 82 charges, laid just before Williams attended his court appearance, were not read aloud in court. And there was no outward hint of any guilty plea arrangement having been reached.
It was all, in the life of the courts, rather normal.
The 61 counts of break and enter, 11 counts of attempted break and enter, and 10 counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence relate to a string of burglaries in Ottawa, Belleville and mostly in Tweed,Ont.
Many of the homes in Tweed listed were on the street, Cosy Cove Lane, where Williams lived when he served as base commander at CFB Trenton a 30-minute drive away.
The homes in Ottawa are in the city's Fallingbrook neighborhood. Williams and his wife shared a home in west Ottawa.
Ottawa police, Belleville police and Ontario Provincial Police, with the help of Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, conducted an extensive review of unsolved crimes in the three areas before laying the new charges, the OPP said.
Sgt. Kristine Rae of the OPP said she could not expand on the "intent to commit an indictable offence" charges noting there are a number of things under the Criminal Code that are considered an indictable offence.
Due to the fact the investigation is ongoing, she said she could not reveal what those offences are.
Following Williams' arrest in February, police searched his homes in Tweed and Ottawa.
According to police documents, detectives searched the home of a previous suspect in the cases eventually linked to Williams, looking for baby blankets, lingerie and other items reportedly taken from the crime scenes.
- with files from Jason Miller, QMI Agency
Article ID# 2556918
'It could have been worse:' break-in victim'
'It could have been worse:' break-in victim'
Col. Russell Williams facing 82 new charges including break and enter, theft
Posted By W. BRICE MCVICAR The Intelligencer
April 29th, 2010
TWEED — It could have been worse.
That's how one woman whose home was allegedly broken into by Col. Russell Williams summed up the crime. The woman, who asked that she not be identified, said she was relieved to learn her break and enter — as well as 81 others in the Belleville, Tweed and Ottawa areas — are being linked to the former CFB Trenton base commander. Police announced Thursday Williams is facing 82 new charges including break and enter and theft, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and attempted break and enter.
Considering Williams is also facing two first degree murder charges in relation to the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Marie France Comeau, the woman said she knows she is lucky there was only a break-in at her home.
"I guess I feel a little bit better knowing it was him and they've got him," the woman said. "It could have been worse, obviously."
While other alleged victims in the Tweed area opted not to discuss the break and enters to their homes, residents along Cosy Cove Lane expressed disbelief when they learned six of the new charges against Williams involve homes along their dead-end street. Williams and his wife had a summer cottage on Cosy Cove Lane and Williams lived alone there through the week while working at CFB Trenton.
Bill Page has resided on the short street for 17 years and would speak with Williams whenever he saw him. He said the initial arrest of Williams earlier this year, coupled with the new charges, has shocked the small community.
"People don't even lock their doors here," he said. "It's pretty shocking. It's going to take awhile for all of us to get over this and now, with these new charges, I think it'll take even longer."
However, Page said he knew police were continuing to investigate Williams' activity so further charges weren't that surprising. He said the community never suspected Williams last fall when two women in the neighbourhood were sexually assaulted by a man who broke into their homes. Williams, 47, was charged with two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault in relation to those home invasions.
Further down the road, Ernestine Cole said though she was surprised to learn of Williams' arrest it has not shaken her feeling of safety. She said even the new charges "don't really impact" her because the police insist they have their suspect in custody.
"I find it hard to believe it's happening but, really, it hasn't affected me in any way," she said.
Brian O'Coin, who lives at the intersection of Sulphide Road and Cosy Cove Lane, said the small community often discusses the man who was living in their midst and are relieved to know he is no longer among them.
Their feelings toward him are generally worn on their sleeves, O'Coin said.
"We all hate him. We all feel the same," he said. "We're all up in arms about it. We'll probably never get over it."
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Col. Russell Williams facing 82 new charges including break and enter, theft
Posted By W. BRICE MCVICAR The Intelligencer
April 29th, 2010
TWEED — It could have been worse.
That's how one woman whose home was allegedly broken into by Col. Russell Williams summed up the crime. The woman, who asked that she not be identified, said she was relieved to learn her break and enter — as well as 81 others in the Belleville, Tweed and Ottawa areas — are being linked to the former CFB Trenton base commander. Police announced Thursday Williams is facing 82 new charges including break and enter and theft, break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and attempted break and enter.
Considering Williams is also facing two first degree murder charges in relation to the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Marie France Comeau, the woman said she knows she is lucky there was only a break-in at her home.
"I guess I feel a little bit better knowing it was him and they've got him," the woman said. "It could have been worse, obviously."
While other alleged victims in the Tweed area opted not to discuss the break and enters to their homes, residents along Cosy Cove Lane expressed disbelief when they learned six of the new charges against Williams involve homes along their dead-end street. Williams and his wife had a summer cottage on Cosy Cove Lane and Williams lived alone there through the week while working at CFB Trenton.
Bill Page has resided on the short street for 17 years and would speak with Williams whenever he saw him. He said the initial arrest of Williams earlier this year, coupled with the new charges, has shocked the small community.
"People don't even lock their doors here," he said. "It's pretty shocking. It's going to take awhile for all of us to get over this and now, with these new charges, I think it'll take even longer."
However, Page said he knew police were continuing to investigate Williams' activity so further charges weren't that surprising. He said the community never suspected Williams last fall when two women in the neighbourhood were sexually assaulted by a man who broke into their homes. Williams, 47, was charged with two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault in relation to those home invasions.
Further down the road, Ernestine Cole said though she was surprised to learn of Williams' arrest it has not shaken her feeling of safety. She said even the new charges "don't really impact" her because the police insist they have their suspect in custody.
"I find it hard to believe it's happening but, really, it hasn't affected me in any way," she said.
Brian O'Coin, who lives at the intersection of Sulphide Road and Cosy Cove Lane, said the small community often discusses the man who was living in their midst and are relieved to know he is no longer among them.
Their feelings toward him are generally worn on their sleeves, O'Coin said.
"We all hate him. We all feel the same," he said. "We're all up in arms about it. We'll probably never get over it."
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Women shocked by creeper charges
Women shocked by creeper charges
Posted By Jason Miller
April 29th, 2010
Jason Miller
The Intelligencer
Startling revelations about Col. Russell Williams being charged with 82 additional break and enter related offences was greeted with mix emotions by women in Belleville yesterday.
The new charges have been the main topic of discussion in the Friendly City, since it made media headlines. Hordes of media personal could be spotted in the downtown core on Thursday, as Williams made a five-minute video appearance at the Victoria Avenue provincial court.
Katrina Bradley said she "couldn't believe it" when news of the charges surfaced Thursday morning. Bradley was shocked by the barrage of charges and "how spread out it was."
"It really struck the core of our community," she said. "You don't know who to trust."
Bradley is curious as to how a criminal managed to move throughout so many neighbourhoods and commit the break-ins undetected. She said the latest bombshell news makes her think that investigators have "just started to scratch the surface."
She said the victims and their family's are left with the daunting task of finding closure amid the glare of the media.
"It makes me want to cry," she said.
Julie, who didn't give her last name, shared a smiler sentiment. She said the community is still coming to grips with the lost of Jessica Lloyd, for who's murder, Williams is charged. Julie said she was "floored" when she heard of the new discoveries, through a radio report.
"There are going to be other things that are going to come up if they continue digging," she said.
"His name is something we will remember forever," She added. "He was all over the place. Wherever he lived he left a trail. We just caught up to him."
She said, if the allegations are true, it must be heart wrenching for William's wife to come to grips with the fact that she was "living with a psychopath."
"There must have been some red flags," she said.
Tammy Gunter agreed that things went too far for her comfort. The Frankford woman said she's now more cognizant of suspicious activity in her area.
"He was actually living among us," she said. "It could have been anybody."
The hair stylist at the Pinnacle Street based Foxy Hair and Esthetics called the new charges "shocking.
"It makes you scared and more aware," she said. "I'm nervous of almost anyone looking at me. It's really sad that it was able to get to this point."
Williams was previously charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of a Belleville woman and a CFB Trenton flight attendant.
The body of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, was found on Feb. 7. Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, of Brighton, was discovered dead in her home last November.
Williams also faces two counts each of sexual assault and break and enter with intent in connection with a pair of home invasions in the Tweed area.
Williams was arrested in his Ottawa home Feb. 6.
Annie Macgregor said her door is always kept locked for extra protection.
"It's really shocking although not surprising," she said. "It was expected, because they were looking into his past."
"It makes me feel sick," she said. "I feel sadness for those women who have to deal with that on a daily basis."
jmiller@intelligencer.ca
Article ID# 2557062
Posted By Jason Miller
April 29th, 2010
Jason Miller
The Intelligencer
Startling revelations about Col. Russell Williams being charged with 82 additional break and enter related offences was greeted with mix emotions by women in Belleville yesterday.
The new charges have been the main topic of discussion in the Friendly City, since it made media headlines. Hordes of media personal could be spotted in the downtown core on Thursday, as Williams made a five-minute video appearance at the Victoria Avenue provincial court.
Katrina Bradley said she "couldn't believe it" when news of the charges surfaced Thursday morning. Bradley was shocked by the barrage of charges and "how spread out it was."
"It really struck the core of our community," she said. "You don't know who to trust."
Bradley is curious as to how a criminal managed to move throughout so many neighbourhoods and commit the break-ins undetected. She said the latest bombshell news makes her think that investigators have "just started to scratch the surface."
She said the victims and their family's are left with the daunting task of finding closure amid the glare of the media.
"It makes me want to cry," she said.
Julie, who didn't give her last name, shared a smiler sentiment. She said the community is still coming to grips with the lost of Jessica Lloyd, for who's murder, Williams is charged. Julie said she was "floored" when she heard of the new discoveries, through a radio report.
"There are going to be other things that are going to come up if they continue digging," she said.
"His name is something we will remember forever," She added. "He was all over the place. Wherever he lived he left a trail. We just caught up to him."
She said, if the allegations are true, it must be heart wrenching for William's wife to come to grips with the fact that she was "living with a psychopath."
"There must have been some red flags," she said.
Tammy Gunter agreed that things went too far for her comfort. The Frankford woman said she's now more cognizant of suspicious activity in her area.
"He was actually living among us," she said. "It could have been anybody."
The hair stylist at the Pinnacle Street based Foxy Hair and Esthetics called the new charges "shocking.
"It makes you scared and more aware," she said. "I'm nervous of almost anyone looking at me. It's really sad that it was able to get to this point."
Williams was previously charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of a Belleville woman and a CFB Trenton flight attendant.
The body of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, was found on Feb. 7. Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, of Brighton, was discovered dead in her home last November.
Williams also faces two counts each of sexual assault and break and enter with intent in connection with a pair of home invasions in the Tweed area.
Williams was arrested in his Ottawa home Feb. 6.
Annie Macgregor said her door is always kept locked for extra protection.
"It's really shocking although not surprising," she said. "It was expected, because they were looking into his past."
"It makes me feel sick," she said. "I feel sadness for those women who have to deal with that on a daily basis."
jmiller@intelligencer.ca
Article ID# 2557062
Williams appears in court facing 82 more charges
Williams appears in court facing 82 more charges
Posted By Jason Miller and W. Brice McVicar The Intelligencer
April 29th, 2010
Col. Russell Williams made a brief appearance in a Belleville provincial court Thursday morning, amid an additional 82 new charges being laid against him.
Williams, 46, the disgraced former colonel who served as base commander at CFB Trenton, was clean shaven with his trade mark buzz cut looking trimmed, compared to his last visit, when it was grown out.
One of the prison guards escorting Williams to the video conference room informed Justice of the peace Deanna Chapelle that "he's just on his way up here right now. He will be with you in a minute." A few seconds later Williams strolled into the room flanked by two prison guards, while another guard waited outside the door.
Williams seemed at ease as he stated his name "David Russell Williams", leaving out the colonel designation.
Williams looked nothing like a man who recently attempted a hunger strike after his suicide bid was foiled by guards the Napanee-based Quinte Detention Centre, where he has been since his arrest in February.
After a brief chat with duty counsel on the phone, Chapelle was informed that Williams was aware of the string of new charges levelled against him and he did not need for them to be read in court. Crown attorney Lee Burgess also informed Chapelle that "there has been disclosure provided" to William's legal team and more will be coming.
The 82 new charges all relate to break and enters and attempted break and enters in the areas of Belleville, Tweed and Ottawa with the bulk of charges stemming from the Tweed area.
The new charges by area are:
• Belleville: two counts of break, enter and theft
• Ottawa (all within the Fallingbrook area): 23 counts of break enter and theft, three counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and eight counts of attempted break and enter
• Tweed: 36 counts of break, enter and theft, seven counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and three counts of attempted break and enter.
Police said these charges "represent the known offences that have been linked to Russell Williams to date."
Sgt. Kristine Rae of the OPP said she could not expand on the "intent to commit an indictable offence" charges noting there are a number of things under the Criminal Code that are considered an indictable offence. Due to the fact the investigation is ongoing, she said, she could not reveal what that offences are.
"To be specific on the break and enters and what he was doing? No, I can't say because it's an ongoing investigation. We've got these 82 charges but there's still other things. The case is still being looked at," Rae said.
Further charges could come in the future as Rae said "nothing's been ruled out at this point."
Williams was previously charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of a Belleville woman and a CFB Trenton flight attendant.
The body of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, was found on Feb. 7. Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, of Brighton, was discovered dead in her home last November.
Williams also faces two counts each of sexual assault and break and enter with intent in connection with a pair of home invasions in the Tweed area.
Williams was arrested in his Ottawa home Feb. 6.
Ever since the bombshell story broke, it has been garnering national news headlines and Thursday was no different as journalists from national news organizations and television stations were in attendance to catch a glimpse of Williams in a packed courthouse.
Outside the Victoria Avenue courthouse, Lt.-Col. Tony O'Keeffe spoke with media about Williams' brief appearance and his regular meetings with him at the Quinte Regional Detention Centre. O'Keeffe, who has referred to Williams as a "friend" in the past, has been attending the former base commander's court appearances.
O'Keeffe fielded questions about William's supposed hunger strike and his publicized suicide attempt but regularly said he could not comment on those matters. He said in his meetings with Williams at the Napanee-area facility the pair do not discuss the charges.
"He doesn't talk about the case with me," he said. "We discussed his admin review and what the process is and the fact that we're in, I suppose, a holding pattern while the investigation unfolds.
"There hasn't been any developments since the thing started and the investigation is underway so people are being quite quiet about the whole thing. I'm not legal counsel and I'm not a spokesperson for him so nothing's been disclosed to me."
Article ID# 2556657
Posted By Jason Miller and W. Brice McVicar The Intelligencer
April 29th, 2010
Col. Russell Williams made a brief appearance in a Belleville provincial court Thursday morning, amid an additional 82 new charges being laid against him.
Williams, 46, the disgraced former colonel who served as base commander at CFB Trenton, was clean shaven with his trade mark buzz cut looking trimmed, compared to his last visit, when it was grown out.
One of the prison guards escorting Williams to the video conference room informed Justice of the peace Deanna Chapelle that "he's just on his way up here right now. He will be with you in a minute." A few seconds later Williams strolled into the room flanked by two prison guards, while another guard waited outside the door.
Williams seemed at ease as he stated his name "David Russell Williams", leaving out the colonel designation.
Williams looked nothing like a man who recently attempted a hunger strike after his suicide bid was foiled by guards the Napanee-based Quinte Detention Centre, where he has been since his arrest in February.
After a brief chat with duty counsel on the phone, Chapelle was informed that Williams was aware of the string of new charges levelled against him and he did not need for them to be read in court. Crown attorney Lee Burgess also informed Chapelle that "there has been disclosure provided" to William's legal team and more will be coming.
The 82 new charges all relate to break and enters and attempted break and enters in the areas of Belleville, Tweed and Ottawa with the bulk of charges stemming from the Tweed area.
The new charges by area are:
• Belleville: two counts of break, enter and theft
• Ottawa (all within the Fallingbrook area): 23 counts of break enter and theft, three counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and eight counts of attempted break and enter
• Tweed: 36 counts of break, enter and theft, seven counts of break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence and three counts of attempted break and enter.
Police said these charges "represent the known offences that have been linked to Russell Williams to date."
Sgt. Kristine Rae of the OPP said she could not expand on the "intent to commit an indictable offence" charges noting there are a number of things under the Criminal Code that are considered an indictable offence. Due to the fact the investigation is ongoing, she said, she could not reveal what that offences are.
"To be specific on the break and enters and what he was doing? No, I can't say because it's an ongoing investigation. We've got these 82 charges but there's still other things. The case is still being looked at," Rae said.
Further charges could come in the future as Rae said "nothing's been ruled out at this point."
Williams was previously charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of a Belleville woman and a CFB Trenton flight attendant.
The body of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, was found on Feb. 7. Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, of Brighton, was discovered dead in her home last November.
Williams also faces two counts each of sexual assault and break and enter with intent in connection with a pair of home invasions in the Tweed area.
Williams was arrested in his Ottawa home Feb. 6.
Ever since the bombshell story broke, it has been garnering national news headlines and Thursday was no different as journalists from national news organizations and television stations were in attendance to catch a glimpse of Williams in a packed courthouse.
Outside the Victoria Avenue courthouse, Lt.-Col. Tony O'Keeffe spoke with media about Williams' brief appearance and his regular meetings with him at the Quinte Regional Detention Centre. O'Keeffe, who has referred to Williams as a "friend" in the past, has been attending the former base commander's court appearances.
O'Keeffe fielded questions about William's supposed hunger strike and his publicized suicide attempt but regularly said he could not comment on those matters. He said in his meetings with Williams at the Napanee-area facility the pair do not discuss the charges.
"He doesn't talk about the case with me," he said. "We discussed his admin review and what the process is and the fact that we're in, I suppose, a holding pattern while the investigation unfolds.
"There hasn't been any developments since the thing started and the investigation is underway so people are being quite quiet about the whole thing. I'm not legal counsel and I'm not a spokesperson for him so nothing's been disclosed to me."
Article ID# 2556657
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Commander inherits base shaken by slayings
Published On Sat Feb 20 2010
Allison Jones The Canadian Press
TRENTON, ONT.–Leadership at an air force base rocked by scandal changed hands Friday with the new commander urging the men and women of CFB Trenton to break through the dark cloud left by their former commander, who is now facing murder charges.
A pair of signatures on a certificate officially made Col. Dave Cochrane the leader of the shaken base. But it will take more than that to truly move past the allegations against Col. Russell Williams, a top air force officer said Friday.
"If (only) it was as easy as just signing a piece of paper and telling somebody, 'You got the job' and I'll be satisfied that we have a new wing commander and everything is going to be fine," Maj.-Gen. Yvan Blondin, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, said at an assumption of command ceremony.
Cochrane assumed command of Canada's busiest air force base during the ceremony attended by hundreds of officers and dignitaries. With his family – wife Sherri and children Jamie, 13 and Lindsay, 12, – looking on, he urged the soldiers under his command to stay proud.
"Stand tall, ladies and gentlemen. You deserve it," Cochrane said.
Williams, 46, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd.
Williams was formally relieved of his command Thursday after making his first court appearance, via video.
Allison Jones The Canadian Press
TRENTON, ONT.–Leadership at an air force base rocked by scandal changed hands Friday with the new commander urging the men and women of CFB Trenton to break through the dark cloud left by their former commander, who is now facing murder charges.
A pair of signatures on a certificate officially made Col. Dave Cochrane the leader of the shaken base. But it will take more than that to truly move past the allegations against Col. Russell Williams, a top air force officer said Friday.
"If (only) it was as easy as just signing a piece of paper and telling somebody, 'You got the job' and I'll be satisfied that we have a new wing commander and everything is going to be fine," Maj.-Gen. Yvan Blondin, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, said at an assumption of command ceremony.
Cochrane assumed command of Canada's busiest air force base during the ceremony attended by hundreds of officers and dignitaries. With his family – wife Sherri and children Jamie, 13 and Lindsay, 12, – looking on, he urged the soldiers under his command to stay proud.
"Stand tall, ladies and gentlemen. You deserve it," Cochrane said.
Williams, 46, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd.
Williams was formally relieved of his command Thursday after making his first court appearance, via video.
New CFB Trenton commander assumes command
Published On Fri Feb 19 2010
The Canadian Press
TRENTON—Leadership at an air force base rocked by scandal changed hands Friday with the new commander urging the men and women of CFB Trenton to break through the dark cloud left by their former commander, who is now facing murder charges.
A pair of signatures on a certificate officially made Col. Dave Cochrane the leader of the shaken eastern Ontario base. But it will take a lot more than that to truly move past the shocking allegations against Col. Russell Williams, a top air force officer said Friday.
“If (only) it was as easy as just signing a piece of paper and telling somebody, ‘You got the job’ and I’ll be satisfied that we have a new wing commander and everything is going to be fine,” Maj. Gen. Yvan Blondin, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, said at an assumption of command ceremony.
Williams was not mentioned by name at the ceremony, but his alleged crimes and the inherent betrayal felt by those on the base hung heavy in the air.
“It’s like losing a bit of your innocence,” Blondin said of military members’ reaction to the charges. “You just can’t believe that this is happening. You expect people in uniform to be the white knight.”
Cochrane assumed command of Canada’s busiest air force base during the ceremony attended by hundreds of officers and dignitaries. With his family _ wife Sherri and children Jamie, 13 and Lindsay, 12, _ looking on he urged the soldiers under his command to stay proud.
“I realize this is a difficult period of time for the Canadian Forces, most notably 8 Wing Trenton and our local community,” Cochrane said.
“Stand tall, ladies and gentleman. You deserve it.”
Williams, 46, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton and Jessica Lloyd of Belleville.
He is also charged with two counts each of forcible confinement, break and enter and sexual assault relating to attacks on women during home invasions in Tweed on Sept. 17 and Sept. 30.
Williams, who has hired high-profile Ottawa lawyer Michael Edelson to handle his case, was formally relieved of his command Thursday after making his first court appearance, via video.
He is being held at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee.
Comeau, 37, was found dead in her home in Brighton last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s, ferrying the Governor General, the prime minister and other dignitaries on domestic and overseas trips.
Lloyd’s body was found in Tweed two weeks after the 27-year-old failed to show up at her job in Napanee.
Police have said they don’t expect to release the cause of death of either Lloyd or Comeau, but various media have quoted sources as saying the women were asphyxiated.
According to a search warrant issued before Williams emerged as the primary suspect in the cases, detectives entered the home of a prior suspect looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices.
The warrant was related to the attacks on the two women who were bound and sexually assaulted in their homes. Both women lived within walking distance of Williams’ cottage.
Cochrane grew up in Toronto and received a mechanical engineering degree from Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., in 1986. During his long and varied career he has participated in several deployments, including the Gulf War and Kurdish re-supply air drop missions, before moving on to training and supervisory positions. He received a master’s degree in defence studies from RMC and has overseen Hercules, Challenger and Airbus projects.
The Canadian Press
TRENTON—Leadership at an air force base rocked by scandal changed hands Friday with the new commander urging the men and women of CFB Trenton to break through the dark cloud left by their former commander, who is now facing murder charges.
A pair of signatures on a certificate officially made Col. Dave Cochrane the leader of the shaken eastern Ontario base. But it will take a lot more than that to truly move past the shocking allegations against Col. Russell Williams, a top air force officer said Friday.
“If (only) it was as easy as just signing a piece of paper and telling somebody, ‘You got the job’ and I’ll be satisfied that we have a new wing commander and everything is going to be fine,” Maj. Gen. Yvan Blondin, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, said at an assumption of command ceremony.
Williams was not mentioned by name at the ceremony, but his alleged crimes and the inherent betrayal felt by those on the base hung heavy in the air.
“It’s like losing a bit of your innocence,” Blondin said of military members’ reaction to the charges. “You just can’t believe that this is happening. You expect people in uniform to be the white knight.”
Cochrane assumed command of Canada’s busiest air force base during the ceremony attended by hundreds of officers and dignitaries. With his family _ wife Sherri and children Jamie, 13 and Lindsay, 12, _ looking on he urged the soldiers under his command to stay proud.
“I realize this is a difficult period of time for the Canadian Forces, most notably 8 Wing Trenton and our local community,” Cochrane said.
“Stand tall, ladies and gentleman. You deserve it.”
Williams, 46, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton and Jessica Lloyd of Belleville.
He is also charged with two counts each of forcible confinement, break and enter and sexual assault relating to attacks on women during home invasions in Tweed on Sept. 17 and Sept. 30.
Williams, who has hired high-profile Ottawa lawyer Michael Edelson to handle his case, was formally relieved of his command Thursday after making his first court appearance, via video.
He is being held at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee.
Comeau, 37, was found dead in her home in Brighton last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s, ferrying the Governor General, the prime minister and other dignitaries on domestic and overseas trips.
Lloyd’s body was found in Tweed two weeks after the 27-year-old failed to show up at her job in Napanee.
Police have said they don’t expect to release the cause of death of either Lloyd or Comeau, but various media have quoted sources as saying the women were asphyxiated.
According to a search warrant issued before Williams emerged as the primary suspect in the cases, detectives entered the home of a prior suspect looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices.
The warrant was related to the attacks on the two women who were bound and sexually assaulted in their homes. Both women lived within walking distance of Williams’ cottage.
Cochrane grew up in Toronto and received a mechanical engineering degree from Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont., in 1986. During his long and varied career he has participated in several deployments, including the Gulf War and Kurdish re-supply air drop missions, before moving on to training and supervisory positions. He received a master’s degree in defence studies from RMC and has overseen Hercules, Challenger and Airbus projects.
Murder case's handling lauded by Col. Williams
Murder suspect praised corporal's work in man's slaying on Trenton base
Published On Mon Feb 15 2010
David Bruser Staff Reporter
Two months before Russell Williams is alleged to have begun terrorizing Hastings County with a string of home invasions and murders, the former commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton was photographed honouring a military policeman for helping to solve a murder on the base.
A Quinte West man, Marcus Wilson, 37, is charged with that murder.
It is not known if authorities investigating Williams will re-visit the case.
A source provided the Star with a photo of Williams presenting a commendation to a M. Cpl. Thickson for "outstanding professionalism" at the murder scene on July 26, 2009, in ensuring the security of the area and the emergency workers who were attempting to revive the victim while the suspect was at large.
James Read, 36, died at Trenton Memorial Hospital on the same day he was found stabbed at a home on the base.
Three days later, Wilson was arrested.
OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae said she has not heard that the Read case is being re-visited by authorities after revelations about Williams' alleged crime spree emerged last week. "I can't say at this point," Rae said.
About seven weeks after the murder on the base, police investigated two home invasions in Tweed where women were tied to a chair and photographed. The suspect entered the houses while the residents slept.
On Nov. 25, Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a flight attendant with CFB Trenton's 437 transport squadron, was found slain in her Brighton home. Her boyfriend discovered her body.
Another victim, Jessica Lloyd, 27, was reported missing Jan. 28 after failing to show up for her job in Napanee.
After Williams was arrested and charged, police found Lloyd's body in Tweed.
Hundreds of people from the Belleville area crowded into the John R. Bush Funeral Home on Saturday to mourn Lloyd, described as a woman with a "profound zest and love of life."
With files from The Canadian Press
Published On Mon Feb 15 2010
David Bruser Staff Reporter
Two months before Russell Williams is alleged to have begun terrorizing Hastings County with a string of home invasions and murders, the former commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton was photographed honouring a military policeman for helping to solve a murder on the base.
A Quinte West man, Marcus Wilson, 37, is charged with that murder.
It is not known if authorities investigating Williams will re-visit the case.
A source provided the Star with a photo of Williams presenting a commendation to a M. Cpl. Thickson for "outstanding professionalism" at the murder scene on July 26, 2009, in ensuring the security of the area and the emergency workers who were attempting to revive the victim while the suspect was at large.
James Read, 36, died at Trenton Memorial Hospital on the same day he was found stabbed at a home on the base.
Three days later, Wilson was arrested.
OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae said she has not heard that the Read case is being re-visited by authorities after revelations about Williams' alleged crime spree emerged last week. "I can't say at this point," Rae said.
About seven weeks after the murder on the base, police investigated two home invasions in Tweed where women were tied to a chair and photographed. The suspect entered the houses while the residents slept.
On Nov. 25, Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a flight attendant with CFB Trenton's 437 transport squadron, was found slain in her Brighton home. Her boyfriend discovered her body.
Another victim, Jessica Lloyd, 27, was reported missing Jan. 28 after failing to show up for her job in Napanee.
After Williams was arrested and charged, police found Lloyd's body in Tweed.
Hundreds of people from the Belleville area crowded into the John R. Bush Funeral Home on Saturday to mourn Lloyd, described as a woman with a "profound zest and love of life."
With files from The Canadian Press
Life and times of Col. Russell Williams
Quiet student. Respected military leader. Alleged serial killer. Can the experiences of the boy help us understand the man?
Published On Sat Feb 13 2010
Raveena Aulakh
David Bruser
Katie Daubs Staff Reporters
While a young, fresh-faced Russell Williams was a student attending Toronto's elite Upper Canada College in the early '80s, a housemaster of the boarding school was quietly sexually assaulting some of the boys.
The housemaster, Douglas Brown, would eventually be convicted in 2004 of indecent assaults dating between 1975 and 1980.
The teenaged Williams, who spent his last two years of high school, 1980 to 1982, at UCC while his parents were living overseas, would graduate and move on, eventually joining Canada's armed forces to become one of the military's top commanders.
This week the country has been reeling over the news that Williams, now 46 and in charge of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women and the sexual assault of two others.
The coincidence – Williams, a boarder at the school at the same time Brown was molesting students – is hard to ignore although there is currently no evidence indicating they, in fact, crossed paths. Brown, who remained at UCC until 1993, was reached by the Star. He said he never had any contact with Williams.
But the shock of these events, coupled with the extent of Williams' career and life, have police officials, media and the public grappling for answers as to how such a highly successful, well-educated and well-respected career officer could face such serious charges.
He stands accused of killing 37-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, found dead in her Brighton home in November, and 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd of Belleville.
Hundreds of mourners are expected to gather Saturday as her family lays her to rest.
Meanwhile, police will be looking at every aspect of her alleged killer's life.
This week, news reports raised the possibility that Williams and convicted serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo may have had a link, since both attended the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus during roughly the same time period when a series of unsolved rapes occurred.
Police say that is simply happenstance.
"They went to the same university and took some of the same courses on economics, the same campus, they lived in the same Scarborough neighbourhood ... that's a coincidental thing from what we can gather," a police source told the Star. "We are getting a lot of information on all kinds of different things."
As police forces across the country dig up cold cases and review Williams' history, the possibility of his connection to any crimes are pieces being carefully collected in an effort to answer one question: Who, really, is Russell Williams?
Williams was born on March 7, 1963, in the Midlands region of England. Within a few years his father, David Williams, a metallurgist, was hired by Canada's premier nuclear research laboratory in Chalk River, Ont. and the family moved there.
David and his wife, Nonie, had another son, Harvey.
The marriage didn't survive for long and they divorced. In 1970, Nonie married Jerry Sovka, a nuclear engineer who now lives in Aix-en-Provence, France.
According to reports, the new family moved to the Toronto area when Sovka got a job with Ontario Hydro. Their house was near the Scarborough Bluffs, overlooking Lake Ontario. Williams attended Birchmount Park Collegiate, where he went by the name Russell Sovka.
But the family didn't live there for long. Sovka's work took him around the globe and by 1979, the family was in South Korea where he was overseeing a reactor project.
Williams stayed back for his final two years of high school and became a boarder at UCC.
He was a serious student, hard-working and focused but didn't stand out, say friends and acquaintances from those years.
Permell Ashby, who attended Birchmount Park Collegiate from 1976 to 1981 and played flute in the band with Williams – who played trumpet – remembered Williams but nothing about him.
"I remember that I would often say hello," said Ashby. "He was in the band and everyone was friendly with each other."
At UCC, Williams was a house prefect and mentored young students.
Innes van Nostrand, who attended UCC with Williams in the early 1980s, said he was pretty good at flying under the radar. "That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician," said van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at the school.
Not much is known about Williams' social life. He mostly kept to himself.
After graduating from UCC, Williams made his way back to Scarborough and enrolled in economics and political science at the University of Toronto's satellite campus.
Williams was merely another face in the student population of about 5,000. When asked about a Russell Sovka or Williams, few professors could recall interacting with him.
After four years, he graduated from the U of T with a BA in 1986.
In 1987, he joined the armed forces and around that time took back his father's name.
As a young, eager lieutenant at Portage la Prairie, Man. – his first posting – Williams stood out due to his intensity, his former instructor Greg McQuaid told Maclean's.
From the tiny Manitoba community to Halifax in the early 1990s, he continued to rise through the ranks. He attended the Royal Military College in Kingston where he received his master's degree, then was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer of 437 Transport Squadron in Trenton in 2004. It was there, in July 2009 he took charge of Canada's largest airbase, Williams rose from one posting to the next, notching up perfect reviews, medals and promotions.
There was always high praise for Williams.
Last month Gen. Walter Natynczyk, the chief of defence staff, and Defence Minister Peter MacKay commended him for managing the deployment of some 2,000 soldiers and thousands of kilos of supplies to post-earthquake Haiti.
Williams also handled the purchase of two C-17 Globemaster jets as well as the acquisition of a fleet of C-130J Hercules planes.
As CFB Trenton's commander, he was highly visible at community events and featured in local newspapers presenting cheques, posing with hockey players and supporting the troops. He had a home on the base, and a cottage on Cosy Cove Lane facing Lake Stoco near Tweed; he also owns a house in Ottawa where he lives with his wife, Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, associate director of the heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Andy Coxhead, a retired major and resident of Brighton, was a public affairs officer on the Trenton base when Williams took over the 437 squadron. Coxhead said he came in contact with Williams a couple of times a week in 2004 and 2005. He says Williams was forthright and easy to deal with.
"When he was named commander, one of my first reactions was, `Hey, he's going to do well, people will like him; he's a nice, easygoing guy,'" said Coxhead.
But if police are correct, there is a sinister side to Williams that no one saw, not even the superiors who praised and promoted him.
According to police reports, the first attack occurred on Sept. 17.
A young couple in their 20s had recently moved into a small cottage on Charles Rd. on the outskirts of Tweed. They had just had a baby. He was originally from Tweed; she had moved there to escape big city life, according to the owner of the local bar.
But terror found her on the September night when a man broke into the house, tied her up and sexually assaulted her.
Two days after the assault, Williams was attending a Belleville Bulls season opener where he was invited to drop the puck. A day later he attended a Battle of Britain parade at CFB Trenton.
"`Larry, I got a question for you: Is there a secret to dropping a puck? Do you throw it up in the air?'" Larry Jones, a neighbour of Williams, recalls the colonel asking him prior to the game. Jones and his wife dragged out hockey sticks to give Williams an impromptu lesson.
Jones has lived on Cosy Cove Lane for 43 years and remembers when Williams and his wife bought their cottage in August 2004. Williams was a city slicker who didn't always understand rural life, says Jones.
He recalled one windy day when Williams backed his fishing boat down the launch into the water. He didn't tie it down properly and the boat drifted into muddy weeds.
On Sept. 30 another woman on Cosy Cove Lane was awoken in the middle of the night, blindfolded, and sexually assaulted. The single mother couldn't recognize her attacker – his voice was muffled.
By this time, the first woman who was attacked on nearby Charles Rd. had moved away.
No one suspected the colonel. Here was a man who, when mowing the lawn, watched for frogs, dragging his feet through the grass to avoid hurting the amphibians.
On Nov. 25, Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a Trenton-based military flight attendant, was found dead in her Brighton, Ont., home. Police called it an isolated incident.
John Williams, the mayor of Quinte West, which includes the Trenton base, met with Williams almost every week. Sometime after Comeau's death he recalls asking Williams about the investigation.
It was a casual question, and it got a casual answer.
"`Yeah, they're going through their investigation,'" the mayor says Williams replied.
"I wasn't looking for any feedback there at all other than to say that they were investigating and that's basically what he told me," he said. "It's sort of a weird conversation when you think about it now."
Life at CFB Trenton was busy for Williams in December and January. He welcomed the Olympic torch and then took Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Gen. Walter Natynczyk around the base.
On Jan. 28, Jessica Lloyd went missing and police launched a massive search. CFB Trenton sent a helicopter to help with efforts to find her. While the helicopter wouldn't find anything, the police would. On Thursday, Feb. 4, one week after Lloyd went missing, the Ontario Provincial Police put up a roadblock on Hwy. 37, which connects Belleville with Tweed, not far from her red brick bungalow.
From 7 p.m. that evening until 6 a.m. Friday, officers stopped every vehicle travelling in either direction and asked questions.
They were looking to match unusual tire treads found outside Lloyd's house.
Williams, behind the wheel of his Pathfinder – not the BMW he usually drove – was reportedly stopped. An officer noticed his tire treads resembled the ones left at Lloyd's home.
Investigators won't say what happened next, but by Sunday Williams agreed to sit down for a chat with a behavioural sciences expert from the provincial police. Some reports say he confessed to dozens of lingerie break-ins, but police will not confirm. He was arrested later that day and, on Monday, Feb. 8, officers found Lloyd's body on a dirt road near Tweed.
Williams was charged with the two murders and two sexual assaults. He has made one court appearance and will appear in court again via video-link on Feb. 18.
With files from Noor Javed and the Star's wire services
Published On Sat Feb 13 2010
Raveena Aulakh
David Bruser
Katie Daubs Staff Reporters
While a young, fresh-faced Russell Williams was a student attending Toronto's elite Upper Canada College in the early '80s, a housemaster of the boarding school was quietly sexually assaulting some of the boys.
The housemaster, Douglas Brown, would eventually be convicted in 2004 of indecent assaults dating between 1975 and 1980.
The teenaged Williams, who spent his last two years of high school, 1980 to 1982, at UCC while his parents were living overseas, would graduate and move on, eventually joining Canada's armed forces to become one of the military's top commanders.
This week the country has been reeling over the news that Williams, now 46 and in charge of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women and the sexual assault of two others.
The coincidence – Williams, a boarder at the school at the same time Brown was molesting students – is hard to ignore although there is currently no evidence indicating they, in fact, crossed paths. Brown, who remained at UCC until 1993, was reached by the Star. He said he never had any contact with Williams.
But the shock of these events, coupled with the extent of Williams' career and life, have police officials, media and the public grappling for answers as to how such a highly successful, well-educated and well-respected career officer could face such serious charges.
He stands accused of killing 37-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, found dead in her Brighton home in November, and 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd of Belleville.
Hundreds of mourners are expected to gather Saturday as her family lays her to rest.
Meanwhile, police will be looking at every aspect of her alleged killer's life.
This week, news reports raised the possibility that Williams and convicted serial killer and rapist Paul Bernardo may have had a link, since both attended the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus during roughly the same time period when a series of unsolved rapes occurred.
Police say that is simply happenstance.
"They went to the same university and took some of the same courses on economics, the same campus, they lived in the same Scarborough neighbourhood ... that's a coincidental thing from what we can gather," a police source told the Star. "We are getting a lot of information on all kinds of different things."
As police forces across the country dig up cold cases and review Williams' history, the possibility of his connection to any crimes are pieces being carefully collected in an effort to answer one question: Who, really, is Russell Williams?
Williams was born on March 7, 1963, in the Midlands region of England. Within a few years his father, David Williams, a metallurgist, was hired by Canada's premier nuclear research laboratory in Chalk River, Ont. and the family moved there.
David and his wife, Nonie, had another son, Harvey.
The marriage didn't survive for long and they divorced. In 1970, Nonie married Jerry Sovka, a nuclear engineer who now lives in Aix-en-Provence, France.
According to reports, the new family moved to the Toronto area when Sovka got a job with Ontario Hydro. Their house was near the Scarborough Bluffs, overlooking Lake Ontario. Williams attended Birchmount Park Collegiate, where he went by the name Russell Sovka.
But the family didn't live there for long. Sovka's work took him around the globe and by 1979, the family was in South Korea where he was overseeing a reactor project.
Williams stayed back for his final two years of high school and became a boarder at UCC.
He was a serious student, hard-working and focused but didn't stand out, say friends and acquaintances from those years.
Permell Ashby, who attended Birchmount Park Collegiate from 1976 to 1981 and played flute in the band with Williams – who played trumpet – remembered Williams but nothing about him.
"I remember that I would often say hello," said Ashby. "He was in the band and everyone was friendly with each other."
At UCC, Williams was a house prefect and mentored young students.
Innes van Nostrand, who attended UCC with Williams in the early 1980s, said he was pretty good at flying under the radar. "That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician," said van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at the school.
Not much is known about Williams' social life. He mostly kept to himself.
After graduating from UCC, Williams made his way back to Scarborough and enrolled in economics and political science at the University of Toronto's satellite campus.
Williams was merely another face in the student population of about 5,000. When asked about a Russell Sovka or Williams, few professors could recall interacting with him.
After four years, he graduated from the U of T with a BA in 1986.
In 1987, he joined the armed forces and around that time took back his father's name.
As a young, eager lieutenant at Portage la Prairie, Man. – his first posting – Williams stood out due to his intensity, his former instructor Greg McQuaid told Maclean's.
From the tiny Manitoba community to Halifax in the early 1990s, he continued to rise through the ranks. He attended the Royal Military College in Kingston where he received his master's degree, then was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and appointed commanding officer of 437 Transport Squadron in Trenton in 2004. It was there, in July 2009 he took charge of Canada's largest airbase, Williams rose from one posting to the next, notching up perfect reviews, medals and promotions.
There was always high praise for Williams.
Last month Gen. Walter Natynczyk, the chief of defence staff, and Defence Minister Peter MacKay commended him for managing the deployment of some 2,000 soldiers and thousands of kilos of supplies to post-earthquake Haiti.
Williams also handled the purchase of two C-17 Globemaster jets as well as the acquisition of a fleet of C-130J Hercules planes.
As CFB Trenton's commander, he was highly visible at community events and featured in local newspapers presenting cheques, posing with hockey players and supporting the troops. He had a home on the base, and a cottage on Cosy Cove Lane facing Lake Stoco near Tweed; he also owns a house in Ottawa where he lives with his wife, Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, associate director of the heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Andy Coxhead, a retired major and resident of Brighton, was a public affairs officer on the Trenton base when Williams took over the 437 squadron. Coxhead said he came in contact with Williams a couple of times a week in 2004 and 2005. He says Williams was forthright and easy to deal with.
"When he was named commander, one of my first reactions was, `Hey, he's going to do well, people will like him; he's a nice, easygoing guy,'" said Coxhead.
But if police are correct, there is a sinister side to Williams that no one saw, not even the superiors who praised and promoted him.
According to police reports, the first attack occurred on Sept. 17.
A young couple in their 20s had recently moved into a small cottage on Charles Rd. on the outskirts of Tweed. They had just had a baby. He was originally from Tweed; she had moved there to escape big city life, according to the owner of the local bar.
But terror found her on the September night when a man broke into the house, tied her up and sexually assaulted her.
Two days after the assault, Williams was attending a Belleville Bulls season opener where he was invited to drop the puck. A day later he attended a Battle of Britain parade at CFB Trenton.
"`Larry, I got a question for you: Is there a secret to dropping a puck? Do you throw it up in the air?'" Larry Jones, a neighbour of Williams, recalls the colonel asking him prior to the game. Jones and his wife dragged out hockey sticks to give Williams an impromptu lesson.
Jones has lived on Cosy Cove Lane for 43 years and remembers when Williams and his wife bought their cottage in August 2004. Williams was a city slicker who didn't always understand rural life, says Jones.
He recalled one windy day when Williams backed his fishing boat down the launch into the water. He didn't tie it down properly and the boat drifted into muddy weeds.
On Sept. 30 another woman on Cosy Cove Lane was awoken in the middle of the night, blindfolded, and sexually assaulted. The single mother couldn't recognize her attacker – his voice was muffled.
By this time, the first woman who was attacked on nearby Charles Rd. had moved away.
No one suspected the colonel. Here was a man who, when mowing the lawn, watched for frogs, dragging his feet through the grass to avoid hurting the amphibians.
On Nov. 25, Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a Trenton-based military flight attendant, was found dead in her Brighton, Ont., home. Police called it an isolated incident.
John Williams, the mayor of Quinte West, which includes the Trenton base, met with Williams almost every week. Sometime after Comeau's death he recalls asking Williams about the investigation.
It was a casual question, and it got a casual answer.
"`Yeah, they're going through their investigation,'" the mayor says Williams replied.
"I wasn't looking for any feedback there at all other than to say that they were investigating and that's basically what he told me," he said. "It's sort of a weird conversation when you think about it now."
Life at CFB Trenton was busy for Williams in December and January. He welcomed the Olympic torch and then took Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Gen. Walter Natynczyk around the base.
On Jan. 28, Jessica Lloyd went missing and police launched a massive search. CFB Trenton sent a helicopter to help with efforts to find her. While the helicopter wouldn't find anything, the police would. On Thursday, Feb. 4, one week after Lloyd went missing, the Ontario Provincial Police put up a roadblock on Hwy. 37, which connects Belleville with Tweed, not far from her red brick bungalow.
From 7 p.m. that evening until 6 a.m. Friday, officers stopped every vehicle travelling in either direction and asked questions.
They were looking to match unusual tire treads found outside Lloyd's house.
Williams, behind the wheel of his Pathfinder – not the BMW he usually drove – was reportedly stopped. An officer noticed his tire treads resembled the ones left at Lloyd's home.
Investigators won't say what happened next, but by Sunday Williams agreed to sit down for a chat with a behavioural sciences expert from the provincial police. Some reports say he confessed to dozens of lingerie break-ins, but police will not confirm. He was arrested later that day and, on Monday, Feb. 8, officers found Lloyd's body on a dirt road near Tweed.
Williams was charged with the two murders and two sexual assaults. He has made one court appearance and will appear in court again via video-link on Feb. 18.
With files from Noor Javed and the Star's wire services
Col. Williams retains top lawyer to fight charges
Published On Wed Feb 17 2010
The Canadian military commander charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women near the eastern Ontario military base he oversaw has retained a top defence lawyer from Ottawa.
Michael Edelson will take on Col. Russell Williams’ case, but will send an agent to a scheduled video appearance in a Belleville, Ont., court Thursday.
Williams, 46, is being held without bail in the Quinte Detention Centre in nearby Napanee. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd.
The charges have rocked the Canadian military to its core and have left the communities in which the alleged crimes occurred badly shaken.
Edelson has a number of other high-profile clients, including Nova Scotia Bishop Raymond Lahey, who is charged with possessing and importing child pornography. He also represented Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien, who was found not guilty last August of influence-peddling.
Edelson has represented over 55 clients charged with murder in his 29-year career, according to his website.
Williams, of Tweed, Ont., served as commander of Canada’s largest military airfield, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, until his arrest Feb. 7 in Ottawa.
Comeau, 37, was found dead in her home in Brighton, Ont., last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s, ferrying the Governor General, the prime minister and other dignitaries on domestic and overseas trips.
Lloyd’s body was found in Tweed two weeks after the 27 year old failed to show up at her job in Napanee.
Besides two first-degree murder charges, Williams faces two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault relating to the attacks in Tweed last September.
Police have said they don’t expect to release the cause of death of either Lloyd or Comeau.
According to a search warrant issued before Williams emerged as the primary suspect in the cases, detectives entered the home of a prior suspect looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices.
The warrant was related to the attacks on the two women who were bound and sexually assaulted in their homes last September. Both women lived within walking distance of the Williams cottage.
The Canadian military commander charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women near the eastern Ontario military base he oversaw has retained a top defence lawyer from Ottawa.
Michael Edelson will take on Col. Russell Williams’ case, but will send an agent to a scheduled video appearance in a Belleville, Ont., court Thursday.
Williams, 46, is being held without bail in the Quinte Detention Centre in nearby Napanee. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd.
The charges have rocked the Canadian military to its core and have left the communities in which the alleged crimes occurred badly shaken.
Edelson has a number of other high-profile clients, including Nova Scotia Bishop Raymond Lahey, who is charged with possessing and importing child pornography. He also represented Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien, who was found not guilty last August of influence-peddling.
Edelson has represented over 55 clients charged with murder in his 29-year career, according to his website.
Williams, of Tweed, Ont., served as commander of Canada’s largest military airfield, Canadian Forces Base Trenton, until his arrest Feb. 7 in Ottawa.
Comeau, 37, was found dead in her home in Brighton, Ont., last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s, ferrying the Governor General, the prime minister and other dignitaries on domestic and overseas trips.
Lloyd’s body was found in Tweed two weeks after the 27 year old failed to show up at her job in Napanee.
Besides two first-degree murder charges, Williams faces two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault relating to the attacks in Tweed last September.
Police have said they don’t expect to release the cause of death of either Lloyd or Comeau.
According to a search warrant issued before Williams emerged as the primary suspect in the cases, detectives entered the home of a prior suspect looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices.
The warrant was related to the attacks on the two women who were bound and sexually assaulted in their homes last September. Both women lived within walking distance of the Williams cottage.
Colonel's murder charges fuel rumours on cosy country lane
It was a quiet, dead-end dirt road in the country. Then the military man next door was charged with rape and murder. Now, the 21 houses on the lane and the nearby village are bubbling with rumours and gossip. Some of them may even be true
Published On Sun Feb 28 2010
Jim Rankin
Sandro Contenta
TWEED–Police tape no longer surrounds the blue-grey cottage at 62 Cosy Cove Lane. Gone, too, are the media satellite trucks and idling Ontario Provincial Police SUVs, its officers coming and going with tools, bags and boxes of potential evidence.
But an alleged serial rapist and killer – the colonel who lived at No. 62 – has left a mark, fuelling rumours and suspicions. In a rural lane where doors were left unlocked, keys are now required.
"I don't think anything (bad) ever happened before this," says Ernestine Cole, who is in her 80s and has lived on the dirt road for two decades with her husband Frank. "We used to call it Geritol Lane because it was full of old people."
Now, she has a new name for Cosy Cove: "Danger Bay."
Life began changing in September when, in the space of two weeks, two women were blindfolded, tied up, photographed and sexually assaulted, one on Cosy Cove and one in a nearby home, reached by a path from the end of the lane.
Suspicion fell on the affable "mayor" of the lane, Larry Jones, when his home was raided by Ontario Provincial Police last October. Police searched for lingerie stolen by the rapist from his victims. Jones pleaded his innocence, but word spread quickly though the close-knit community, and many drew their own conclusions.
Seemingly unconnected crimes followed. A soldier was murdered in her home in Brighton, about 80 kilometres south of Cosy Cove. Then another young woman who lived alone, 35 kilometres south on Highway 37, disappeared.
Three weeks ago, attention turned to the one-storey blue-grey home of Colonel Russell Williams, the soft-spoken base commander of CFB Trenton. A decorated pilot who once flew around VIPs, including a prime minister, he was charged with two rapes and two murders.
"There was not a clue," says Lt.-Col. John Komocki, who has worked and golfed with Williams for the past decade. "There wasn't anything like some facial tic that made you wonder, mmm. No, the guy was a professional."
Komocki is commanding officer of 437 Squadron at Trenton, which flies troops and VIPs on Airbuses. Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, who was found dead inside her Brighton home Nov. 25, worked as a flight attendant in his squadron.
The Star has learned that Comeau and Williams flew together on a job to Germany last fall.
Such connections have many in this community looking to make more links. Among them, the Jan. 23 disappearance of Deborah-Ann Rashotte, 27, of Belleville. She left her home without her wallet and phone. Police and relatives say she often roams and believe her disappearance is unrelated to Williams, but in recent days police have ramped up searches near Tweed, where she has relatives.
Jones, 65, recalls Williams being curious about the location of his hunting camp. Police found the body of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd near the camp, on Cary Rd., reportedly with the help of Williams.
"Everybody thought it was me," says a relieved Jones.
Two weeks ago, Williams appeared in a Belleville court through a video link from a detention centre. He looked a broken man.
"His job and his wife were everything to him," says Williams' neighbour and friend, Monique Murdoch. "That's what nags me – why? I have to look at this house every day and it kills me because I don't understand how anybody could just throw it all away."
TO UNDERSTAND the life residents hope one day returns, look no further than the hand-painted wood sign at the lane's entrance: "Cozy Cove." It was the handiwork of a now-deceased resident. No one is bothered enough by the spelling error to change it.
The lane hugs one side of a heart-shaped inlet on the northern end of Stoco Lake, named after a Mississauga chief who killed a Mohawk rival and drove away his band. It's lined at points by soaring pines.
Little visible evidence remains of the events that wrenched the residents of this dead-end road out of their idyllic reverie. The ice fishing is good and locals play shinny on a cleared section of the lake.
There are 21 houses – a few traditional cottages, most converted into year-round homes. Several are inhabited by retirees, Larry Jones among them. The other residents are a mixture of local and former city people who commute to work. Williams' daily trip to CFB Trenton took an hour each way.
In the winter, fishing huts and pickup trucks dot the bay. Kids on ATVs do doughnuts. Come summer, it's mainly about the fishing. "Pickerel, pike, muskie, bass, sunfish, crappies, mudcats, suckers – everything," says Jones.
After retiring from the Ministry of Natural Resources, he became Cosy Cove's handyman. He maintains the private road, can fix a leaky pipe, build a house and tell a city-slicker neighbour – namely Williams – where to get lawnmower blades sharpened.
From late October until the arrest of the colonel, Larry Jones was also, in the minds of many, the area rapist. Police searched his home two days before Halloween.
He also sat down for a series of interrogations, during which he says he gleaned a few clues about who police were looking for: a strong, young, hairless man. Jones, married 43 years, is none of those things.
"I'm as hairy as they come, eh," says Jones, opening his shirt.
"This poor guy was getting blamed for everything," says Cosy Cove neighbour Bill Page. "We knew it was never Larry. He told me he has a lot of friends who think he did it. It'll be a while to get trust back."
From the window of his garage, which is tricked out with a full bar, Jones has a clear view of Williams' home. He would see Williams work his remote-controlled camera to photograph birds. He would see Williams stomp on the grass before mowing the lawn to chase out frogs and spare them a horrible fate. And he would see Williams stroll around with his cat, Rosebud, over his shoulder, stroking it "just like it was a baby."
Williams was born in England in 1963. His parents, Nonie and David Williams, soon moved to Canada, where his father, a metallurgist, took a job at Canada's nuclear research lab in Chalk River. The couple had another son, Harvey, but their marriage didn't last.
Williams' mother married Jerry Sovka, a nuclear scientist, in the 1970s. In the late '70s, Sovka's work took the family to South Korea. Williams began high school at Birchmount Collegiate, but finished at Upper Canada College.
A fellow boarder at the college remembers Williams being locked in his room by other students as a prank. The boarder, who asked not to be identified, says Williams got out by tying together bed sheets and climbing out the window.
In the military, one of his first postings, in the early 1990s, was as a rookie flight instructor at the Canadian Forces flying school at Portage la Prairie, Man. There, he married Mary Elizabeth Harriman.
In 2001, Williams' mother and stepfather reportedly divorced. His brother, a Bowmanville doctor, told the National Post that the second divorce caused a deep rift between Williams and him and their mother, which they recently made efforts to repair.
Jones saw Williams' birth father last summer, out in the yard on Cosy Cove pruning a bush with kitchen scissors. Jones offered David Williams an electric trimmer.
Contacted by The Star, the father, who lives in the southern United States, declined to comment. "Please respect my privacy," David Williams wrote in a brief email. Then came a similarly worded email from Williams' mother, Toronto physiotherapist Nonie Sovka, which ended with: "Please respect my need for privacy at this terrible time."
Neither has spoken publicly since their son's arrest.
Harriman and Williams bought the Cosy Cove cottage in 2004 for $178,000. In December, they paid $694,000 for a townhouse on Edison Ave. in Ottawa.
Williams spent most of the year at the cottage. Harriman, executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, lived and worked in Ottawa. They would see each other on the weekends. But Murdoch says the cottage became a permanent residence last fall, while they waited for their new Ottawa home to be finished.
"They would walk by and they were always walking hand in hand," said Monique Murdoch, 47, who lives on the other side of 62 Cosy Cove from Jones. "I really think he really loved his wife."
Of the residents of Cosy Cove Lane, Murdoch perhaps knew the couple best. They played cards together, and her husband would sometimes ice fish with Williams.
"We actually taught him how to play cribbage, and he caught on pretty quickly. And he liked ... water skiing – he kind of enjoyed that too," says Murdoch. "He was never cocky or aloof or a loner – I can tell you that much."
The arrest has been hard on her son, a guitar player who bonded with Williams over a mutual love for music.
"I think anybody that really knew him are asking that question: `How could this be possible?'"
Murdoch has kept in touch with Harriman by email since the arrest. Harriman is on leave from her job.
"She's an absolutely wonderful person, a very caring and considerate woman," says Ross Fetterly, the air force officer assisting Williams' wife.
Janet Wright was Williams' executive assistant for two years while he was head of 437 Squadron at Trenton, a position he held until 2006. During that stint, he also served six months as commander of Camp Mirage, a secret air force staging base in Dubai. Williams invited Wright to Cosy Cove soon after he'd bought it. "He was very happy. It was just what they were looking for, he'd say."
She says Williams "couldn't have been nicer" as a boss, but she did recall one incident that stuck with her. "One day I went into his office and the phone looked like it had been broken, you know, like when you put the receiver down really hard."
Wright spoke with Williams after the home invasion sexual assaults had turned Cosy Cove upside down. Williams said he didn't know much about the attacks, but mentioned that "Mary Elizabeth is upset about it."
She last spoke with Williams the week before his arrest. Nothing seemed amiss. The news that he'd been charged not only with the attacks but with murder, hit hard. She has received counselling from a psychologist and padre at the base.
IN THE VILLAGE of Tweed, population 1,500, it is hard to find anyone who doesn't know someone who is part of the Cosy Cove drama. Take Michael Devolin, a 55-year-old meat cutter at the Value Mart. His cousin is Jones' wife. Her nephew is with the local OPP. Devolin works with a relative of one of the sexual assault victims.
"Everybody is going on living, but people don't talk more than three minutes before gravitating to this subject. Everyone is just freaked out," Devolin says. "You know what a small town is like. Everyone embellishes the story."
There's talk along the lane that the Williams cottage should one day be razed, as was done with the Port Dalhousie home of killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
"It'll be pretty hard to walk by that house," says Cosy Cove resident Bill Page. "Everybody is thinking about it. Come spring, when everyone gets outside, it'll be a little better."
Coincidentally, the judge who handled the Bernardo trial, Patrick LeSage, was in Tweed in October to sell the family cottage on Stoco Lake. He grew up here. His family ran a car lot and garage, and later a fuel business.
LeSage's cottage is a short stroll from both Cosy Cove Lane and the home where the first woman was attacked, but he'd never heard of Williams before he was charged.
"It just puts a whole community under a pall for a long time," says LeSage, "everybody looking, you know, sort of at everybody else, saying, `Who did this?'"
Police have officially released 62 Cosy Cove Lane to Williams' family. After a fresh carpeting of snow this week, the driveway, which Larry Jones used to offer to plow, remained unshovelled.
There are no signs of life.
Published On Sun Feb 28 2010
Jim Rankin
Sandro Contenta
TWEED–Police tape no longer surrounds the blue-grey cottage at 62 Cosy Cove Lane. Gone, too, are the media satellite trucks and idling Ontario Provincial Police SUVs, its officers coming and going with tools, bags and boxes of potential evidence.
But an alleged serial rapist and killer – the colonel who lived at No. 62 – has left a mark, fuelling rumours and suspicions. In a rural lane where doors were left unlocked, keys are now required.
"I don't think anything (bad) ever happened before this," says Ernestine Cole, who is in her 80s and has lived on the dirt road for two decades with her husband Frank. "We used to call it Geritol Lane because it was full of old people."
Now, she has a new name for Cosy Cove: "Danger Bay."
Life began changing in September when, in the space of two weeks, two women were blindfolded, tied up, photographed and sexually assaulted, one on Cosy Cove and one in a nearby home, reached by a path from the end of the lane.
Suspicion fell on the affable "mayor" of the lane, Larry Jones, when his home was raided by Ontario Provincial Police last October. Police searched for lingerie stolen by the rapist from his victims. Jones pleaded his innocence, but word spread quickly though the close-knit community, and many drew their own conclusions.
Seemingly unconnected crimes followed. A soldier was murdered in her home in Brighton, about 80 kilometres south of Cosy Cove. Then another young woman who lived alone, 35 kilometres south on Highway 37, disappeared.
Three weeks ago, attention turned to the one-storey blue-grey home of Colonel Russell Williams, the soft-spoken base commander of CFB Trenton. A decorated pilot who once flew around VIPs, including a prime minister, he was charged with two rapes and two murders.
"There was not a clue," says Lt.-Col. John Komocki, who has worked and golfed with Williams for the past decade. "There wasn't anything like some facial tic that made you wonder, mmm. No, the guy was a professional."
Komocki is commanding officer of 437 Squadron at Trenton, which flies troops and VIPs on Airbuses. Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, who was found dead inside her Brighton home Nov. 25, worked as a flight attendant in his squadron.
The Star has learned that Comeau and Williams flew together on a job to Germany last fall.
Such connections have many in this community looking to make more links. Among them, the Jan. 23 disappearance of Deborah-Ann Rashotte, 27, of Belleville. She left her home without her wallet and phone. Police and relatives say she often roams and believe her disappearance is unrelated to Williams, but in recent days police have ramped up searches near Tweed, where she has relatives.
Jones, 65, recalls Williams being curious about the location of his hunting camp. Police found the body of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd near the camp, on Cary Rd., reportedly with the help of Williams.
"Everybody thought it was me," says a relieved Jones.
Two weeks ago, Williams appeared in a Belleville court through a video link from a detention centre. He looked a broken man.
"His job and his wife were everything to him," says Williams' neighbour and friend, Monique Murdoch. "That's what nags me – why? I have to look at this house every day and it kills me because I don't understand how anybody could just throw it all away."
TO UNDERSTAND the life residents hope one day returns, look no further than the hand-painted wood sign at the lane's entrance: "Cozy Cove." It was the handiwork of a now-deceased resident. No one is bothered enough by the spelling error to change it.
The lane hugs one side of a heart-shaped inlet on the northern end of Stoco Lake, named after a Mississauga chief who killed a Mohawk rival and drove away his band. It's lined at points by soaring pines.
Little visible evidence remains of the events that wrenched the residents of this dead-end road out of their idyllic reverie. The ice fishing is good and locals play shinny on a cleared section of the lake.
There are 21 houses – a few traditional cottages, most converted into year-round homes. Several are inhabited by retirees, Larry Jones among them. The other residents are a mixture of local and former city people who commute to work. Williams' daily trip to CFB Trenton took an hour each way.
In the winter, fishing huts and pickup trucks dot the bay. Kids on ATVs do doughnuts. Come summer, it's mainly about the fishing. "Pickerel, pike, muskie, bass, sunfish, crappies, mudcats, suckers – everything," says Jones.
After retiring from the Ministry of Natural Resources, he became Cosy Cove's handyman. He maintains the private road, can fix a leaky pipe, build a house and tell a city-slicker neighbour – namely Williams – where to get lawnmower blades sharpened.
From late October until the arrest of the colonel, Larry Jones was also, in the minds of many, the area rapist. Police searched his home two days before Halloween.
He also sat down for a series of interrogations, during which he says he gleaned a few clues about who police were looking for: a strong, young, hairless man. Jones, married 43 years, is none of those things.
"I'm as hairy as they come, eh," says Jones, opening his shirt.
"This poor guy was getting blamed for everything," says Cosy Cove neighbour Bill Page. "We knew it was never Larry. He told me he has a lot of friends who think he did it. It'll be a while to get trust back."
From the window of his garage, which is tricked out with a full bar, Jones has a clear view of Williams' home. He would see Williams work his remote-controlled camera to photograph birds. He would see Williams stomp on the grass before mowing the lawn to chase out frogs and spare them a horrible fate. And he would see Williams stroll around with his cat, Rosebud, over his shoulder, stroking it "just like it was a baby."
Williams was born in England in 1963. His parents, Nonie and David Williams, soon moved to Canada, where his father, a metallurgist, took a job at Canada's nuclear research lab in Chalk River. The couple had another son, Harvey, but their marriage didn't last.
Williams' mother married Jerry Sovka, a nuclear scientist, in the 1970s. In the late '70s, Sovka's work took the family to South Korea. Williams began high school at Birchmount Collegiate, but finished at Upper Canada College.
A fellow boarder at the college remembers Williams being locked in his room by other students as a prank. The boarder, who asked not to be identified, says Williams got out by tying together bed sheets and climbing out the window.
In the military, one of his first postings, in the early 1990s, was as a rookie flight instructor at the Canadian Forces flying school at Portage la Prairie, Man. There, he married Mary Elizabeth Harriman.
In 2001, Williams' mother and stepfather reportedly divorced. His brother, a Bowmanville doctor, told the National Post that the second divorce caused a deep rift between Williams and him and their mother, which they recently made efforts to repair.
Jones saw Williams' birth father last summer, out in the yard on Cosy Cove pruning a bush with kitchen scissors. Jones offered David Williams an electric trimmer.
Contacted by The Star, the father, who lives in the southern United States, declined to comment. "Please respect my privacy," David Williams wrote in a brief email. Then came a similarly worded email from Williams' mother, Toronto physiotherapist Nonie Sovka, which ended with: "Please respect my need for privacy at this terrible time."
Neither has spoken publicly since their son's arrest.
Harriman and Williams bought the Cosy Cove cottage in 2004 for $178,000. In December, they paid $694,000 for a townhouse on Edison Ave. in Ottawa.
Williams spent most of the year at the cottage. Harriman, executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, lived and worked in Ottawa. They would see each other on the weekends. But Murdoch says the cottage became a permanent residence last fall, while they waited for their new Ottawa home to be finished.
"They would walk by and they were always walking hand in hand," said Monique Murdoch, 47, who lives on the other side of 62 Cosy Cove from Jones. "I really think he really loved his wife."
Of the residents of Cosy Cove Lane, Murdoch perhaps knew the couple best. They played cards together, and her husband would sometimes ice fish with Williams.
"We actually taught him how to play cribbage, and he caught on pretty quickly. And he liked ... water skiing – he kind of enjoyed that too," says Murdoch. "He was never cocky or aloof or a loner – I can tell you that much."
The arrest has been hard on her son, a guitar player who bonded with Williams over a mutual love for music.
"I think anybody that really knew him are asking that question: `How could this be possible?'"
Murdoch has kept in touch with Harriman by email since the arrest. Harriman is on leave from her job.
"She's an absolutely wonderful person, a very caring and considerate woman," says Ross Fetterly, the air force officer assisting Williams' wife.
Janet Wright was Williams' executive assistant for two years while he was head of 437 Squadron at Trenton, a position he held until 2006. During that stint, he also served six months as commander of Camp Mirage, a secret air force staging base in Dubai. Williams invited Wright to Cosy Cove soon after he'd bought it. "He was very happy. It was just what they were looking for, he'd say."
She says Williams "couldn't have been nicer" as a boss, but she did recall one incident that stuck with her. "One day I went into his office and the phone looked like it had been broken, you know, like when you put the receiver down really hard."
Wright spoke with Williams after the home invasion sexual assaults had turned Cosy Cove upside down. Williams said he didn't know much about the attacks, but mentioned that "Mary Elizabeth is upset about it."
She last spoke with Williams the week before his arrest. Nothing seemed amiss. The news that he'd been charged not only with the attacks but with murder, hit hard. She has received counselling from a psychologist and padre at the base.
IN THE VILLAGE of Tweed, population 1,500, it is hard to find anyone who doesn't know someone who is part of the Cosy Cove drama. Take Michael Devolin, a 55-year-old meat cutter at the Value Mart. His cousin is Jones' wife. Her nephew is with the local OPP. Devolin works with a relative of one of the sexual assault victims.
"Everybody is going on living, but people don't talk more than three minutes before gravitating to this subject. Everyone is just freaked out," Devolin says. "You know what a small town is like. Everyone embellishes the story."
There's talk along the lane that the Williams cottage should one day be razed, as was done with the Port Dalhousie home of killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.
"It'll be pretty hard to walk by that house," says Cosy Cove resident Bill Page. "Everybody is thinking about it. Come spring, when everyone gets outside, it'll be a little better."
Coincidentally, the judge who handled the Bernardo trial, Patrick LeSage, was in Tweed in October to sell the family cottage on Stoco Lake. He grew up here. His family ran a car lot and garage, and later a fuel business.
LeSage's cottage is a short stroll from both Cosy Cove Lane and the home where the first woman was attacked, but he'd never heard of Williams before he was charged.
"It just puts a whole community under a pall for a long time," says LeSage, "everybody looking, you know, sort of at everybody else, saying, `Who did this?'"
Police have officially released 62 Cosy Cove Lane to Williams' family. After a fresh carpeting of snow this week, the driveway, which Larry Jones used to offer to plow, remained unshovelled.
There are no signs of life.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Events leading to Col. Russell Williams arrest
Published On Tue Feb 09 2010
Jesse McLean
Sept. 17 and 30, 2009: Police investigate two home invasions in Tweed where women were tied to a chair and photographed. The suspect entered the houses while the residents slept.
Nov. 15, 2009: Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a flight attendant with CFB Trenton's 437 transport squadron, is found slain in her Brighton, Ont., home. Her boyfriend discovers her body after she misses work.
Jan. 28: The last time anyone hears from Jessica Lloyd, 27. She is reported missing after she doesn't show up for her job in Napanee.
Feb. 4: While doing a roadside canvass on Highway 37, investigators get some information that leads them to Col. Russell Williams' home in Tweed.
Feb. 7: Ontario Provincial Police and Belleville Police arrest Williams, 46, a commander at CFB Trenton. He is charged with the first-degree murders of Lloyd and Comeau. He also faces two counts of forcible confinement and two counts each of break and enter and sexual assault.
Feb. 8: Investigators find Lloyd's body off Cary Rd. in Tweed.
Jesse McLean
Sept. 17 and 30, 2009: Police investigate two home invasions in Tweed where women were tied to a chair and photographed. The suspect entered the houses while the residents slept.
Nov. 15, 2009: Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a flight attendant with CFB Trenton's 437 transport squadron, is found slain in her Brighton, Ont., home. Her boyfriend discovers her body after she misses work.
Jan. 28: The last time anyone hears from Jessica Lloyd, 27. She is reported missing after she doesn't show up for her job in Napanee.
Feb. 4: While doing a roadside canvass on Highway 37, investigators get some information that leads them to Col. Russell Williams' home in Tweed.
Feb. 7: Ontario Provincial Police and Belleville Police arrest Williams, 46, a commander at CFB Trenton. He is charged with the first-degree murders of Lloyd and Comeau. He also faces two counts of forcible confinement and two counts each of break and enter and sexual assault.
Feb. 8: Investigators find Lloyd's body off Cary Rd. in Tweed.
Is Trenton commander a “Macho Man” killer?
Criminal profilers share their thoughts on Col. Russell Williams
Published On Tue Feb 09 2010
DANIEL DALE STAFF REPORTER
A serial killer and serial sex offender need not be obviously abnormal. He need not be a loser in life. And, indeed, he may sometimes wear a uniform.
Col. Russell Williams, charged with two murders and two sexual assaults, is innocent until proven guilty. If he is guilty, he is not entirely unique – though, according to criminal profiler Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, he would appear to be the rarest type of serial offender: a “Macho Man.”
Schurman-Kauflin identified the Macho Man category in a 2005 book after interviewing 25 serial killers. Macho Man killers, she said in an email Tuesday, tend to be articulate men with significant others who “do well in the workplace,” “are drawn to law enforcement or military,” display an obsessive-compulsive need for things to be “done a very specific way,” “prefer to dress in uniform,” and “stand up very straight, even in personal life.”
Like the rest of us, profiling experts contacted about Williams could only speculate on his psyche. But they offered insights, gleaned from knowledge of high-functioning offenders, which may help explain how a top military official could commit heinous crimes – and how a criminal could achieve such prestige in the first place.
Mark Zelig, a forensic psychologist and former Salt Lake City police lieutenant, said many serial offenders are experts in “compartmentalization” who are able to separate their secret deviant behaviour from their respectable daily lives. “If they can’t separate it, then their behaviour comes to attention early in life, and they probably never have the opportunity to be coined a serial offender,” he said.
Schurman-Kauflin said it would not be surprising if a serial offender fooled military brass into believing he was a good man. “A serial offender who is very organized can hide his dark side,” she said. “In fact, he will go out of his way to cultivate relationships with others so that he is viewed in a positive light. Doing so is another way he is expressing his power. He can fool the top guys, and he enjoys doing that.”
Schurman-Kauflin, Zelig and Pat Brown, a profiler and U.S. television commentator, said Williams could have been drawn to the military by some of the same traits that made him an alleged offender.
Brown noted that a job as a military officer allows for “a level of extreme power and control,” the goal of many sex offenders. Zelig said many serial offenders possess low levels of anxiety; if this were true of Williams, it could partially explain his success as a military pilot. And Schurman-Kauflin said an offender may deliberately seek to attain an elite job because such a position would “help him in many ways,” such as minimizing the possibility he would be suspected of an offence.
“Everything a serial offender does,” she said, “is to further his compulsion to fulfill his deviant desires.”
Like the other profilers, Mark Safarik, a consultant who formerly worked for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, said it is likely the offender in the latest crimes has been active for far longer. Typically, he said, an offender progresses from relatively minor transgressions like prowling or peeping to “fantasy fulfilment,” perhaps with willing partners; when “that isn’t enough of a thrill,” Safarik said, “he crosses over into non-compliant victims.”
“People don’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I’m going to abduct someone and murder them,’” he said. “I’m sure there’s a history.”
With files from Cathal Kelly
Published On Tue Feb 09 2010
DANIEL DALE STAFF REPORTER
A serial killer and serial sex offender need not be obviously abnormal. He need not be a loser in life. And, indeed, he may sometimes wear a uniform.
Col. Russell Williams, charged with two murders and two sexual assaults, is innocent until proven guilty. If he is guilty, he is not entirely unique – though, according to criminal profiler Deborah Schurman-Kauflin, he would appear to be the rarest type of serial offender: a “Macho Man.”
Schurman-Kauflin identified the Macho Man category in a 2005 book after interviewing 25 serial killers. Macho Man killers, she said in an email Tuesday, tend to be articulate men with significant others who “do well in the workplace,” “are drawn to law enforcement or military,” display an obsessive-compulsive need for things to be “done a very specific way,” “prefer to dress in uniform,” and “stand up very straight, even in personal life.”
Like the rest of us, profiling experts contacted about Williams could only speculate on his psyche. But they offered insights, gleaned from knowledge of high-functioning offenders, which may help explain how a top military official could commit heinous crimes – and how a criminal could achieve such prestige in the first place.
Mark Zelig, a forensic psychologist and former Salt Lake City police lieutenant, said many serial offenders are experts in “compartmentalization” who are able to separate their secret deviant behaviour from their respectable daily lives. “If they can’t separate it, then their behaviour comes to attention early in life, and they probably never have the opportunity to be coined a serial offender,” he said.
Schurman-Kauflin said it would not be surprising if a serial offender fooled military brass into believing he was a good man. “A serial offender who is very organized can hide his dark side,” she said. “In fact, he will go out of his way to cultivate relationships with others so that he is viewed in a positive light. Doing so is another way he is expressing his power. He can fool the top guys, and he enjoys doing that.”
Schurman-Kauflin, Zelig and Pat Brown, a profiler and U.S. television commentator, said Williams could have been drawn to the military by some of the same traits that made him an alleged offender.
Brown noted that a job as a military officer allows for “a level of extreme power and control,” the goal of many sex offenders. Zelig said many serial offenders possess low levels of anxiety; if this were true of Williams, it could partially explain his success as a military pilot. And Schurman-Kauflin said an offender may deliberately seek to attain an elite job because such a position would “help him in many ways,” such as minimizing the possibility he would be suspected of an offence.
“Everything a serial offender does,” she said, “is to further his compulsion to fulfill his deviant desires.”
Like the other profilers, Mark Safarik, a consultant who formerly worked for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, said it is likely the offender in the latest crimes has been active for far longer. Typically, he said, an offender progresses from relatively minor transgressions like prowling or peeping to “fantasy fulfilment,” perhaps with willing partners; when “that isn’t enough of a thrill,” Safarik said, “he crosses over into non-compliant victims.”
“People don’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I’m going to abduct someone and murder them,’” he said. “I’m sure there’s a history.”
With files from Cathal Kelly
Police revisit unsolved murders after Trenton commander’s arrest
Published On Tue Feb 09 2010
Jennifer Yang and Raveena Aulakh Staff Reporters
Women’s underwear, computers and digital photography are all bread crumbs in the investigation that sources say culminated in murder charges against one of the country’s top military superstars.
Many unanswered questions remain in the arrest of Col. Russell Williams, a high-ranking career officer who has been charged with the deaths of two women and the sexual assaults of two others. His charges have also cracked open a Pandora’s box of unsolved murders, with police forces across the country revisiting cold cases involving young women in the areas where Williams has been previously stationed.
Ontario Provincial Police say several connecting factors ultimately led them to Williams but are refusing to divulge any specifics, only citing geography as one of the common elements. But according to Larry Jones, the man who was initially suspected in Williams’ alleged home invasions and sexual assaults, police were looking for very specific items in the early days of their investigation.
Jones, who lives next door to Williams on Cosy Cove Lane in Tweed, said that back when police were investigating him, they searched his home and produced a search warrant for La Senza bras, Jessica brand panties, computers, laptops, and digital photography. Other reports say police were also looking for baby blankets and zip ties.
“They took the (computer) with my pictures on it,” Jones said, adding that police were looking for photographs that the sexual assault victims said were taken of them. Newspaper reports of the incidents have said that the women were struck, tied to chairs and photographed by their assailant.
Little progress was made on the home invasions but they landed back on investigators’ radar screens shortly after Jessica Lloyd disappeared. The 27-year-old was last heard from on Jan. 28, when she sent a text message to a friend.
Belleville police immediately asked for help from the Ontario Provincial Police, who began connecting Lloyd’s disappearance to the sexual assaults, as well as the murder of 37-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, found dead in her Brighton home in November.
Lloyd’s body was discovered Monday, found off Cary Rd., a winding, dark and secluded stretch located about 13 minutes away from Cosy Cove Lane.
When asked whether Williams is alleged to have stolen underwear, OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae declined to comment.
“Anything evidentiary, I can’t comment on,” she said.
Rae also wouldn’t comment on reports that police traced Lloyd’s disappearance to Williams by using distinctive tire tracks left in snow near the woman’s home off Highway 37. Reports have said that investigators linked the tire tracks to a specific vehicle and that Williams was stopped by police on Feb. 4 during an extensive canvassing of motorists driving along that highway.
Williams was arrested on Sunday in Ottawa, where he also shares a home with his wife Mary Elizabeth Harriman, an associate executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. On Tuesday, police were seen carrying bags from the couple’s home.
The colonel appeared shackled at the ankles in a Belleville court on Monday, and is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 18 via video link.
The OPP say their investigation is still “very much ongoing” and they have also been fielding numerous calls from other police departments. Hours after the announcement of Williams’ arrest, police services across the country were reopening cases of unsolved homicides involving young women; the colonel, who took over command of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton in July, has enjoyed an illustrious military career that has taken him across the country and even overseas.
At last count, at least four cold cases in Nova Scotia and Ontario were under scrutiny for connection to Williams.
Halifax Regional Police contacted Ontario Provincial Police investigators regarding murders of three young women after they were inundated with calls from people wondering if there was a correlation.
Williams, a career military man, had been posted to the Shearwater base near Halifax, N.S., from 1992 to 1994, according to his biography posted on the Department of National Defence website until Tuesday afternoon. During that same time frame, Andrea King, 18, Shelley Connors, 17, and Kimber Leanne Lucas, 24, were murdered.
“We’ve had some preliminary discussions with them (OPP investigators) but so far they haven’t been able to provide any information that would impact any of our files here,” said Const. Brian Palmeter in Halifax. “But it’s very early on in that investigation.”
There are cases of missing women in that same time period as well but Palmeter said they are not considering those right now. “Homicide files always remain open,” he said, suggesting there is more information in those cases to go on.
He didn’t say if cases of sexual assault will also be investigated again.
Investigators will also look into the unsolved 2001 murder of 19-year-old Kathleen MacVicar in Trenton as they explore links with Williams.
The teen from Nova Scotia was found in Middleton Park, a housing development inside CFB Trenton. MacVicar had been staying with family at the military base when she disappeared June 13, 2001. Her body was found two days later in a corner of the base; she had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death.
MacVicar’s mother said she first heard about Williams’ arrest Monday afternoon, and her first thought was “it could be related to Kathleen.” Within hours, OPP had called her.
“I’m glad they are looking at it again,” Colleen MacVicar, Kathleen’s mother, told the Star on Tuesday afternoon from her home in Glace Bay, N.S. She said OPP told her they would be looking “everywhere this person had been and other crimes that have gone unsolved to see if there are any similarities.”
They told her they would also be looking at Kathleen’s case but MacVicar said she isn’t getting her hopes up. She has been disappointed before.
“It would be nice if it was solved, but I’m just waiting here,” she said. “It would give us something to focus on, somebody to blame.”
Williams’ first posting was at Portage la Prairie in 1990, about 85 kilometres from Winnipeg; Glenda Morrisseau, 19, went missing on July 17, 1991. Her battered body was found about three weeks later.
Winnipeg police said Tuesday in an email that they were “aware of the arrest of the Air Force Officer. Investigators will continue to review information as it unfolds.”
Military officials are shocked by the allegations against Williams, and his superiors describe him as a “calm” and “hard-working” member of the Canadian Forces. His arrest has shaken the military community to the core and in light of the charges, Williams has been removed from his commanding post in Trenton. Lieutenant Colonel David Murphy has been currently appointed acting commander, according to the Northumberland News.
Williams’ has performed several high-profile duties throughout his career, piloting planes that have squired the prime minister and governor general around the world and once working out of the secretive Camp Mirage, a logistics based in the Arabian Gulf. Williams also recently oversaw Canadian aid efforts to Haiti.
The small community of Tweed, where both Williams and three of his alleged victims lived, is also reeling from the trauma that has visited their town. On Tuesday, police were visibly present around the area, guarding each exit along Cary Rd. as well as Williams’ residence, which has been cordoned off with yellow tape.
Many residents feel a mixture of sorrow and relief that the investigation has led to an arrest. This past fall, the home invasions caused people to point angry fingers, said Lawrence Ramsay, owner of Tweedsmuir Bar and Grill.
Ramsay said he knew Lloyd as a customer at the Tweedsmuir — pretty and pleasant, she was part of a group who came in on weekends. He last saw her around Christmas but has never seen Williams in the bar.
“How he got tangled up with her, I don't know,” Ramsay said.
Ramsay also said that the boyfriend of one of the sexual assault victims is also an occasional customer at the bar. He said the young couple in their 20s had just moved into the area shortly before the assault. He added they had recently had a baby and have since moved out of the home.
Another woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted lives just doors down from Williams, in a one-story home decorated by lamps and lights in the window. A “Do not trespass” sign has also been placed in the snow bank.
The single mother declined to be interviewed on Tuesday, but previously relayed her terrifying ordeal to the Toronto Sun, stating that her attacker snuck into her room as she was sleeping. He reportedly blindfolded her and tied her hands behind her back before cutting her clothes off with a knife and assaulting her.
She said he took photographs of her before leaving her home just before dawn.
With files from Katie Daubs, Jesse McLean and the Canadian Press
Cold cases revisited?
Here are five cold cases involving women murdered in Winnipeg, Trenton and Halifax that could be reopened after the Williams arrest:
Glenda Morrisseau, 19, a high school student in Winnipeg, disappeared on July 17, 1991. Her battered body was found three weeks later on Aug. 7.
Andrea King, 18, of British Columbia was last heard from on Jan. 1, 1992, when she called home from the Halifax airport. She had just landed in the city and planned to look for work and check out universities. Her remains were found on Dec. 22, 1992.
Shelley Connors, 17, was found dead behind a rink in Halifax on June 1, 1993. She left her family home on May 29 after receiving a phone call from a man.
Kimber Leanne Lucas, 24, was seven months pregnant when she was strangled in Halifax on Nov. 23, 1994. Halifax police say she was known to be a heavy-drug user.
Kathleen MacVicar, 19, disappeared on June 13, 2001 from CFB Trenton. Her body was found two days later in a wooded corner on the base.
Raveena Aulakh
Jennifer Yang and Raveena Aulakh Staff Reporters
Women’s underwear, computers and digital photography are all bread crumbs in the investigation that sources say culminated in murder charges against one of the country’s top military superstars.
Many unanswered questions remain in the arrest of Col. Russell Williams, a high-ranking career officer who has been charged with the deaths of two women and the sexual assaults of two others. His charges have also cracked open a Pandora’s box of unsolved murders, with police forces across the country revisiting cold cases involving young women in the areas where Williams has been previously stationed.
Ontario Provincial Police say several connecting factors ultimately led them to Williams but are refusing to divulge any specifics, only citing geography as one of the common elements. But according to Larry Jones, the man who was initially suspected in Williams’ alleged home invasions and sexual assaults, police were looking for very specific items in the early days of their investigation.
Jones, who lives next door to Williams on Cosy Cove Lane in Tweed, said that back when police were investigating him, they searched his home and produced a search warrant for La Senza bras, Jessica brand panties, computers, laptops, and digital photography. Other reports say police were also looking for baby blankets and zip ties.
“They took the (computer) with my pictures on it,” Jones said, adding that police were looking for photographs that the sexual assault victims said were taken of them. Newspaper reports of the incidents have said that the women were struck, tied to chairs and photographed by their assailant.
Little progress was made on the home invasions but they landed back on investigators’ radar screens shortly after Jessica Lloyd disappeared. The 27-year-old was last heard from on Jan. 28, when she sent a text message to a friend.
Belleville police immediately asked for help from the Ontario Provincial Police, who began connecting Lloyd’s disappearance to the sexual assaults, as well as the murder of 37-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, found dead in her Brighton home in November.
Lloyd’s body was discovered Monday, found off Cary Rd., a winding, dark and secluded stretch located about 13 minutes away from Cosy Cove Lane.
When asked whether Williams is alleged to have stolen underwear, OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae declined to comment.
“Anything evidentiary, I can’t comment on,” she said.
Rae also wouldn’t comment on reports that police traced Lloyd’s disappearance to Williams by using distinctive tire tracks left in snow near the woman’s home off Highway 37. Reports have said that investigators linked the tire tracks to a specific vehicle and that Williams was stopped by police on Feb. 4 during an extensive canvassing of motorists driving along that highway.
Williams was arrested on Sunday in Ottawa, where he also shares a home with his wife Mary Elizabeth Harriman, an associate executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. On Tuesday, police were seen carrying bags from the couple’s home.
The colonel appeared shackled at the ankles in a Belleville court on Monday, and is scheduled to appear in court again on Feb. 18 via video link.
The OPP say their investigation is still “very much ongoing” and they have also been fielding numerous calls from other police departments. Hours after the announcement of Williams’ arrest, police services across the country were reopening cases of unsolved homicides involving young women; the colonel, who took over command of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton in July, has enjoyed an illustrious military career that has taken him across the country and even overseas.
At last count, at least four cold cases in Nova Scotia and Ontario were under scrutiny for connection to Williams.
Halifax Regional Police contacted Ontario Provincial Police investigators regarding murders of three young women after they were inundated with calls from people wondering if there was a correlation.
Williams, a career military man, had been posted to the Shearwater base near Halifax, N.S., from 1992 to 1994, according to his biography posted on the Department of National Defence website until Tuesday afternoon. During that same time frame, Andrea King, 18, Shelley Connors, 17, and Kimber Leanne Lucas, 24, were murdered.
“We’ve had some preliminary discussions with them (OPP investigators) but so far they haven’t been able to provide any information that would impact any of our files here,” said Const. Brian Palmeter in Halifax. “But it’s very early on in that investigation.”
There are cases of missing women in that same time period as well but Palmeter said they are not considering those right now. “Homicide files always remain open,” he said, suggesting there is more information in those cases to go on.
He didn’t say if cases of sexual assault will also be investigated again.
Investigators will also look into the unsolved 2001 murder of 19-year-old Kathleen MacVicar in Trenton as they explore links with Williams.
The teen from Nova Scotia was found in Middleton Park, a housing development inside CFB Trenton. MacVicar had been staying with family at the military base when she disappeared June 13, 2001. Her body was found two days later in a corner of the base; she had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death.
MacVicar’s mother said she first heard about Williams’ arrest Monday afternoon, and her first thought was “it could be related to Kathleen.” Within hours, OPP had called her.
“I’m glad they are looking at it again,” Colleen MacVicar, Kathleen’s mother, told the Star on Tuesday afternoon from her home in Glace Bay, N.S. She said OPP told her they would be looking “everywhere this person had been and other crimes that have gone unsolved to see if there are any similarities.”
They told her they would also be looking at Kathleen’s case but MacVicar said she isn’t getting her hopes up. She has been disappointed before.
“It would be nice if it was solved, but I’m just waiting here,” she said. “It would give us something to focus on, somebody to blame.”
Williams’ first posting was at Portage la Prairie in 1990, about 85 kilometres from Winnipeg; Glenda Morrisseau, 19, went missing on July 17, 1991. Her battered body was found about three weeks later.
Winnipeg police said Tuesday in an email that they were “aware of the arrest of the Air Force Officer. Investigators will continue to review information as it unfolds.”
Military officials are shocked by the allegations against Williams, and his superiors describe him as a “calm” and “hard-working” member of the Canadian Forces. His arrest has shaken the military community to the core and in light of the charges, Williams has been removed from his commanding post in Trenton. Lieutenant Colonel David Murphy has been currently appointed acting commander, according to the Northumberland News.
Williams’ has performed several high-profile duties throughout his career, piloting planes that have squired the prime minister and governor general around the world and once working out of the secretive Camp Mirage, a logistics based in the Arabian Gulf. Williams also recently oversaw Canadian aid efforts to Haiti.
The small community of Tweed, where both Williams and three of his alleged victims lived, is also reeling from the trauma that has visited their town. On Tuesday, police were visibly present around the area, guarding each exit along Cary Rd. as well as Williams’ residence, which has been cordoned off with yellow tape.
Many residents feel a mixture of sorrow and relief that the investigation has led to an arrest. This past fall, the home invasions caused people to point angry fingers, said Lawrence Ramsay, owner of Tweedsmuir Bar and Grill.
Ramsay said he knew Lloyd as a customer at the Tweedsmuir — pretty and pleasant, she was part of a group who came in on weekends. He last saw her around Christmas but has never seen Williams in the bar.
“How he got tangled up with her, I don't know,” Ramsay said.
Ramsay also said that the boyfriend of one of the sexual assault victims is also an occasional customer at the bar. He said the young couple in their 20s had just moved into the area shortly before the assault. He added they had recently had a baby and have since moved out of the home.
Another woman who was allegedly sexually assaulted lives just doors down from Williams, in a one-story home decorated by lamps and lights in the window. A “Do not trespass” sign has also been placed in the snow bank.
The single mother declined to be interviewed on Tuesday, but previously relayed her terrifying ordeal to the Toronto Sun, stating that her attacker snuck into her room as she was sleeping. He reportedly blindfolded her and tied her hands behind her back before cutting her clothes off with a knife and assaulting her.
She said he took photographs of her before leaving her home just before dawn.
With files from Katie Daubs, Jesse McLean and the Canadian Press
Cold cases revisited?
Here are five cold cases involving women murdered in Winnipeg, Trenton and Halifax that could be reopened after the Williams arrest:
Glenda Morrisseau, 19, a high school student in Winnipeg, disappeared on July 17, 1991. Her battered body was found three weeks later on Aug. 7.
Andrea King, 18, of British Columbia was last heard from on Jan. 1, 1992, when she called home from the Halifax airport. She had just landed in the city and planned to look for work and check out universities. Her remains were found on Dec. 22, 1992.
Shelley Connors, 17, was found dead behind a rink in Halifax on June 1, 1993. She left her family home on May 29 after receiving a phone call from a man.
Kimber Leanne Lucas, 24, was seven months pregnant when she was strangled in Halifax on Nov. 23, 1994. Halifax police say she was known to be a heavy-drug user.
Kathleen MacVicar, 19, disappeared on June 13, 2001 from CFB Trenton. Her body was found two days later in a wooded corner on the base.
Raveena Aulakh
Experts tell of rare 'Macho Man' killers
Published On Wed Feb 10 2010
A repeat killer in a decorated uniform? If Col. Russell Williams is guilty, he is an unusual specimen. According to an American criminal profiler, however, he is not entirely unique.
After interviewing 25 serial killers, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin identified a rare type of offender she dubbed the "Macho Man" in a 2005 book – the rarest type in fact, she said Tuesday.
Macho Man killers, she said, tend to be articulate men with significant others who "do well in the workplace," "are drawn to law enforcement or military," display an obsessive-compulsive need for things to be "done a very specific way," "prefer to dress in uniform," and "stand up very straight, even in personal life."
Profiling experts contacted about Williams could only speculate on his psyche. But they offered insights gleaned from knowledge of high-functioning offenders, which may help explain how a top military official could commit heinous crimes – and how a criminal could achieve such prestige in the first place.
Mark Zelig, a forensic psychologist and former Salt Lake City police lieutenant, said many serial offenders are experts in "compartmentalization" who are able to separate their secret deviant behaviour from their respectable daily lives. "If they can't separate it, then their behaviour comes to attention early in life, and they probably never have the opportunity to be coined a serial offender," he said.
Schurman-Kauflin said it would not be surprising if a serial offender fooled military brass into believing he was a good man. "A serial offender who is very organized can hide his dark side," she said. "In fact, he will go out of his way to cultivate relationships with others so that he is viewed in a positive light. Doing so is another way he is expressing his power. He can fool the top guys, and he enjoys doing that."
Schurman-Kauflin, Zelig and Pat Brown, a profiler and U.S. television commentator, said Williams could have been drawn to the military by some of the same traits shared by offenders.
Brown noted that a job as a military officer allows for "a level of extreme power and control," the goal of many sex offenders. Zelig said many serial offenders possess low levels of anxiety; if this were true of Williams, it could partially explain his success as a military pilot. And Schurman-Kauflin said an offender may deliberately seek to attain an elite job because it would "help him in many ways," such as minimizing the possibility he would be suspected of an offence.
"Everything a serial offender does is to further his compulsion to fulfil his deviant desires."
Like the other profilers, Mark Safarik, a consultant who formerly worked for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, said it is likely the offender in the latest crimes has been active for far longer.
Typically, he said, an offender progresses from relatively minor transgressions like prowling or peeping to "fantasy fulfilment," perhaps with willing partners. When "that isn't enough of a thrill," Safarik said, "he crosses over into non-compliant victims."
With files from Cathal Kelly
A repeat killer in a decorated uniform? If Col. Russell Williams is guilty, he is an unusual specimen. According to an American criminal profiler, however, he is not entirely unique.
After interviewing 25 serial killers, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin identified a rare type of offender she dubbed the "Macho Man" in a 2005 book – the rarest type in fact, she said Tuesday.
Macho Man killers, she said, tend to be articulate men with significant others who "do well in the workplace," "are drawn to law enforcement or military," display an obsessive-compulsive need for things to be "done a very specific way," "prefer to dress in uniform," and "stand up very straight, even in personal life."
Profiling experts contacted about Williams could only speculate on his psyche. But they offered insights gleaned from knowledge of high-functioning offenders, which may help explain how a top military official could commit heinous crimes – and how a criminal could achieve such prestige in the first place.
Mark Zelig, a forensic psychologist and former Salt Lake City police lieutenant, said many serial offenders are experts in "compartmentalization" who are able to separate their secret deviant behaviour from their respectable daily lives. "If they can't separate it, then their behaviour comes to attention early in life, and they probably never have the opportunity to be coined a serial offender," he said.
Schurman-Kauflin said it would not be surprising if a serial offender fooled military brass into believing he was a good man. "A serial offender who is very organized can hide his dark side," she said. "In fact, he will go out of his way to cultivate relationships with others so that he is viewed in a positive light. Doing so is another way he is expressing his power. He can fool the top guys, and he enjoys doing that."
Schurman-Kauflin, Zelig and Pat Brown, a profiler and U.S. television commentator, said Williams could have been drawn to the military by some of the same traits shared by offenders.
Brown noted that a job as a military officer allows for "a level of extreme power and control," the goal of many sex offenders. Zelig said many serial offenders possess low levels of anxiety; if this were true of Williams, it could partially explain his success as a military pilot. And Schurman-Kauflin said an offender may deliberately seek to attain an elite job because it would "help him in many ways," such as minimizing the possibility he would be suspected of an offence.
"Everything a serial offender does is to further his compulsion to fulfil his deviant desires."
Like the other profilers, Mark Safarik, a consultant who formerly worked for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, said it is likely the offender in the latest crimes has been active for far longer.
Typically, he said, an offender progresses from relatively minor transgressions like prowling or peeping to "fantasy fulfilment," perhaps with willing partners. When "that isn't enough of a thrill," Safarik said, "he crosses over into non-compliant victims."
With files from Cathal Kelly
Police to probe colonel's GTA past
As youth, charged commander of CFB Trenton attended Upper Canada College and U of T
Published On Fri Feb 12 2010
Toronto police say they're ready to cooperate with Ontario Provincial Police investigators probing the past of Col. Russell Williams, the suspended Trenton base commander charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
In his youth, Williams attended Birchmount Park Collegiate in Scarborough as Russell Sovka – his stepfather's name – and was then an Upper Canada College student for several years. He has also studied at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams' brother is a Bowmanville doctor and his mother works at Sunnybrook hospital.
Police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond said any investigation will be long and painstaking.
"We will be working with the Ontario Provincial Police, as required, to go through any unsolved cases in our jurisdiction that may be somehow related," she said Thursday.
"It'll take months before anything can be determined as far as previous cases and how they're linked."
On Thursday, OPP investigators continued to scour the Ottawa home where Williams lived with his wife, Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, associate director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Williams, who was suspended as commander of the sprawling Canadian Forces Base Trenton after he was charged Monday, remains in a Kingston prison, but he is no longer under the suicide watch in place during his first days in custody.
He is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville-area woman who vanished in late January, and of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a steward on the big military planes flying out of Trenton. He also is charged with two counts of sexual assault in connection with two home invasions last September near Tweed, northeast of Trenton.
Before coming to Trenton, Williams, 46, was stationed in Toronto, the Maritimes and Manitoba; he has also served overseas.
But if the memories of past friends and acquaintances are any indication, he did not make much of an impression.
Permell Ashby, who attended Birchmount Park Collegiate from 1976 to 1981 and played flute in the band with Williams – he played trumpet, she recalls – remembers Williams, but that's about all.
"I remember that I would often say hello," said Ashby. "He was in the band and everyone was friendly with each other."
Innes van Nostrand, who attended UCC with Williams in the early 1980s, said he was pretty good at flying under the radar.
He remembers him as "kind of a diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here.
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician," recalled van Nostrand, who is now a vice-principal at the elite boarding school.
On Thursday, The Globe and Mail reported Williams was born in England and grew up in Chalk River, where his stepfather was a nuclear engineer. Because of his expertise, the family travelled widely, including to South Korea.
For a time, The Globe reported, the family lived near the Scarborough Bluffs. When his stepfather and mother left to spend more time in Asia, Williams was enrolled at UCC.
While there, The Globe reported, he was a house prefect, mentoring young students, and reported to a fellow student who held the post of house steward, Andrew Saxton, now a member of Parliament representing North Vancouver.
"I have not seen him for nearly three decades and did not realize he was the same person with whom I went to school until (Thursday) morning," Saxton said.
With files from Carmen Chai, Patty Winsa and The Canadian Press
Published On Fri Feb 12 2010
Toronto police say they're ready to cooperate with Ontario Provincial Police investigators probing the past of Col. Russell Williams, the suspended Trenton base commander charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
In his youth, Williams attended Birchmount Park Collegiate in Scarborough as Russell Sovka – his stepfather's name – and was then an Upper Canada College student for several years. He has also studied at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams' brother is a Bowmanville doctor and his mother works at Sunnybrook hospital.
Police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond said any investigation will be long and painstaking.
"We will be working with the Ontario Provincial Police, as required, to go through any unsolved cases in our jurisdiction that may be somehow related," she said Thursday.
"It'll take months before anything can be determined as far as previous cases and how they're linked."
On Thursday, OPP investigators continued to scour the Ottawa home where Williams lived with his wife, Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, associate director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Williams, who was suspended as commander of the sprawling Canadian Forces Base Trenton after he was charged Monday, remains in a Kingston prison, but he is no longer under the suicide watch in place during his first days in custody.
He is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville-area woman who vanished in late January, and of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a steward on the big military planes flying out of Trenton. He also is charged with two counts of sexual assault in connection with two home invasions last September near Tweed, northeast of Trenton.
Before coming to Trenton, Williams, 46, was stationed in Toronto, the Maritimes and Manitoba; he has also served overseas.
But if the memories of past friends and acquaintances are any indication, he did not make much of an impression.
Permell Ashby, who attended Birchmount Park Collegiate from 1976 to 1981 and played flute in the band with Williams – he played trumpet, she recalls – remembers Williams, but that's about all.
"I remember that I would often say hello," said Ashby. "He was in the band and everyone was friendly with each other."
Innes van Nostrand, who attended UCC with Williams in the early 1980s, said he was pretty good at flying under the radar.
He remembers him as "kind of a diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here.
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician," recalled van Nostrand, who is now a vice-principal at the elite boarding school.
On Thursday, The Globe and Mail reported Williams was born in England and grew up in Chalk River, where his stepfather was a nuclear engineer. Because of his expertise, the family travelled widely, including to South Korea.
For a time, The Globe reported, the family lived near the Scarborough Bluffs. When his stepfather and mother left to spend more time in Asia, Williams was enrolled at UCC.
While there, The Globe reported, he was a house prefect, mentoring young students, and reported to a fellow student who held the post of house steward, Andrew Saxton, now a member of Parliament representing North Vancouver.
"I have not seen him for nearly three decades and did not realize he was the same person with whom I went to school until (Thursday) morning," Saxton said.
With files from Carmen Chai, Patty Winsa and The Canadian Press
Williams, Bernardo were college 'pals'
By The Canadian Press
Fri. Feb 12 - 7:27 AM
TORONTO — Police sources tell the Toronto Sun both Colonel Russell Williams and Paul Bernardo were ``pals'' when they attended the University of Toronto in the 1980s.
They both studied economics at the Military Trail campus in east-end Toronto and graduated together in 1987.
Unidentified police sources tell the newspaper the two ``partied'' together and that their relationship is now under scrutiny by police.
But Bernardo's father, Ken Bernardo, told the Sun his son doesn't recall Williams by that name, or by his stepfather's last name, Sovko.
Williams was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Corporal Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a video court appearance on February 18th.
Bernardo is serving life in prison for the murders of schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
Fri. Feb 12 - 7:27 AM
TORONTO — Police sources tell the Toronto Sun both Colonel Russell Williams and Paul Bernardo were ``pals'' when they attended the University of Toronto in the 1980s.
They both studied economics at the Military Trail campus in east-end Toronto and graduated together in 1987.
Unidentified police sources tell the newspaper the two ``partied'' together and that their relationship is now under scrutiny by police.
But Bernardo's father, Ken Bernardo, told the Sun his son doesn't recall Williams by that name, or by his stepfather's last name, Sovko.
Williams was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Corporal Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a video court appearance on February 18th.
Bernardo is serving life in prison for the murders of schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
Former officer paints a picture of a serial killer
By IAN ROBERTSON, QMI Agency
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 8:58pm
A sexual deviant who binds and takes photos of female victims as souvenirs is “the worst of the worst,” a private investigator and ex-Toronto Police detective says.
Such men often have a “trophy collection,” former Det.-Sgt. Dave Perry said in an interview.
And the veteran of some of the city’s worst sex and homicide cases, now CEO of ISN Investigative Solutions Network Inc., said such offenders usually start young.
While emotional and sexual gratification are key motives, Perry said, attackers rarely take captive photos.
The danger of them escaping detection is what starts teens fantasizing about assaults that can escalate over many years into physical contact, rape and murder, “because what used to work doesn’t any more,” he said.
Behavioural experts say trophies include peeping toms seeking personal items such as panties belonging to women they secretly observe and taking them from washing lines, laundry dryers or homes during break-ins.
Psychological and behavioural profiling of offences and offenders became a valuable tool years ago in helping predict a low-level offender’s likelihood of becoming a serial stalker and for revisiting unsolved cases, Perry said.
“But it’s not an absolute science,” he cautioned. “When you try to figure out a sexual offender, you could go crazy.”
Since the arrest this week of Col. Russell Williams, until recently commander of 8 Wing at CFB Trenton, families of unsolved sex crime victims have had their hopes raised, urging police to revisit those cases.
Similar demands were made after the arrest of Scarborough rapist Paul Bernardo, who was convicted in 1995 of the murders of teens Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French after he moved to St. Catharines.
The OPP has asked police in Toronto, Manitoba and the Maritimes — where Williams has lived — to wait for its behavioural science analysis service team’s profile, which could take several months.
Asking to reopen cold cases now “is a natural reaction,” Perry said.
But, he said, “people have to calm down and relax.
“There are a lot of sex offenders out there, who haven’t been caught, and you only want to use evidence to rule somebody in or out,” Perry said. “To jump to conclusions and pile it all on one man is negligent.”
He praised the OPP team, which helped him in such high-profile cases as the 2003 rape, murder and dismemberment of Holly Jones, 10.
Michael Briere, the only neighbour to refuse a police DNA request, pleaded guilty to her slaying.
Perry said he earlier rewrote the sex crimes unit manual, requiring the force to consult it on non-intercourse cases with warning signs of a possible sex offender.
DNA comparisons are essential, but since the national databank was only created in 2000, older cases are more difficult to match to a suspect.
Canadian police need a warrant or post-conviction order to get a suspect’s DNA.
But Perry said Toronto Police have obtained “cast-off samples” from public places, where an officer has observed and seized a suspect’s discarded cigarette butt, drinking glass or pop container.
Williams, 46, who used the name Sovka at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute and Upper Canada College while living in Scarborough in the late 1970s and 1980s, is charged with murdering two women.
A funeral service will be held Saturday for Jessica Lloyd, 27, whose body was found Monday near Belleville.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, was murdered in November in her Brighton home, west of Trenton.
An avid photographer, Williams is also charged with the forcible confinement of two women in Tweed, a village northeast of Belleville, two break and enters and their sexual assaults.
The OPP said a home invader awakened each survivor, raped and tied them up, then took their photos.
Search warrants police obtained for William’s bungalow in Tweed cited lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices. Ottawa police also searched the trendy Westboro neighbourhood home shared with his wife, Elizabeth Harriman.
In custody at the Quinte Detection Centre in Napanee, east of Belleville, his next court appearance is Thursday in Belleville, via a video link.
ian.robertson@sunmedia.ca
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 8:58pm
A sexual deviant who binds and takes photos of female victims as souvenirs is “the worst of the worst,” a private investigator and ex-Toronto Police detective says.
Such men often have a “trophy collection,” former Det.-Sgt. Dave Perry said in an interview.
And the veteran of some of the city’s worst sex and homicide cases, now CEO of ISN Investigative Solutions Network Inc., said such offenders usually start young.
While emotional and sexual gratification are key motives, Perry said, attackers rarely take captive photos.
The danger of them escaping detection is what starts teens fantasizing about assaults that can escalate over many years into physical contact, rape and murder, “because what used to work doesn’t any more,” he said.
Behavioural experts say trophies include peeping toms seeking personal items such as panties belonging to women they secretly observe and taking them from washing lines, laundry dryers or homes during break-ins.
Psychological and behavioural profiling of offences and offenders became a valuable tool years ago in helping predict a low-level offender’s likelihood of becoming a serial stalker and for revisiting unsolved cases, Perry said.
“But it’s not an absolute science,” he cautioned. “When you try to figure out a sexual offender, you could go crazy.”
Since the arrest this week of Col. Russell Williams, until recently commander of 8 Wing at CFB Trenton, families of unsolved sex crime victims have had their hopes raised, urging police to revisit those cases.
Similar demands were made after the arrest of Scarborough rapist Paul Bernardo, who was convicted in 1995 of the murders of teens Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French after he moved to St. Catharines.
The OPP has asked police in Toronto, Manitoba and the Maritimes — where Williams has lived — to wait for its behavioural science analysis service team’s profile, which could take several months.
Asking to reopen cold cases now “is a natural reaction,” Perry said.
But, he said, “people have to calm down and relax.
“There are a lot of sex offenders out there, who haven’t been caught, and you only want to use evidence to rule somebody in or out,” Perry said. “To jump to conclusions and pile it all on one man is negligent.”
He praised the OPP team, which helped him in such high-profile cases as the 2003 rape, murder and dismemberment of Holly Jones, 10.
Michael Briere, the only neighbour to refuse a police DNA request, pleaded guilty to her slaying.
Perry said he earlier rewrote the sex crimes unit manual, requiring the force to consult it on non-intercourse cases with warning signs of a possible sex offender.
DNA comparisons are essential, but since the national databank was only created in 2000, older cases are more difficult to match to a suspect.
Canadian police need a warrant or post-conviction order to get a suspect’s DNA.
But Perry said Toronto Police have obtained “cast-off samples” from public places, where an officer has observed and seized a suspect’s discarded cigarette butt, drinking glass or pop container.
Williams, 46, who used the name Sovka at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute and Upper Canada College while living in Scarborough in the late 1970s and 1980s, is charged with murdering two women.
A funeral service will be held Saturday for Jessica Lloyd, 27, whose body was found Monday near Belleville.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, was murdered in November in her Brighton home, west of Trenton.
An avid photographer, Williams is also charged with the forcible confinement of two women in Tweed, a village northeast of Belleville, two break and enters and their sexual assaults.
The OPP said a home invader awakened each survivor, raped and tied them up, then took their photos.
Search warrants police obtained for William’s bungalow in Tweed cited lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices. Ottawa police also searched the trendy Westboro neighbourhood home shared with his wife, Elizabeth Harriman.
In custody at the Quinte Detection Centre in Napanee, east of Belleville, his next court appearance is Thursday in Belleville, via a video link.
ian.robertson@sunmedia.ca
Williams went to Scarborough high school
By DON PEAT, Toronto Sun
Last Updated: 11th February 2010, 8:52pm
The men and women of the Canadian Forces may feel like the "sacred trust" they put in their leadership was violated as a prominent commander faces murder charges, but the allegations must not dampen their pride, a general says.
Days after being charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of sexual assault, the early life of Air Force Col. Russell Williams is coming to life.
Yearbooks for Birchmount Park Collegiate in the late 1970s show a young Williams, then using his step-father's last name Sovka, with a faint smile in both his first and second years.
The Globe and Mail reported today that Williams finished his high school education at Upper Canada College before going to the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams is also featured prominently in photos of the school's band in the back pages of the yearbook.
Last Updated: 11th February 2010, 8:52pm
The men and women of the Canadian Forces may feel like the "sacred trust" they put in their leadership was violated as a prominent commander faces murder charges, but the allegations must not dampen their pride, a general says.
Days after being charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of sexual assault, the early life of Air Force Col. Russell Williams is coming to life.
Yearbooks for Birchmount Park Collegiate in the late 1970s show a young Williams, then using his step-father's last name Sovka, with a faint smile in both his first and second years.
The Globe and Mail reported today that Williams finished his high school education at Upper Canada College before going to the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams is also featured prominently in photos of the school's band in the back pages of the yearbook.
Random House to publish book on accused air force Col. Russell Williams in fall
(CP) – February 12th, 2010
TORONTO — A book on the Canadian air force colonel recently accused of killing two women and assaulting two others is set for release later this year.
Random House Canada says "Betrayal in Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams" will be published in the fall.
Timothy Appleby, a longtime crime reporter and foreign correspondent for the Globe and Mail, is writing the book.
In a release, he says "Williams looked to be everything a career military man should be" and "his shock arrest has left his friends, family, neighbours and the Canadian Armed Forces reeling."
Williams, a former commander of CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a court appearance via video on Feb. 18.
TORONTO — A book on the Canadian air force colonel recently accused of killing two women and assaulting two others is set for release later this year.
Random House Canada says "Betrayal in Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams" will be published in the fall.
Timothy Appleby, a longtime crime reporter and foreign correspondent for the Globe and Mail, is writing the book.
In a release, he says "Williams looked to be everything a career military man should be" and "his shock arrest has left his friends, family, neighbours and the Canadian Armed Forces reeling."
Williams, a former commander of CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a court appearance via video on Feb. 18.
Book to cover colonel's case
By DON PEAT, Toronto Sun
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 5:08pm
Less than a week after Col. Russell Williams’ arrest shocked the country, Random House Canada has announced it will have a book out on the accused killer this fall.
Betrayal In Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams is expected to be on book shelves in late 2010, the publisher announced Thursday.
“Though the charges against the colonel are not yet proven, the case is riveting and deserves the best possible reporting to bring all its fascinating aspects to life,” Anne Collins, publisher of the Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, stated in a press release.
“People can’t stop talking about the alleged abuse of his position, the colonel’s (alleged) ability to lead a double life, the tragic loss of these vital young women.”
Random House has tapped Globe and Mail reporter Timothy Appleby to write it.
— Don Peat
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 5:08pm
Less than a week after Col. Russell Williams’ arrest shocked the country, Random House Canada has announced it will have a book out on the accused killer this fall.
Betrayal In Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams is expected to be on book shelves in late 2010, the publisher announced Thursday.
“Though the charges against the colonel are not yet proven, the case is riveting and deserves the best possible reporting to bring all its fascinating aspects to life,” Anne Collins, publisher of the Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, stated in a press release.
“People can’t stop talking about the alleged abuse of his position, the colonel’s (alleged) ability to lead a double life, the tragic loss of these vital young women.”
Random House has tapped Globe and Mail reporter Timothy Appleby to write it.
— Don Peat
Bernardo gives tips in case against colonel
By JOE WARMINGTON and DON PEAT, QMI Agency
February 12th, 2010
TORONTO — Locked away inside Kingston Penitentiary, notorious schoolgirl killer Paul Bernardo has heard about the arrest of Col. Russell Williams and, in a bizarre turn, even has some advice for cops.
Bernardo, speaking from solitary confinement, shared his thoughts with his father, Ken Bernardo.
“He said he doesn’t understand it and how (Williams allegedly would) have the ability to cover all that up,” Ken Bernardo told the Sun.
Williams, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
Bernardo, 45, was convicted in 1995 for the first-degree murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
In the wake of Williams’ arrest, police forces across the country have vowed to examine cold cases in their area to see if they might be a match with the alleged crimes the colonel is accused of committing. Williams’ military life straddles at least four provinces including Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec. He was also stationed in the Middle East at Camp Mirage for six months.
Bernardo offered advice for police as they scour Williams’ life.
“(Paul) suggested they go back 20 years and look at everything, because that’s when his testosterone would have been at the highest,” Bernardo’s father said.
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
February 12th, 2010
TORONTO — Locked away inside Kingston Penitentiary, notorious schoolgirl killer Paul Bernardo has heard about the arrest of Col. Russell Williams and, in a bizarre turn, even has some advice for cops.
Bernardo, speaking from solitary confinement, shared his thoughts with his father, Ken Bernardo.
“He said he doesn’t understand it and how (Williams allegedly would) have the ability to cover all that up,” Ken Bernardo told the Sun.
Williams, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
Bernardo, 45, was convicted in 1995 for the first-degree murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
In the wake of Williams’ arrest, police forces across the country have vowed to examine cold cases in their area to see if they might be a match with the alleged crimes the colonel is accused of committing. Williams’ military life straddles at least four provinces including Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec. He was also stationed in the Middle East at Camp Mirage for six months.
Bernardo offered advice for police as they scour Williams’ life.
“(Paul) suggested they go back 20 years and look at everything, because that’s when his testosterone would have been at the highest,” Bernardo’s father said.
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
Ex-general cautious about CFB Trenton charges
Updated: Fri Feb. 12 2010 17:03:03
CTV.ca News Staff
A retired military official says that troops at CFB Trenton aren't demoralized, despite reports that spirits at the base have plunged after Col. Russell Williams was charged in two deaths and two sex assaults.
Retired major general Lewis MacKenzie said Friday that the base is still operating around the clock.
"There are reports that morale in Trenton has hit rock bottom? Baloney," MacKenzie told CTV News Channel.
Williams is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville, Ont., woman who was found dead on Monday, and the first-degree murder of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old air force flight attendant who was found dead at her Brighton, Ont., home last November.
Still, MacKenzie said the military community across the country has been affected by the charges, adding: "You can really be pissed off and still have good morale."
Williams is also charged with two counts each of forcible confinement, as well as break-and-enter and sexual assault relating to alleged attacks on two women from Tweed, Ont., a town about 60 kilometres north of CFB Trenton.
"We feel that we have been let down," MacKenzie said.
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that Lt.-Col. Dave Cochrane would take over command of the base.
According to interviews with Williams' friends and family, the former colonel exhibited few signs that suggested he would ever be on police radar.
MacKenzie agreed, adding that military officials would have had very little indication that Williams could one day face criminal charges.
Since police announced charges against Williams earlier this week, it has emerged that the accused was born in England, but moved to Canada in his youth.
His parents divorced after arriving in Canada and his mother eventually remarried. For a time, Williams changed his name to Russell Sovka, taking the last name of his then-stepfather, Jerry Sovka.
Stan Sovka, the brother of Williams' former stepfather, said he and his wife, Madeline, were shocked by the charges facing the man they knew long before he became a rising star in the Canadian Forces.
"That's not the guy we know," Madeline Sovka said from Calgary. "We knew a very nice man, a nice boy growing up, no problem, very gentle."
Before studying at the University of Toronto, Williams attended Upper Canada College, an elite private school that counts Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and actor Brendan Fraser among its alumni.
Back then, Williams was a quiet student who earned good grades. A yearbook photo shows him wearing a striped tie and sport coat, sporting a bushy hairstyle that was typical of the time period.
He liked music, was considered a skilled trumpet player and was one of the top-five prefects in his dorm, demonstrating the leadership qualities that got him noticed in the military.
Innes van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at Upper Canada College, graduated from the school at the same time as Williams and remembers him as a "diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here."
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician."
He graduated in 1982, moving on to earn a degree in political science and economics at the University of Toronto campus in Scarborough, in east-end Toronto.
Members of Williams' family still hold ties to the Toronto area.
His mother, Nonie Sovka, still lives in Toronto, where she works as a physiotherapist at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
She wrote a letter to Madeline and Stan Sovka at Christmas telling them about the "beautiful ceremony" that saw her son promoted to colonel last summer.
Since the charges were announced against her son, Nonie Sovka's voicemail has indicated she will be "off campus on an emergency basis."
His brother, Harvey Williams, is a doctor in Bowmanville, Ont., a small town about an hour east of Toronto.
After graduating from university, Williams joined the military and began his ascent to the position of the commander of CFB Trenton.
Williams married Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, who works as an associate executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Madeline Sovka said she has not spoken with Harriman but said she believes the couple was close.
"He had a good relationship and a wonderful wife," she said. "We just don't know if it's possible that he could be the one."
Police investigation
Beyond looking at Williams' roots, police are probing if the accused colonel has ties to other unsolved crimes in regions where he has previously been posted.
His official Department of National Defence biography indicates he earned his wings within three years of joining the military and was assigned to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man. He worked there for two years as an instructor.
In 1992, he was posted to CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, where he piloted a CC144 Challenger.
After that, Williams was transferred to Ottawa, eventually earning a promotion to the rank of major in November 1999. He then returned to school, earning a Master of Defence Studies degree from the Royal Military College in 2004.
From December 2005 to June 2006, he led Camp Mirage, a logistics base that is reportedly near Dubai, but which is not officially acknowledged by the government or military. In January 2009, he was promoted to colonel and spent six months attending French language training in Gatineau, Que.
He took over the leadership reins at CFB Trenton in July of last year.
In Ottawa, Insp. Al Tario is heading up a team that will determine if Williams can be tied to 30 unsolved crimes dating back more than three decades ago.
"We'll be looking at our unsolved break-ins, unsolved sexual assaults. We'll be looking at unsolved homicides, unsolved missing person cases, etc.," Tario told CTV News on Thursday.
On Thursday, police continued to search the Ottawa home Williams shares with his wife.
Police also searched the lakeside cottage the couple owns in Tweed, a small town near Trenton where Williams is accused of sexually assaulting two of his neighbours.
At present, Williams is being held in the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., about 60 kilometres east of CFB Trenton. The Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper reports that Williams was initially placed on suicide watch at the jail, but has since been allowed to exchange his suicide gown for a standard issue, orange jumpsuit.
He is scheduled to make a video appearance in court on Feb. 18.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTV.ca News Staff
A retired military official says that troops at CFB Trenton aren't demoralized, despite reports that spirits at the base have plunged after Col. Russell Williams was charged in two deaths and two sex assaults.
Retired major general Lewis MacKenzie said Friday that the base is still operating around the clock.
"There are reports that morale in Trenton has hit rock bottom? Baloney," MacKenzie told CTV News Channel.
Williams is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville, Ont., woman who was found dead on Monday, and the first-degree murder of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old air force flight attendant who was found dead at her Brighton, Ont., home last November.
Still, MacKenzie said the military community across the country has been affected by the charges, adding: "You can really be pissed off and still have good morale."
Williams is also charged with two counts each of forcible confinement, as well as break-and-enter and sexual assault relating to alleged attacks on two women from Tweed, Ont., a town about 60 kilometres north of CFB Trenton.
"We feel that we have been let down," MacKenzie said.
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that Lt.-Col. Dave Cochrane would take over command of the base.
According to interviews with Williams' friends and family, the former colonel exhibited few signs that suggested he would ever be on police radar.
MacKenzie agreed, adding that military officials would have had very little indication that Williams could one day face criminal charges.
Since police announced charges against Williams earlier this week, it has emerged that the accused was born in England, but moved to Canada in his youth.
His parents divorced after arriving in Canada and his mother eventually remarried. For a time, Williams changed his name to Russell Sovka, taking the last name of his then-stepfather, Jerry Sovka.
Stan Sovka, the brother of Williams' former stepfather, said he and his wife, Madeline, were shocked by the charges facing the man they knew long before he became a rising star in the Canadian Forces.
"That's not the guy we know," Madeline Sovka said from Calgary. "We knew a very nice man, a nice boy growing up, no problem, very gentle."
Before studying at the University of Toronto, Williams attended Upper Canada College, an elite private school that counts Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and actor Brendan Fraser among its alumni.
Back then, Williams was a quiet student who earned good grades. A yearbook photo shows him wearing a striped tie and sport coat, sporting a bushy hairstyle that was typical of the time period.
He liked music, was considered a skilled trumpet player and was one of the top-five prefects in his dorm, demonstrating the leadership qualities that got him noticed in the military.
Innes van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at Upper Canada College, graduated from the school at the same time as Williams and remembers him as a "diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here."
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician."
He graduated in 1982, moving on to earn a degree in political science and economics at the University of Toronto campus in Scarborough, in east-end Toronto.
Members of Williams' family still hold ties to the Toronto area.
His mother, Nonie Sovka, still lives in Toronto, where she works as a physiotherapist at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
She wrote a letter to Madeline and Stan Sovka at Christmas telling them about the "beautiful ceremony" that saw her son promoted to colonel last summer.
Since the charges were announced against her son, Nonie Sovka's voicemail has indicated she will be "off campus on an emergency basis."
His brother, Harvey Williams, is a doctor in Bowmanville, Ont., a small town about an hour east of Toronto.
After graduating from university, Williams joined the military and began his ascent to the position of the commander of CFB Trenton.
Williams married Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, who works as an associate executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Madeline Sovka said she has not spoken with Harriman but said she believes the couple was close.
"He had a good relationship and a wonderful wife," she said. "We just don't know if it's possible that he could be the one."
Police investigation
Beyond looking at Williams' roots, police are probing if the accused colonel has ties to other unsolved crimes in regions where he has previously been posted.
His official Department of National Defence biography indicates he earned his wings within three years of joining the military and was assigned to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man. He worked there for two years as an instructor.
In 1992, he was posted to CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, where he piloted a CC144 Challenger.
After that, Williams was transferred to Ottawa, eventually earning a promotion to the rank of major in November 1999. He then returned to school, earning a Master of Defence Studies degree from the Royal Military College in 2004.
From December 2005 to June 2006, he led Camp Mirage, a logistics base that is reportedly near Dubai, but which is not officially acknowledged by the government or military. In January 2009, he was promoted to colonel and spent six months attending French language training in Gatineau, Que.
He took over the leadership reins at CFB Trenton in July of last year.
In Ottawa, Insp. Al Tario is heading up a team that will determine if Williams can be tied to 30 unsolved crimes dating back more than three decades ago.
"We'll be looking at our unsolved break-ins, unsolved sexual assaults. We'll be looking at unsolved homicides, unsolved missing person cases, etc.," Tario told CTV News on Thursday.
On Thursday, police continued to search the Ottawa home Williams shares with his wife.
Police also searched the lakeside cottage the couple owns in Tweed, a small town near Trenton where Williams is accused of sexually assaulting two of his neighbours.
At present, Williams is being held in the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., about 60 kilometres east of CFB Trenton. The Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper reports that Williams was initially placed on suicide watch at the jail, but has since been allowed to exchange his suicide gown for a standard issue, orange jumpsuit.
He is scheduled to make a video appearance in court on Feb. 18.
With files from The Canadian Press
Our Forces suffer a big blow to morale
Charges against colonel couldn't come at a worse time for military
By Don Martin
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
It shouldn't be happening because the uniform isn't on trial, but morale is free-falling inside Canadian Forces Base Trenton after the base commander was charged with double murders and a pair of sexual assaults.
The stain on the one is, wrongly, spreading to the many.
"Everyone in the Canadian Forces will tell you officially that it won't harm morale, but how couldn't it?" confided a senior officer in the reserves. "People are going to feel shocked, and I expect that many folks, particularly in the Trenton area, are going to be looking at people in military uniforms a little differently as this plays out. This can't be good for morale."
He is, sadly, correct.
Col. Russell Williams is entitled to the judicial presumption of innocence, but he can only be cleared after a prolonged media frenzy of a trial fixated on someone whose heinous crimes are worsened, if that's possible, by his lofty standing in the Canadian Forces.
Questions will swirl about how a man accused of such crimes could have been promoted to a rank where he mingled with the defence minister and piloted prime ministers or governors general on Challenger jets.
Assault victims are already coming forward to document the horror they allegedly experienced in cringing detail. Websites are filling with tributes for the murder victims and venomous outrage aimed at the accused.
And all this is erupting before a single shred of what will undoubtedly be horrific evidence in an expanding investigation is put before the courts of law and public opinion.
One retired senior officer with numerous contacts inside the chain of command was spitting fury at the situation confronting soldiers on Tuesday.
"The commander they entrusted with their lives stands accused of taking them. There is no greater breach of trust," he fumed.
Ironically, this blow strikes a military firing on all cylinders and arguably at the peak of its deployment power.
Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, commander of land forces, was practically bursting his brass buttons late last week when we chatted over coffee in an Ottawa restaurant.
He's a general with a no-nonsense edginess who relishes in telling stories about his most aggressive officers and thinks a busy military is a happy fighting force.
By that measure, his army is a very, very happy place.
"I have never seen the army more active than it is right now," he told me.
His regular 2,500-soldier deployment in Kandahar is preparing to assist the British and Americans in a major Taliban clear out this week. He's got 3,000 soldiers in the California desert training in mock Afghanistan conditions for a battlefield they'll be fighting on later this year. There are 4,000 soldiers in the Vancouver area backstopping RCMP for 2010 Winter Olympics security. There are 1,500 army soldiers in Haiti helping earthquake survivors. And the northern Rangers are more active than ever patrolling the Arctic.
Without an infusion of 2,500 regular soldiers in the last few years, the army would be stretched beyond its deployment capacity, he said.
"Morale is really high even though everyone is literally working their butts off," Leslie said. "The respect and support they enjoy from Canadians is unprecedented in my 30 years wearing army green."
The proof of an energized army comes every time he addresses troops poised to head overseas for the dangers of Afghanistan. Leslie offers them a last-minute chance to refuse the assignment without losing face.
"I've probably asked that question to 25,000 soldiers and only had one bow out. His excuse was that his wife just found out his girlfriend was pregnant," he said with a grin. Gosh, I couldn't dream up a better excuse to flee for the relative safety of Kandahar battlefields if confronted by that scenario.
Contacted for a followup on Tuesday to discuss the impact of Williams' arrest on soldier morale, Leslie not surprisingly backs his soldiers.
"I am personally shocked and appalled, but morale is and will remain high in the army."
Here's hoping he's right. If the charges against Williams stick, it's only evidence of a single deranged individual and not a uniform stain on Canadian soldiers who deserve only our respect.
dmartincanwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
By Don Martin
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
It shouldn't be happening because the uniform isn't on trial, but morale is free-falling inside Canadian Forces Base Trenton after the base commander was charged with double murders and a pair of sexual assaults.
The stain on the one is, wrongly, spreading to the many.
"Everyone in the Canadian Forces will tell you officially that it won't harm morale, but how couldn't it?" confided a senior officer in the reserves. "People are going to feel shocked, and I expect that many folks, particularly in the Trenton area, are going to be looking at people in military uniforms a little differently as this plays out. This can't be good for morale."
He is, sadly, correct.
Col. Russell Williams is entitled to the judicial presumption of innocence, but he can only be cleared after a prolonged media frenzy of a trial fixated on someone whose heinous crimes are worsened, if that's possible, by his lofty standing in the Canadian Forces.
Questions will swirl about how a man accused of such crimes could have been promoted to a rank where he mingled with the defence minister and piloted prime ministers or governors general on Challenger jets.
Assault victims are already coming forward to document the horror they allegedly experienced in cringing detail. Websites are filling with tributes for the murder victims and venomous outrage aimed at the accused.
And all this is erupting before a single shred of what will undoubtedly be horrific evidence in an expanding investigation is put before the courts of law and public opinion.
One retired senior officer with numerous contacts inside the chain of command was spitting fury at the situation confronting soldiers on Tuesday.
"The commander they entrusted with their lives stands accused of taking them. There is no greater breach of trust," he fumed.
Ironically, this blow strikes a military firing on all cylinders and arguably at the peak of its deployment power.
Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, commander of land forces, was practically bursting his brass buttons late last week when we chatted over coffee in an Ottawa restaurant.
He's a general with a no-nonsense edginess who relishes in telling stories about his most aggressive officers and thinks a busy military is a happy fighting force.
By that measure, his army is a very, very happy place.
"I have never seen the army more active than it is right now," he told me.
His regular 2,500-soldier deployment in Kandahar is preparing to assist the British and Americans in a major Taliban clear out this week. He's got 3,000 soldiers in the California desert training in mock Afghanistan conditions for a battlefield they'll be fighting on later this year. There are 4,000 soldiers in the Vancouver area backstopping RCMP for 2010 Winter Olympics security. There are 1,500 army soldiers in Haiti helping earthquake survivors. And the northern Rangers are more active than ever patrolling the Arctic.
Without an infusion of 2,500 regular soldiers in the last few years, the army would be stretched beyond its deployment capacity, he said.
"Morale is really high even though everyone is literally working their butts off," Leslie said. "The respect and support they enjoy from Canadians is unprecedented in my 30 years wearing army green."
The proof of an energized army comes every time he addresses troops poised to head overseas for the dangers of Afghanistan. Leslie offers them a last-minute chance to refuse the assignment without losing face.
"I've probably asked that question to 25,000 soldiers and only had one bow out. His excuse was that his wife just found out his girlfriend was pregnant," he said with a grin. Gosh, I couldn't dream up a better excuse to flee for the relative safety of Kandahar battlefields if confronted by that scenario.
Contacted for a followup on Tuesday to discuss the impact of Williams' arrest on soldier morale, Leslie not surprisingly backs his soldiers.
"I am personally shocked and appalled, but morale is and will remain high in the army."
Here's hoping he's right. If the charges against Williams stick, it's only evidence of a single deranged individual and not a uniform stain on Canadian soldiers who deserve only our respect.
dmartincanwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
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