Williams not Lion regular at night

Posted By W. BRICE MCVICAR THE INTELLIGENCER
Updated February 10th, 2010


The man charged with killing Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France Comeau may have been a regular at a Belleville bar, but if so, he didn't spend much time there in the evenings.

Terri Bruce, a bartender at the Red Lion Pub on Coleman Street who works the nightshift, says she doesn't recall ever seeing Col. Russ Williams during one of her shifts, although it's possible he did come in on occasion

"I was surprised to hear he may have been here, but not really surprised," she said. "We get quite a few military people in here.

"But the day and night people, they are quite different crowds. We get a few cross over people but not too many."

CanWest News is reporting Williams would visit the Lion about once a month, alone, always between 2:30 and 3 p.m. He would sit at the end of the bar, away from the locals assembled at the other end and sit quietly, nursing his pint of Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale and avoiding conversation, as if deep in thought.

"He barely talked at all," bartender Christine Maclenan, whose family has owned the Lion for 11 years, told CanWest "He kept to himself. You couldn't have a conversation with him. It was bizarre."

Bruce said that type of person would make an impression on a bartender.

"Someone sitting by themselves, not socializing, that would be noticed," she said. "Everybody wants to talk to the bartender if they are by themselves. That's why you go to a bar.

"It's weird to think he might have been here. I'm glad I didn't know until after the fact. I'm glad I don't remember if he was here."

Meanwhile, police says there's still "a lot of leg work" to do in the investigation of Williams and the investigation into the murders of 27-year-old Lloyd and 37-year-old Comeau and the two home invasions near Tweed where women were bound and photographed.

As well, police say speculation about tire treads, confessions and the like have no basis in official fact -- no such details have been confirmed or released to anyone in an official capacity.

Sgt. Kristine Rae of the Ontario Provincial Police said while the provincial force and the Belleville force are continuing their investigation, due to the ongoing investigation, there are few details being released by police.

Belleville police officers were at Lloyd's house on Highway 37 Tuesday while provincial police officers remained at Williams' home near Tweed and on Cary Road where Lloyd's body was discovered.

"The core investigation is still continuing. Williams came to our attention on Thursday evening, he was arrested on Sunday and in court yesterday but there's still a lot of leg work to be done with investigation, witnesses, evidence to be collected ...," Rae said.

A post mortem on Lloyd's body was conducted in Toronto Tuesday, but Rae said she did not believe the results would be released. That's not unusual, she added, as the initial information received from the coroner is often followed up by a formal report which "takes time." The cause of death is part of the investigation and, as such, won't likely be released, she said.

With little information coming from police, there is an avalanche of media reports citing supposed evidence which led to Williams' arrest and a search warrant OPP used when investigating Tweed resident Larry Jones as a potential suspect.

Rae refused comments about any of them.

Various media outlets are reporting treads on Williams' tires played an integral role in identifying him as a suspect. Information gathered during a roadside canvass on Highway 37 led to Williams' arrest, but what that information was remains unknown.

"What information they gathered from that canvass I'm not permitted to disclose," she said. "That's a part of their investigation that they're not willing to divulge at this time."

Reports of a warrant used by police to search Williams' neighbour Larry Jones' home after he was identified as a suspect in the home invasions last fall could also not be confirmed by Rae.

The warrant, according to Jones, indicates police were looking for computer devices, a black bra, a purple bra, women's underwear, zip ties and other items.

"I'm not aware of other persons of interest in this case and even if I had somebody's name I wouldn't be able to confirm anybody that hasn't been charged," Rae said.

bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca