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
Showing posts with label Belleville Intelligencer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belleville Intelligencer. Show all posts
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
Friday, February 12, 2010
'It hits really close to home'
Posted By W. BRICE MCVICAR THE INTELLIGENCER
Posted February 12th, 2010
Margaret Dafoe has called her house on Highway 37 home for nine years, but it is only recently she began locking her doors.
Dafoe, who lives just two doors away from Jessica Lloyd's tidy brick bungalow, said the 27-yearold's murder has shaken her sense of security in the quiet, rural neighbourhood just north of Belleville. Like other residents in the Quinte region, this past week's news has left Dafoe wondering how such horrible crimes could happen here.
"It hits really close to home, that's for sure. It's just a shame to see such a young girl -- and a very pretty girl -- killed like that," she said. "We've never had anything like this before."
Dafoe said she always locked her doors when she left the house for work or shopping, but would never have considered making sure those locks were in place while she was in her home. That's changed since Lloyd's disappearance and the eventual discovery of her body and arrest of Col. Russ Williams.
"It makes you think and wonder, that's for sure."
A caller to The Intelligencer suggested police need to place a greater emphasis on urging residents, particularly women, to take precautions. She doesn't buy the fear of spreading panic in doing just that, either.
"Panic in the general population," said the woman, who described herself as a mother and former teacher, "is immaterial when it's weighed against public safety."
Last week, police conducted a roadside canvass in front of Lloyd's home, asking all motorists if they had seen anything suspicious or if they had information that would assist them in their investigation. Though that canvass took place just north of Dafoe's home, she was still approached by police, she said.
A police officer approached her as she returned home that night and asked her some questions. The officer's questions were simple, she said, with inquiries focusing on whether Dafoe had heard anything suspicious or witnessed any suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.
And those questions weren't the only ones Dafoe had to answer.
"Pretty near every weekend we had police at our door, or detectives .... I didn't see anything though," she said.
Lloyd's neighbour, Dawn Chambers, said the increased police presence in the neighbourhood has made her feel safer, despite their reason for being there. She said police cruisers -- especially those that remained parked at Lloyd's house for the past two weeks -- were a common sight.
"They were there, it seems, 24- hours-a-day some days and certainly dropping in frequently when they weren't parked there," she said. "Safety, though ... I don't feel any differently."
Chambers said the crime hasn't shaken her sense of security, living as she does in the country, and she has not changed her lifestyle due to the circumstances. There have been break-ins in the community in the past, she added, and people need to be cautious all the time.
"We've always used common sense in what we do by keeping our vehicles locked and making sure our home is locked. I can't say we've changed anything, really," she said.
However, Chambers said she does get "an eerie feeling" when she looks at Lloyd's house at night. She said she knew Lloyd only "casually" and would often wave to her when she saw her, but the relationship never extended beyond friendly, neighbourly waves and smiles.
Lloyd's father, Warren, was a hunting buddy of retired city police inspector Garnet Goodwin.
Goodwin, who spoke highly of the entire Lloyd family, lives not far from Lloyd's home on Highway 37.
The events this week, he said, have not changed his feeling of security in the rural area north of Belleville, though he admitted he has always been leery of leaving family members home alone.
"I've never had concerns for my sense of security, though I certainly do with leaving a family member," he said. "I don't think we can live in a barricaded mentality, but I think you have to take precautions to safeguard yourself, no matter what."
Goodwin, who now works for Alarm Systems, said residents can take steps to increase their security by ensuring they have outside lighting, strong locks on doors, bushes cut away from windows so points of entry are not concealed and even a home security system.
The idea, he said, is to make sure your property is as secure as possible. Such steps -- regardless of where you live -- can decrease the chances of being a victim of crime.
Focusing on Lloyd's murder, Goodwin said he was impressed with the work conducted by police in arresting Williams.
"This is a very horrendous situation and thank God for the team effort of all the police services," he said. "They've done a great job."
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Posted February 12th, 2010
Margaret Dafoe has called her house on Highway 37 home for nine years, but it is only recently she began locking her doors.
Dafoe, who lives just two doors away from Jessica Lloyd's tidy brick bungalow, said the 27-yearold's murder has shaken her sense of security in the quiet, rural neighbourhood just north of Belleville. Like other residents in the Quinte region, this past week's news has left Dafoe wondering how such horrible crimes could happen here.
"It hits really close to home, that's for sure. It's just a shame to see such a young girl -- and a very pretty girl -- killed like that," she said. "We've never had anything like this before."
Dafoe said she always locked her doors when she left the house for work or shopping, but would never have considered making sure those locks were in place while she was in her home. That's changed since Lloyd's disappearance and the eventual discovery of her body and arrest of Col. Russ Williams.
"It makes you think and wonder, that's for sure."
A caller to The Intelligencer suggested police need to place a greater emphasis on urging residents, particularly women, to take precautions. She doesn't buy the fear of spreading panic in doing just that, either.
"Panic in the general population," said the woman, who described herself as a mother and former teacher, "is immaterial when it's weighed against public safety."
Last week, police conducted a roadside canvass in front of Lloyd's home, asking all motorists if they had seen anything suspicious or if they had information that would assist them in their investigation. Though that canvass took place just north of Dafoe's home, she was still approached by police, she said.
A police officer approached her as she returned home that night and asked her some questions. The officer's questions were simple, she said, with inquiries focusing on whether Dafoe had heard anything suspicious or witnessed any suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.
And those questions weren't the only ones Dafoe had to answer.
"Pretty near every weekend we had police at our door, or detectives .... I didn't see anything though," she said.
Lloyd's neighbour, Dawn Chambers, said the increased police presence in the neighbourhood has made her feel safer, despite their reason for being there. She said police cruisers -- especially those that remained parked at Lloyd's house for the past two weeks -- were a common sight.
"They were there, it seems, 24- hours-a-day some days and certainly dropping in frequently when they weren't parked there," she said. "Safety, though ... I don't feel any differently."
Chambers said the crime hasn't shaken her sense of security, living as she does in the country, and she has not changed her lifestyle due to the circumstances. There have been break-ins in the community in the past, she added, and people need to be cautious all the time.
"We've always used common sense in what we do by keeping our vehicles locked and making sure our home is locked. I can't say we've changed anything, really," she said.
However, Chambers said she does get "an eerie feeling" when she looks at Lloyd's house at night. She said she knew Lloyd only "casually" and would often wave to her when she saw her, but the relationship never extended beyond friendly, neighbourly waves and smiles.
Lloyd's father, Warren, was a hunting buddy of retired city police inspector Garnet Goodwin.
Goodwin, who spoke highly of the entire Lloyd family, lives not far from Lloyd's home on Highway 37.
The events this week, he said, have not changed his feeling of security in the rural area north of Belleville, though he admitted he has always been leery of leaving family members home alone.
"I've never had concerns for my sense of security, though I certainly do with leaving a family member," he said. "I don't think we can live in a barricaded mentality, but I think you have to take precautions to safeguard yourself, no matter what."
Goodwin, who now works for Alarm Systems, said residents can take steps to increase their security by ensuring they have outside lighting, strong locks on doors, bushes cut away from windows so points of entry are not concealed and even a home security system.
The idea, he said, is to make sure your property is as secure as possible. Such steps -- regardless of where you live -- can decrease the chances of being a victim of crime.
Focusing on Lloyd's murder, Goodwin said he was impressed with the work conducted by police in arresting Williams.
"This is a very horrendous situation and thank God for the team effort of all the police services," he said. "They've done a great job."
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Forensic investigators comb Williams' home
Posted By SCOTT TAYLOR, QMI AGENCY
Posted February 12th, 2010
Forensic investigators spent Thursday afternoon searching Col. Russ Williams' Ottawa home as police confirmed they're looking into Williams' possible links with past crimes here.
Six OPP investigators entered the 473 Edison Ave. house through the garage shortly after noon, carrying stacks of flat boxes, garbage bags and a large roll of brown paper, which they used to cover all of the windows from the inside.
After that, though the cops were presumably busy behind the covered windows, on the outside very little happened until the investigators left -- empty-handed -- just before 7 p.m.
That didn't stop a steady stream of passers-by from trying to peer in themselves. A virtual conga line of vehicles snaked by with drivers and passengers craning their necks and pointing at the house.
Neighbours who didn't know of Williams before chatted up the assembled media, asking for the latest news.
At one point, the OPP officer guarding the house was forced to become a traffic cop to ensure the road didn't become gridlock.
Earlier, a senior citizen neighbour erupted at a photographer whose car blocked her walkway.
"I don't care who I'm talking to, it's been three days and I've had enough!"
An Ottawa Police spokesman said they will "be looking at unsolved break and enters, sexual assaults and homicides, but (Williams) is not a named suspect in any Ottawa crime at this time."
He expects the investigation to be a "lengthy process."
Ottawa Police also confirmed that a police inspector will lead the search for links between the alleged crimes of Wilson and unsolved crimes in Ottawa.
Insp. Al Tario is in charge of major case and inspections. He will head a small team of officers selected from various units. Different units are involved because there could be more than just homicides and sexual assaults.
Williams, the former CFB Trenton base commander, was arrested in Ottawa Sunday and charged with two counts of firstdegree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of forcible confinement and two counts each of breaking and entering and sexual assault.
According to media reports, Williams led police to Lloyd's body near his cottage in Tweed.
He shared his Ottawa house with his wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman.
Williams, 46, reportedly came to the attention of investigators at a roadside checkpoint last week when his SUV's unusual tires were linked to tread marks at one of the crime scenes.
Police are now looking into Williams' past postings to see if there are any links to similar cold-case files.
Williams attended Upper Canada College, an elite Toronto boarding school, for two years in the early 1980s. At the time, he went by his stepfather's surname, Sovka.
He flew under the radar during his time there, said Innes van Nostrand, who graduated the same year as Williams.
"He was kind of a diligent, hardworking fellow who was not a high-profile guy here," said van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at the school.
Posted February 12th, 2010
Forensic investigators spent Thursday afternoon searching Col. Russ Williams' Ottawa home as police confirmed they're looking into Williams' possible links with past crimes here.
Six OPP investigators entered the 473 Edison Ave. house through the garage shortly after noon, carrying stacks of flat boxes, garbage bags and a large roll of brown paper, which they used to cover all of the windows from the inside.
After that, though the cops were presumably busy behind the covered windows, on the outside very little happened until the investigators left -- empty-handed -- just before 7 p.m.
That didn't stop a steady stream of passers-by from trying to peer in themselves. A virtual conga line of vehicles snaked by with drivers and passengers craning their necks and pointing at the house.
Neighbours who didn't know of Williams before chatted up the assembled media, asking for the latest news.
At one point, the OPP officer guarding the house was forced to become a traffic cop to ensure the road didn't become gridlock.
Earlier, a senior citizen neighbour erupted at a photographer whose car blocked her walkway.
"I don't care who I'm talking to, it's been three days and I've had enough!"
An Ottawa Police spokesman said they will "be looking at unsolved break and enters, sexual assaults and homicides, but (Williams) is not a named suspect in any Ottawa crime at this time."
He expects the investigation to be a "lengthy process."
Ottawa Police also confirmed that a police inspector will lead the search for links between the alleged crimes of Wilson and unsolved crimes in Ottawa.
Insp. Al Tario is in charge of major case and inspections. He will head a small team of officers selected from various units. Different units are involved because there could be more than just homicides and sexual assaults.
Williams, the former CFB Trenton base commander, was arrested in Ottawa Sunday and charged with two counts of firstdegree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of forcible confinement and two counts each of breaking and entering and sexual assault.
According to media reports, Williams led police to Lloyd's body near his cottage in Tweed.
He shared his Ottawa house with his wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman.
Williams, 46, reportedly came to the attention of investigators at a roadside checkpoint last week when his SUV's unusual tires were linked to tread marks at one of the crime scenes.
Police are now looking into Williams' past postings to see if there are any links to similar cold-case files.
Williams attended Upper Canada College, an elite Toronto boarding school, for two years in the early 1980s. At the time, he went by his stepfather's surname, Sovka.
He flew under the radar during his time there, said Innes van Nostrand, who graduated the same year as Williams.
"He was kind of a diligent, hardworking fellow who was not a high-profile guy here," said van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at the school.
Police sources say Williams partied with Paul Bernardo
Posted By JOE WARMINGTON AND DON PEAT, QMI AGENCY
Posted February 12th, 2010
They were pals.
Accused killer Col. Russell Williams and notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo both attended the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.
They both studied economics at the Military Trail campus during the mid-1980s.
They graduated together in 1987, Williams, 46, with a politics and economics degree, Bernardo, 45, with a commerce and economics degree.
Their families both lived along the Scarborough bluffs.
Now police sources tell the Toronto Sun the two were college "pals" who "partied" together and that their relationship is the subject of intense scrutiny by the joint forces team probing the murders of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd.
While speculative, police are even looking into the possibility Bernardo and Williams may have "competed against each other." The source would not elaborate on what that meant.
"If they were friends it's certainly interesting," the source said. "We don't know what this relationship means.
"But we do know that they had spent time together at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus."
When contacted about the revelation of Bernardo and Williams attending U of T Scarborough at the same time, Commissioner Julian Fantino vowed that when "new aspects come to light, the OPP will investigate."
"We are committed to ensure that every aspect of this is investigated and looked in to," Fantino said Thursday night. "I am very confident thanks to the great cooperation of the OPP, Belleville Police, and military investigators."
The commissioner said cops want as much information as possible about Williams' early years.
"We welcome any information members of the public may have on this and encourage them to contact us," he said.
In an exclusive interview, Bernardo's father, Ken Bernardo, said his son doesn't recall Williams.
However, the father wasn't able to reach his son to ask whether he knew Williams by the last name he used in high school and university, or his stepfather's last name, Sovko.
"Paul said he might have run into him there but he didn't know him," Bernardo said, adding he will ask specifically if his son knew a Russ Sovka when he speaks to him again.
Bernardo said they didn't discuss the unsolved crimes in the Scarborough area around his son's crimes or whether Williams may now be suspect in them.
"We don't talk about the past," Bernardo said.
Williams, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of firstdegree murder, two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault. He'll be back in court Feb. 18.
When Williams attended U of T Scarborough, about 5,000 students attended the commuter campus. There would have been about 250 students attending classes in each year of the economics and commerce program, a school official estimated.
Women were terrified throughout the Scarborough area surrounding the campus in the 1980s following a series of violent sex attacks that culminated with Toronto Police launching a task force to find the Scarborough rapist.
Bernardo, after he was jailed for the murder of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, admitted to several of the attacks.
Following Williams' arrest on Monday, police have vowed to investigate cold cases that intersect with the former CFB Trenton base commander's life.
At this point there is no suggestion of any criminal connection between Bernardo and Williams or any link between Williams and any other attack.
On Thursday, police searched Williams' home in Ottawa, the same day several media outlets reported that he led investigators to the body of Jessica Lloyd following his arrest.
According to a search warrant of another suspect's home before Williams was named the primary suspect and charged, detectives were looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices.
-- With files from Mike Strobel and Chris Doucette
Posted February 12th, 2010
They were pals.
Accused killer Col. Russell Williams and notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo both attended the University of Toronto Scarborough campus.
They both studied economics at the Military Trail campus during the mid-1980s.
They graduated together in 1987, Williams, 46, with a politics and economics degree, Bernardo, 45, with a commerce and economics degree.
Their families both lived along the Scarborough bluffs.
Now police sources tell the Toronto Sun the two were college "pals" who "partied" together and that their relationship is the subject of intense scrutiny by the joint forces team probing the murders of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd.
While speculative, police are even looking into the possibility Bernardo and Williams may have "competed against each other." The source would not elaborate on what that meant.
"If they were friends it's certainly interesting," the source said. "We don't know what this relationship means.
"But we do know that they had spent time together at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus."
When contacted about the revelation of Bernardo and Williams attending U of T Scarborough at the same time, Commissioner Julian Fantino vowed that when "new aspects come to light, the OPP will investigate."
"We are committed to ensure that every aspect of this is investigated and looked in to," Fantino said Thursday night. "I am very confident thanks to the great cooperation of the OPP, Belleville Police, and military investigators."
The commissioner said cops want as much information as possible about Williams' early years.
"We welcome any information members of the public may have on this and encourage them to contact us," he said.
In an exclusive interview, Bernardo's father, Ken Bernardo, said his son doesn't recall Williams.
However, the father wasn't able to reach his son to ask whether he knew Williams by the last name he used in high school and university, or his stepfather's last name, Sovko.
"Paul said he might have run into him there but he didn't know him," Bernardo said, adding he will ask specifically if his son knew a Russ Sovka when he speaks to him again.
Bernardo said they didn't discuss the unsolved crimes in the Scarborough area around his son's crimes or whether Williams may now be suspect in them.
"We don't talk about the past," Bernardo said.
Williams, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of firstdegree murder, two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault. He'll be back in court Feb. 18.
When Williams attended U of T Scarborough, about 5,000 students attended the commuter campus. There would have been about 250 students attending classes in each year of the economics and commerce program, a school official estimated.
Women were terrified throughout the Scarborough area surrounding the campus in the 1980s following a series of violent sex attacks that culminated with Toronto Police launching a task force to find the Scarborough rapist.
Bernardo, after he was jailed for the murder of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, admitted to several of the attacks.
Following Williams' arrest on Monday, police have vowed to investigate cold cases that intersect with the former CFB Trenton base commander's life.
At this point there is no suggestion of any criminal connection between Bernardo and Williams or any link between Williams and any other attack.
On Thursday, police searched Williams' home in Ottawa, the same day several media outlets reported that he led investigators to the body of Jessica Lloyd following his arrest.
According to a search warrant of another suspect's home before Williams was named the primary suspect and charged, detectives were looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices.
-- With files from Mike Strobel and Chris Doucette
Psychiatrist says talking is the best medicine
Posted By LUKE HENDRY THE INTELLIGENCER
Posted February 12th, 2010
A Belleville forensic psychiatrist says residents of the region are already taking the best approach in dealing with their grief over the Russ Williams case: they're talking.
"Talking is the best way to deal with these types of situations," Dr. Julio Arboleda-Florez of Quinte Health Care's Crisis Intervention Centre told The Intelligencer.
Col. Russ Williams is charged in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton and Jessica Lloyd of Belleville. He also faces several charges in connection with attacks on women in two home invasions in Tweed.
Arboleda-Florez said the grief, fear and anger among residents is normal.
"The first phase is stupor. (People say) 'I can't believe this," Arboleda-Florez said. "That happens very often when there is a high sense of betrayal.
"Very often that is followed by a sense of fear and concern: fear because you trust your leaders. That comes with a feeling, also, of concern."
Such concern may be based upon the fact "a guy of this nature, who is part of one of our most sacred organizations" is implicated in the case.
Arboleda-Florez said the population is divided into two groups who are affected differently by such cases.
"One is understandably the families: feelings of loss of a very close person and the horror of having lost that person under such circumstances. There is a feeling of revulsion among them, apart from the usual normal grief we all go through when somebody disappears from our lives.
"In this situation ... it's much worse because it's something completely unexpected."
Though the public isn't affected in such a severe way, Arboleda-Florez said, they can still suffer emotionally.
"People may actually need help," said the psychiatrist.
He advised them to seek out their local mental health agencies.
That includes Open Line, Open Mind, a free and confidential hot-line for people needing someone to listen. If a caller needs more help, operators will refer the person to the appropriate service.
The 24-hour number for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties is 310-OPEN (6736). No area code is required.
"Many times the best thing that can be done for people who don't feel they really need to go for professional help is to talk about these matters.
"The population can feel free to call their radio, to have open lines, to talk about themselves," Arboleda-Florez said.
He said police should also release as much information as is possible without harming their investigations.
"Usually ... there is kind of a snowball effect of rumours. And rumours tend to become 'true facts' because people tend to believe them. That's why the authorities should always be free to open communications."
If that information doesn't flow, he said, "that increases the possibility of rumours in the population."
Samara Navi, 53, of Smithfield is retired from her job as a chaplain in the psychiatry and detoxification departments of Kingston's Hotel Dieu hospital.
She said her former spouse served in the military for 23 years and she continues to have many friends in the service. They "are in absolute shock" because of Williams' arrest, she said, because they "never questioned anything around this type of authority.
"To hear that he, in particular, was charged puts people I know at a standstill. We trust our doctors; we trust our lawyers; we have safe people," she said. "He would have been regarded as one of those people."
Should Williams be convicted, she said, it would mean "one of our 'safe people' pulled the rug out from beneath our feet," said Navi.
And when that occurs, she added, "there's an automatic feeling of, 'I'm not safe'" among residents.
Navi said she witnessed that Monday while running errands in Trenton.
"I experienced so much fear."
In her bank, she said, staff and customers alike stood silently as they listened to a live radio broadcast of the news conference in which the charges against Williams were read.
Navi is also an artist and maintains an online web log, or blog. Earlier this week, she said, she created artwork -- a motivational card -- inspired by her desire to ease the grief of area residents. She also asked readers to pray for the victims' families and staff of CFB Trenton.
"Whatever really takes over the media or the public consciousness -- that's where I'm driven in my art," said Navi, who also created art based on the humanitarian crisis in post-earthquake Haiti.
"I think the people need something that says, 'There has to be some prayers around this' to uplift (them).
"I'm a multi-faith chaplain, so I'm not preaching for Jesus; I'm not preaching for Muhammad. I'm preaching for a bigger thing to happen than fear."
Drawing upon her training as a chaplain, Navi encouraged people concerned by the Williams case to "reach to the deepest parts of you that have known love and to draw upon the times in your life when you were able to take the most painful moments and recover from them. How did you do it? Look at that process and do it again.
"You have to focus there because this fear will take you down and smother you," she said. "This is big enough that it has that power. It requires mental will more than anything to not let this grip our minds or our hearts or our need for gossip to reach for love and for compassion."
lhendry@intelligencer.ca
Posted February 12th, 2010
A Belleville forensic psychiatrist says residents of the region are already taking the best approach in dealing with their grief over the Russ Williams case: they're talking.
"Talking is the best way to deal with these types of situations," Dr. Julio Arboleda-Florez of Quinte Health Care's Crisis Intervention Centre told The Intelligencer.
Col. Russ Williams is charged in the deaths of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton and Jessica Lloyd of Belleville. He also faces several charges in connection with attacks on women in two home invasions in Tweed.
Arboleda-Florez said the grief, fear and anger among residents is normal.
"The first phase is stupor. (People say) 'I can't believe this," Arboleda-Florez said. "That happens very often when there is a high sense of betrayal.
"Very often that is followed by a sense of fear and concern: fear because you trust your leaders. That comes with a feeling, also, of concern."
Such concern may be based upon the fact "a guy of this nature, who is part of one of our most sacred organizations" is implicated in the case.
Arboleda-Florez said the population is divided into two groups who are affected differently by such cases.
"One is understandably the families: feelings of loss of a very close person and the horror of having lost that person under such circumstances. There is a feeling of revulsion among them, apart from the usual normal grief we all go through when somebody disappears from our lives.
"In this situation ... it's much worse because it's something completely unexpected."
Though the public isn't affected in such a severe way, Arboleda-Florez said, they can still suffer emotionally.
"People may actually need help," said the psychiatrist.
He advised them to seek out their local mental health agencies.
That includes Open Line, Open Mind, a free and confidential hot-line for people needing someone to listen. If a caller needs more help, operators will refer the person to the appropriate service.
The 24-hour number for Hastings and Prince Edward Counties is 310-OPEN (6736). No area code is required.
"Many times the best thing that can be done for people who don't feel they really need to go for professional help is to talk about these matters.
"The population can feel free to call their radio, to have open lines, to talk about themselves," Arboleda-Florez said.
He said police should also release as much information as is possible without harming their investigations.
"Usually ... there is kind of a snowball effect of rumours. And rumours tend to become 'true facts' because people tend to believe them. That's why the authorities should always be free to open communications."
If that information doesn't flow, he said, "that increases the possibility of rumours in the population."
Samara Navi, 53, of Smithfield is retired from her job as a chaplain in the psychiatry and detoxification departments of Kingston's Hotel Dieu hospital.
She said her former spouse served in the military for 23 years and she continues to have many friends in the service. They "are in absolute shock" because of Williams' arrest, she said, because they "never questioned anything around this type of authority.
"To hear that he, in particular, was charged puts people I know at a standstill. We trust our doctors; we trust our lawyers; we have safe people," she said. "He would have been regarded as one of those people."
Should Williams be convicted, she said, it would mean "one of our 'safe people' pulled the rug out from beneath our feet," said Navi.
And when that occurs, she added, "there's an automatic feeling of, 'I'm not safe'" among residents.
Navi said she witnessed that Monday while running errands in Trenton.
"I experienced so much fear."
In her bank, she said, staff and customers alike stood silently as they listened to a live radio broadcast of the news conference in which the charges against Williams were read.
Navi is also an artist and maintains an online web log, or blog. Earlier this week, she said, she created artwork -- a motivational card -- inspired by her desire to ease the grief of area residents. She also asked readers to pray for the victims' families and staff of CFB Trenton.
"Whatever really takes over the media or the public consciousness -- that's where I'm driven in my art," said Navi, who also created art based on the humanitarian crisis in post-earthquake Haiti.
"I think the people need something that says, 'There has to be some prayers around this' to uplift (them).
"I'm a multi-faith chaplain, so I'm not preaching for Jesus; I'm not preaching for Muhammad. I'm preaching for a bigger thing to happen than fear."
Drawing upon her training as a chaplain, Navi encouraged people concerned by the Williams case to "reach to the deepest parts of you that have known love and to draw upon the times in your life when you were able to take the most painful moments and recover from them. How did you do it? Look at that process and do it again.
"You have to focus there because this fear will take you down and smother you," she said. "This is big enough that it has that power. It requires mental will more than anything to not let this grip our minds or our hearts or our need for gossip to reach for love and for compassion."
lhendry@intelligencer.ca
Tweed residents coming to grips with living on same street as accused murderer
Posted By JASON MILLER THE INTELLIGENCER
Posted February 12th, 2010
Calvin Sinclair is fighting to come to grips with how he came to live on the same street as an accused murderer.
Sinclair was, in some ways, coerced into moving to Cosy Cove lane, after his landlord gave him notice to leave his previous residence on Crookston Road in Tweed. Sinclair immediately picked up his belongings and moved to another rental property in the picturesque lakefront neighbourhood in September.
Sinclair's plan for a tranquil escape turned ugly after two female neighbours became victims of home invasions.
"We didn't have that long to enjoy the peace and quite," he said Wednesday, while walking by the house owned by Col. Russ Williams.
Williams has been charged in the deaths of both Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau. He also faces charges connected with the two home invasions.
Sinclair said that since the story exploded onto the national spotlight Monday, his neighbours have become less visible. He said although shocked, people are also relieved an arrest has been made.
"It makes you sleep better," he said.
Bill Page said that shock will hang over the community forever. He said the house would have to be demolished to give residents peace of mind.
"As you go by you (think of) Jessica," he said about Williams' cottage. "It sends a chill up your spine."
Page said the reputation of the area has been tarnished. It will also take a long time before neighbours start opening up to each other again, he said. "It's going to take us a while to
get over it," he said. "This used to be a care-free area. You got to think about things now."
Page said newcomers to the area may now find it difficult to fit in.
"It opens your eyes," he said. "You never know who lives down the street from you."
Andrea Bateman said she can't wait for the media and the police to leave, so the community can begin recovering.
She said community spirit has been knocked out of the area since the two home invasions in September, but Williams arrest on murder charges is a "heavier blow."
"Doors are closed and blinds have been drawn since September," she said. "I just want it all cleaned up."
Larry Jones has been alternating between horror and relief since Monday.
Jones was once considered a suspect in the two home invasions, but was officially cleared of suspicion since Williams' arrest.
"The mood has changed dramatically," he said. "People aren't afraid to speak to me because they know I'm not involved with it. It's kind of like old times again."
Jones said the story has had such far-reaching tentacles that he wouldn't be surprised to see curious onlookers flocking to the area to catch a glimpse of the house.
"I think it will generate more interest because people will want to come here to see the house," he said. "People will be sightseeing as soon as the police pull out of here."
Posted February 12th, 2010
Calvin Sinclair is fighting to come to grips with how he came to live on the same street as an accused murderer.
Sinclair was, in some ways, coerced into moving to Cosy Cove lane, after his landlord gave him notice to leave his previous residence on Crookston Road in Tweed. Sinclair immediately picked up his belongings and moved to another rental property in the picturesque lakefront neighbourhood in September.
Sinclair's plan for a tranquil escape turned ugly after two female neighbours became victims of home invasions.
"We didn't have that long to enjoy the peace and quite," he said Wednesday, while walking by the house owned by Col. Russ Williams.
Williams has been charged in the deaths of both Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau. He also faces charges connected with the two home invasions.
Sinclair said that since the story exploded onto the national spotlight Monday, his neighbours have become less visible. He said although shocked, people are also relieved an arrest has been made.
"It makes you sleep better," he said.
Bill Page said that shock will hang over the community forever. He said the house would have to be demolished to give residents peace of mind.
"As you go by you (think of) Jessica," he said about Williams' cottage. "It sends a chill up your spine."
Page said the reputation of the area has been tarnished. It will also take a long time before neighbours start opening up to each other again, he said. "It's going to take us a while to
get over it," he said. "This used to be a care-free area. You got to think about things now."
Page said newcomers to the area may now find it difficult to fit in.
"It opens your eyes," he said. "You never know who lives down the street from you."
Andrea Bateman said she can't wait for the media and the police to leave, so the community can begin recovering.
She said community spirit has been knocked out of the area since the two home invasions in September, but Williams arrest on murder charges is a "heavier blow."
"Doors are closed and blinds have been drawn since September," she said. "I just want it all cleaned up."
Larry Jones has been alternating between horror and relief since Monday.
Jones was once considered a suspect in the two home invasions, but was officially cleared of suspicion since Williams' arrest.
"The mood has changed dramatically," he said. "People aren't afraid to speak to me because they know I'm not involved with it. It's kind of like old times again."
Jones said the story has had such far-reaching tentacles that he wouldn't be surprised to see curious onlookers flocking to the area to catch a glimpse of the house.
"I think it will generate more interest because people will want to come here to see the house," he said. "People will be sightseeing as soon as the police pull out of here."
Williams on suicide watch
Posted By Rob Tripp QMI Agency
Posted February 11th, 2010
KINGSTON — A senior air force commander charged with murdering two women was placed on a suicide watch when he arrived at a provincial jail in Napanee because of his bizarre behaviour, QMI Agency has learned.
Col. Russell Williams was acting as though he was a prisoner of war when he was first processed at the Quinte Detention Centre. He would only give authorities his name, rank and serial number, sources at the jail said.
Williams was assessed by a psychiatrist and he was deemed a possible suicide risk, sources said. His demeanor has been described as "cocky" but "vacant."
He was given a tear and burn-proof outfit, known among jail workers as an "oven mitt" or "baby doll" to wear. It is a thick gown, made from an impervious material, with holes for arms and head. The wearer is stripped of personal clothing, including underwear and other personal effects.
Williams was placed in a segregation cell where he could be monitored continually by security staff and where he had no privacy. The suicide watch segregation cell does not have a screen or covering over the barred front so that staff can see inside at all times.
Williams' mattress was removed in the daytime and returned only at night.
On Wednesday, Williams was allowed to exchange his suicide gown for a regular orange jumpsuit that is issued to most prisoners at Quinte, a crowded provincial holding and remand centre, sources said. Most of the inmates at the facility are awaiting trial.
Built to hold nearly 100 inmates, Quinte is often jammed with 300 or more prisoners. In some cases, inmates sleep on mattresses in hallways or placed on the floor of cells.
Williams remains in a segregation cell by himself with no contact with other inmates.
Sources said he has spoken very little and often refuses to make eye contact with jail staff.
His next court appearance will be by video link from the detention centre. Inmates are taken to a room in the centre where they stand in front of a camera, monitor and telephone that is part of a network connected to provincial courthouses.
The system allows routine remands to be conducted without the expense and time of shuttling prisoners from jails to court buildings.
Defence lawyers are still able to talk to the accused on a secure phone line.
Posted February 11th, 2010
KINGSTON — A senior air force commander charged with murdering two women was placed on a suicide watch when he arrived at a provincial jail in Napanee because of his bizarre behaviour, QMI Agency has learned.
Col. Russell Williams was acting as though he was a prisoner of war when he was first processed at the Quinte Detention Centre. He would only give authorities his name, rank and serial number, sources at the jail said.
Williams was assessed by a psychiatrist and he was deemed a possible suicide risk, sources said. His demeanor has been described as "cocky" but "vacant."
He was given a tear and burn-proof outfit, known among jail workers as an "oven mitt" or "baby doll" to wear. It is a thick gown, made from an impervious material, with holes for arms and head. The wearer is stripped of personal clothing, including underwear and other personal effects.
Williams was placed in a segregation cell where he could be monitored continually by security staff and where he had no privacy. The suicide watch segregation cell does not have a screen or covering over the barred front so that staff can see inside at all times.
Williams' mattress was removed in the daytime and returned only at night.
On Wednesday, Williams was allowed to exchange his suicide gown for a regular orange jumpsuit that is issued to most prisoners at Quinte, a crowded provincial holding and remand centre, sources said. Most of the inmates at the facility are awaiting trial.
Built to hold nearly 100 inmates, Quinte is often jammed with 300 or more prisoners. In some cases, inmates sleep on mattresses in hallways or placed on the floor of cells.
Williams remains in a segregation cell by himself with no contact with other inmates.
Sources said he has spoken very little and often refuses to make eye contact with jail staff.
His next court appearance will be by video link from the detention centre. Inmates are taken to a room in the centre where they stand in front of a camera, monitor and telephone that is part of a network connected to provincial courthouses.
The system allows routine remands to be conducted without the expense and time of shuttling prisoners from jails to court buildings.
Defence lawyers are still able to talk to the accused on a secure phone line.
'It makes you sleep better'
Arrest of Russ Williams
Posted By Jason Miller
Posted February 11th, 2010
JASON MILLER The Intelligencer
Investigators from the OPP's Forensic Identification Unit, are seen at Col. Russ Williams home Wednesday.
Andrea Bateman hasn't been too eager to go for walks with her dog, Chance, along Cosy Cove Lane in Tweed since the body of murder victim Jessica Lloyd was found earlier this week.
Calvin Sinclair is fighting to come to grips with how he came to live on the same street as an accused murderer.
Sinclair was, in some ways, coerced into moving to Cosy Cove lane, after his landlord gave him notice to leave his previous residence on Crookston Road in Tweed. Sinclair immediately picked up his belongings and moved to another rental property in the picturesque lakefront neighbourhood in September.
Sinclair's plan for a tranquil escape turned ugly after two female neighbours became victims of home invasions.
"We didn't have that long to enjoy the peace and quite," he said Wednesday, while walking by the the house owned by Col. Russ Williams.
Williams has been charged in the deaths of both Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau. He also faces charges connected with the two home invasions.
Sinclair said that since the story exploded onto the national spotlight Monday, his neighbours have become less visible. He said although shocked, people are also relieved an arrest has been made.
"It makes you sleep better," he said.
Bill Page said that shock will hang over the community forever. He said the house would have to be demolished to give residents peace of mind.
"As you go by you (think of) Jessica," he said about Williams' cottage. "It sends a chill up your spine."
Page said the reputation of the area has been tarnished. It will also take a long time before neighbours start opening up to each other again, he said.
"It's going to take us a while to get over it," he said. "This use to be a care-free area. You got to think about things now."
Page said newcomers to the area may now find it difficult to fit in.
"It opens your eyes," he said. "You never know who lives down the street from you."
Andrea Bateman said she can't wait for the media and the police to leave, so the community can begin recovering.
She said community spirit has been knocked out of the area since the two home invasions in September, but Williams arrest on murder charges is a "heavier blow."
"Doors are closed and blinds have been drawn since September," she said. "I just want it all cleaned up."
Larry Jones has been alternating between horror and relief since Monday.
Jones was once considered a suspect in the two home invasions, but was officially cleared of suspicion since Williams' arrest.
"The mood has changed dramatically," he said. "People aren't afraid to speak to me because they know I'm not involved with it. It's kind of like old times again."
Jones said the story has had such far-reaching tentacles that he wouldn't be surprised to see curious onlookers flocking the area to catch a glimpse of the house.
"I think it will generate more interest because people will want to come here to see the house," he said. "People will be sightseeing as soon as the police pull out of here."
Posted By Jason Miller
Posted February 11th, 2010
JASON MILLER The Intelligencer
Investigators from the OPP's Forensic Identification Unit, are seen at Col. Russ Williams home Wednesday.
Andrea Bateman hasn't been too eager to go for walks with her dog, Chance, along Cosy Cove Lane in Tweed since the body of murder victim Jessica Lloyd was found earlier this week.
Calvin Sinclair is fighting to come to grips with how he came to live on the same street as an accused murderer.
Sinclair was, in some ways, coerced into moving to Cosy Cove lane, after his landlord gave him notice to leave his previous residence on Crookston Road in Tweed. Sinclair immediately picked up his belongings and moved to another rental property in the picturesque lakefront neighbourhood in September.
Sinclair's plan for a tranquil escape turned ugly after two female neighbours became victims of home invasions.
"We didn't have that long to enjoy the peace and quite," he said Wednesday, while walking by the the house owned by Col. Russ Williams.
Williams has been charged in the deaths of both Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau. He also faces charges connected with the two home invasions.
Sinclair said that since the story exploded onto the national spotlight Monday, his neighbours have become less visible. He said although shocked, people are also relieved an arrest has been made.
"It makes you sleep better," he said.
Bill Page said that shock will hang over the community forever. He said the house would have to be demolished to give residents peace of mind.
"As you go by you (think of) Jessica," he said about Williams' cottage. "It sends a chill up your spine."
Page said the reputation of the area has been tarnished. It will also take a long time before neighbours start opening up to each other again, he said.
"It's going to take us a while to get over it," he said. "This use to be a care-free area. You got to think about things now."
Page said newcomers to the area may now find it difficult to fit in.
"It opens your eyes," he said. "You never know who lives down the street from you."
Andrea Bateman said she can't wait for the media and the police to leave, so the community can begin recovering.
She said community spirit has been knocked out of the area since the two home invasions in September, but Williams arrest on murder charges is a "heavier blow."
"Doors are closed and blinds have been drawn since September," she said. "I just want it all cleaned up."
Larry Jones has been alternating between horror and relief since Monday.
Jones was once considered a suspect in the two home invasions, but was officially cleared of suspicion since Williams' arrest.
"The mood has changed dramatically," he said. "People aren't afraid to speak to me because they know I'm not involved with it. It's kind of like old times again."
Jones said the story has had such far-reaching tentacles that he wouldn't be surprised to see curious onlookers flocking the area to catch a glimpse of the house.
"I think it will generate more interest because people will want to come here to see the house," he said. "People will be sightseeing as soon as the police pull out of here."
Tweed neighbourhood uneasy
Russ Williams
Posted By W. Brice McVicar
Posted February 11th, 2010
Margaret Dafoe has called her house on Highway 37 home for nine years, but it is only recently she began locking her doors.
Dafoe, who lives just two doors away from Jessica Lloyd's tidy brick bungalow, said the 27-year-old's murder has shaken her sense of security in the quiet, rural neighbourhood just north of Belleville. Like other residents in the Quinte region, this past week's news has left Dafoe wondering how such horrible crimes could happen here.
"It hits really close to home, that's for sure. It's just a shame to see such a young girl — and a very pretty girl — killed like that," she said. "We've never had anything like this before."
Dafoe said she always locked her doors when she left the house for work or shopping, but would never have considered making sure those locks were in place while she was in her home. That's changed since Lloyd's disappearance and the eventual discovery of her body and arrest of Col. Russ Williams.
"It makes you think and wonder, that's for sure."
A caller to The Intelligencer suggested police need to place a greater emphasis on urging residents, particularly women, to take precautions. She doesn't buy the fear of spreading panic in doing just that, either.
"Panic in the general population," said the woman, who described herself as a mother and former teacher, "is immaterial when it's weighed against public safety."
Last week, police conducted a roadside canvass in front of Lloyd's home, asking all motorists if they had seen anything suspicious or if they had information that would assist them in their investigation. Though that canvass took place just north of Dafoe's home, she was still approached by police, she said.
A police officer approached her as she returned home that night and asked her some questions. The officer's questions were simple, she said, with inquiries focusing on whether Dafoe had heard anything suspicious or witnessed any suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.
And those questions weren't the only ones Dafoe had to answer.
"Pretty near every weekend we had police at our door, or detectives .... I didn't see anything though," she said.
Lloyd's neighbour, Dawn Chambers, said that increased police presence in the neighbourhood has made her feel safer, despite their reason for being in the community. She said police cruisers — especially those that had remained parked at Lloyd's house for the past two weeks — were a common sight.
"They were there, it seems, 24-hours-a-day some days and certainly dropping in frequently when they weren't parked there," she said. "Safety, though ... I don't feel any differently."
Chambers said the crime hasn't shaken her sense of security, living as she does in the country, and she has not changed her lifestyle due to the circumstances. There have been break-ins in the community in the past, she added, and people need to be cautious all the time.
"We've always used common sense in what we do by keeping our vehicles locked and making sure our home is locked. I can't say we've changed anything, really," she said.
However, Chambers said she does get "an eerie feeling" when she looks at Lloyd's house at night. She said she knew Lloyd only "casually" and would often wave to her when she saw her, but the relationship never extended beyond friendly, neighbourly waves and smiles.
Lloyd's father, Warren, was a hunting buddy of retired city police inspector Garnet Goodwin.
Goodwin, who spoke highly of the entire Lloyd family, lives not far from Lloyd's home on Highway 37.
The events this week, he said, have not changed his feeling of security in the rural area north of Belleville, though he admitted he has always been leery of leaving family members home alone.
"I've never had concerns for my sense of security, though I certainly do with leaving a family member," he said. "I don't think we can live in a barricaded mentality, but I think you have to take precautions to safeguard yourself, no matter what."
Goodwin, who now works for Alarm Systems, said residents can take steps to increase their security by ensuring they have outside lighting, strong locks on doors, bushes cut away from windows so points of entry are not concealed and even a home security system.
The idea, he said, is to make sure your property is as secure as possible. Such steps — regardless of where you live — can decrease the chances of being a victim of crime.
Focusing on Lloyd's murder, Goodwin said he was impressed with the work conducted by police in arresting Williams.
"This is a very horrendous situation and thank God for the team effort of all the police services," he said. "They've done a great job."
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Posted By W. Brice McVicar
Posted February 11th, 2010
Margaret Dafoe has called her house on Highway 37 home for nine years, but it is only recently she began locking her doors.
Dafoe, who lives just two doors away from Jessica Lloyd's tidy brick bungalow, said the 27-year-old's murder has shaken her sense of security in the quiet, rural neighbourhood just north of Belleville. Like other residents in the Quinte region, this past week's news has left Dafoe wondering how such horrible crimes could happen here.
"It hits really close to home, that's for sure. It's just a shame to see such a young girl — and a very pretty girl — killed like that," she said. "We've never had anything like this before."
Dafoe said she always locked her doors when she left the house for work or shopping, but would never have considered making sure those locks were in place while she was in her home. That's changed since Lloyd's disappearance and the eventual discovery of her body and arrest of Col. Russ Williams.
"It makes you think and wonder, that's for sure."
A caller to The Intelligencer suggested police need to place a greater emphasis on urging residents, particularly women, to take precautions. She doesn't buy the fear of spreading panic in doing just that, either.
"Panic in the general population," said the woman, who described herself as a mother and former teacher, "is immaterial when it's weighed against public safety."
Last week, police conducted a roadside canvass in front of Lloyd's home, asking all motorists if they had seen anything suspicious or if they had information that would assist them in their investigation. Though that canvass took place just north of Dafoe's home, she was still approached by police, she said.
A police officer approached her as she returned home that night and asked her some questions. The officer's questions were simple, she said, with inquiries focusing on whether Dafoe had heard anything suspicious or witnessed any suspicious activity in the neighbourhood.
And those questions weren't the only ones Dafoe had to answer.
"Pretty near every weekend we had police at our door, or detectives .... I didn't see anything though," she said.
Lloyd's neighbour, Dawn Chambers, said that increased police presence in the neighbourhood has made her feel safer, despite their reason for being in the community. She said police cruisers — especially those that had remained parked at Lloyd's house for the past two weeks — were a common sight.
"They were there, it seems, 24-hours-a-day some days and certainly dropping in frequently when they weren't parked there," she said. "Safety, though ... I don't feel any differently."
Chambers said the crime hasn't shaken her sense of security, living as she does in the country, and she has not changed her lifestyle due to the circumstances. There have been break-ins in the community in the past, she added, and people need to be cautious all the time.
"We've always used common sense in what we do by keeping our vehicles locked and making sure our home is locked. I can't say we've changed anything, really," she said.
However, Chambers said she does get "an eerie feeling" when she looks at Lloyd's house at night. She said she knew Lloyd only "casually" and would often wave to her when she saw her, but the relationship never extended beyond friendly, neighbourly waves and smiles.
Lloyd's father, Warren, was a hunting buddy of retired city police inspector Garnet Goodwin.
Goodwin, who spoke highly of the entire Lloyd family, lives not far from Lloyd's home on Highway 37.
The events this week, he said, have not changed his feeling of security in the rural area north of Belleville, though he admitted he has always been leery of leaving family members home alone.
"I've never had concerns for my sense of security, though I certainly do with leaving a family member," he said. "I don't think we can live in a barricaded mentality, but I think you have to take precautions to safeguard yourself, no matter what."
Goodwin, who now works for Alarm Systems, said residents can take steps to increase their security by ensuring they have outside lighting, strong locks on doors, bushes cut away from windows so points of entry are not concealed and even a home security system.
The idea, he said, is to make sure your property is as secure as possible. Such steps — regardless of where you live — can decrease the chances of being a victim of crime.
Focusing on Lloyd's murder, Goodwin said he was impressed with the work conducted by police in arresting Williams.
"This is a very horrendous situation and thank God for the team effort of all the police services," he said. "They've done a great job."
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
General tells troops to stand tall
Trenton
Posted By QMI Agency
Posted February 11th, 2010
CFB TRENTON — Canada's top soldier is telling military officials and personnel here "to stand tall and to stand proud," despite the arrest of former commanding officer Col. Russ Williams on two counts of first-degree murder.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk visited the largest Canadian air force base Wednesday, the first time since Williams was charged with the murders of Belleville's Jessica Lloyd and 437 squadron's Cpl. Marie-France Comeau Monday.
"I came here to Trenton today to tell our troops and military staff that we have a responsibility to do what is right in these troubled times for the Canadian Forces," said Natynczyk. "It's been a difficult 48 hours, but we have to move forward. I am here to support my colleagues and to honour the families that have lost loved ones."
The Chief of Defence Staff said he was shocked when he was informed of the charges laid against Williams.
"We all felt the shock and most importantly it was really hard to believe," said Natynczyk. "Today (Wednesday) I told the men and women of CFB Trenton to support the national investigation services and that we will follow the judicial process as it unfolds."
The military official also met with Quinte West Mayor John Williams and Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis to thank them for their support and to discuss the repercussions such "serious accusations" against the local base's leader might have on the two communities.
Mayor Williams said the Chief of Defence Staff was concerned with the support toward the troops within the Trenton community.
"We told him how important 8 Wing is in our communities and that the Forces can count on our support," he said. "In these difficult times, he (Natynczyk) wanted to show us his support. We told him to let us know if there is anything we could do to help."
Natynczyk said he felt "a great deal of support and respect for the men an women of CFB Trenton within the community."
"We went to Tim Hortons today and a resident of Trenton told me how he appreciates the work done by our troops and wanted to show us his support in these difficult times," Natynczyk said.
He said the Canadian Forces have a duty toward all Canadians and must move forward and keep up the "great work" throughout the current missions in Afghanistan and Haiti.
"We all have to step up," said Natynczyk. "We also have to see what we can learned from all this and do what's necessary to make sure it doesn't occur again."
Posted By QMI Agency
Posted February 11th, 2010
CFB TRENTON — Canada's top soldier is telling military officials and personnel here "to stand tall and to stand proud," despite the arrest of former commanding officer Col. Russ Williams on two counts of first-degree murder.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk visited the largest Canadian air force base Wednesday, the first time since Williams was charged with the murders of Belleville's Jessica Lloyd and 437 squadron's Cpl. Marie-France Comeau Monday.
"I came here to Trenton today to tell our troops and military staff that we have a responsibility to do what is right in these troubled times for the Canadian Forces," said Natynczyk. "It's been a difficult 48 hours, but we have to move forward. I am here to support my colleagues and to honour the families that have lost loved ones."
The Chief of Defence Staff said he was shocked when he was informed of the charges laid against Williams.
"We all felt the shock and most importantly it was really hard to believe," said Natynczyk. "Today (Wednesday) I told the men and women of CFB Trenton to support the national investigation services and that we will follow the judicial process as it unfolds."
The military official also met with Quinte West Mayor John Williams and Belleville Mayor Neil Ellis to thank them for their support and to discuss the repercussions such "serious accusations" against the local base's leader might have on the two communities.
Mayor Williams said the Chief of Defence Staff was concerned with the support toward the troops within the Trenton community.
"We told him how important 8 Wing is in our communities and that the Forces can count on our support," he said. "In these difficult times, he (Natynczyk) wanted to show us his support. We told him to let us know if there is anything we could do to help."
Natynczyk said he felt "a great deal of support and respect for the men an women of CFB Trenton within the community."
"We went to Tim Hortons today and a resident of Trenton told me how he appreciates the work done by our troops and wanted to show us his support in these difficult times," Natynczyk said.
He said the Canadian Forces have a duty toward all Canadians and must move forward and keep up the "great work" throughout the current missions in Afghanistan and Haiti.
"We all have to step up," said Natynczyk. "We also have to see what we can learned from all this and do what's necessary to make sure it doesn't occur again."
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
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
Belleville, Quinte West mayors want to maintain good relations
Posted By BRICE MCVICAR, ERNST KUGLIN THE INTELLIGENCER, QMI AGENCY
Posted February 10th, 2010
The commanding officer of CFB Trenton was supposed to be at the official opening Wednesday afternoon of a new restaurant in downtown Trenton.
Instead Col. Russ Williams is behind bars, facing two first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Belleville's Jessica Lloyd and CFB Trenton flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
Williams' name appeared on the invitation.
Quinte West Mayor John Williams was on the invitation as a dignitary as well.
It was just one example where both leaders would be called upon, through the course of an average week, to attend the same community function.
In the previous months, both men attended civic functions such as a gala fundraising dinner for the local hospital foundation and the Olympic torch run to name a few.
Last fall they were on the tarmac at CFB Trenton when Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced the federal government was pumping another $300 million into redeveloping base infrastructure.
They met last week for about an hour to discuss a proposed memorial wall, recognizing the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Until Monday morning, it was business as usual. Col. Russ Williams was the commanding officer of Canada's largest Air Force base, John Williams, the mayor of the host community.
By Tuesday morning, Mayor Williams had another meeting at the base. Only this time it was to discuss how to maintain the close relationship between civilian and military communities given the startling developments of the previous 24 hours.
Municipal leaders from around the Quinte region met with Gen. Yvan Blondin, Commander of 1 Air Division.
"What I want out in the community is that we are here to support the men and women at CFB Trenton who continue to work hard on three difficult operations -- Haiti, Afghanistan and the Olympics. That's important,'' said Williams.
The arrest of Col. Williams, said the mayor, should not change that "special relationship.''
"We rely on each other. We work closely together. These people are our neighbours, friends and family,'' said the mayor. "This is just one individual who has been charged. It should not be a reflection of how the community perceives the base.''
Mayor Neil Ellis said Tuesday's meeting was nothing more than the military underscoring its relationship with the City of Belleville and emphasizing that the lines of communication between the two would remain open. He said the military community is "obviously hurting" and the meeting allowed all the local community leaders to share their thoughts on the situation.
"They were asking if there was anything they could do and wanting to keep those lines of communication open," he said.
Ellis noted he had only met Williams twice since he was named base commander in July. Those two meetings, the mayor said, only lasted for approximately six minutes, combined.
"I met him for the first time at (deputy police Chief) Paul VandeGraaf's swearing in and I introduced myself and then, two weeks later, he dropped the puck at the Bearcat (hockey) tournament. He was on the ice, I said 'hello' and that was it," he said.
Posted February 10th, 2010
The commanding officer of CFB Trenton was supposed to be at the official opening Wednesday afternoon of a new restaurant in downtown Trenton.
Instead Col. Russ Williams is behind bars, facing two first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Belleville's Jessica Lloyd and CFB Trenton flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
Williams' name appeared on the invitation.
Quinte West Mayor John Williams was on the invitation as a dignitary as well.
It was just one example where both leaders would be called upon, through the course of an average week, to attend the same community function.
In the previous months, both men attended civic functions such as a gala fundraising dinner for the local hospital foundation and the Olympic torch run to name a few.
Last fall they were on the tarmac at CFB Trenton when Defence Minister Peter MacKay announced the federal government was pumping another $300 million into redeveloping base infrastructure.
They met last week for about an hour to discuss a proposed memorial wall, recognizing the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Until Monday morning, it was business as usual. Col. Russ Williams was the commanding officer of Canada's largest Air Force base, John Williams, the mayor of the host community.
By Tuesday morning, Mayor Williams had another meeting at the base. Only this time it was to discuss how to maintain the close relationship between civilian and military communities given the startling developments of the previous 24 hours.
Municipal leaders from around the Quinte region met with Gen. Yvan Blondin, Commander of 1 Air Division.
"What I want out in the community is that we are here to support the men and women at CFB Trenton who continue to work hard on three difficult operations -- Haiti, Afghanistan and the Olympics. That's important,'' said Williams.
The arrest of Col. Williams, said the mayor, should not change that "special relationship.''
"We rely on each other. We work closely together. These people are our neighbours, friends and family,'' said the mayor. "This is just one individual who has been charged. It should not be a reflection of how the community perceives the base.''
Mayor Neil Ellis said Tuesday's meeting was nothing more than the military underscoring its relationship with the City of Belleville and emphasizing that the lines of communication between the two would remain open. He said the military community is "obviously hurting" and the meeting allowed all the local community leaders to share their thoughts on the situation.
"They were asking if there was anything they could do and wanting to keep those lines of communication open," he said.
Ellis noted he had only met Williams twice since he was named base commander in July. Those two meetings, the mayor said, only lasted for approximately six minutes, combined.
"I met him for the first time at (deputy police Chief) Paul VandeGraaf's swearing in and I introduced myself and then, two weeks later, he dropped the puck at the Bearcat (hockey) tournament. He was on the ice, I said 'hello' and that was it," he said.
Police forced into 'balancing act' on Russ Williams case: expert
Posted By LUKE HENDRY THE INTELLIGENCER
Posted February 10th, 2010
Area police were forced to manage a "balancing act" between making an arrest and warning the public in the Russ Williams case, a criminology expert says.
Police, though, were continuing to guard their methods Tuesday as their investigation continues.
"It's really for the police chief and investigators to engage in that balancing act: is it likely they're going to be able to track this person down or should they now be announcing to the population that there is a person loose who is doing this and to be doubly careful?" Rob Gordon, director of criminology at Vancouver's Simon Fraser University, said Tuesday in an telephone interview.
If they release information too quickly, it may spoil an investigation that could lead to an arrest and effective prosecution. On the other hand, if they hold on to it for too long, it could result in further victimizations.
"There's no policy any police manager can use with any accuracy to determine when they can tip one way or the other," said Gordon.
In a case in Vancouver, he said, police opted to alert school staff and parents that "someone in the school was an abduction target."
Criminal profiling -- both psychological and geographic -- is a tool used by police in some major cases. An expert can analyze patterns in crimes and help track down suspects.
Williams, a colonel then in command of CFB Trenton, is charged in connection with attacking women in two home invasions in Tweed Sept. 17 and Sept. 30, 2009. He's also charged in the murder of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton, who was killed last November, and Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, whose body was discovered in Tweed this week.
Similarities in the first two home invasions could warrant enlistng the help from one type of profiler, Gordon said.
"You certainly would after the second one occurred, depending on the availability of the resources," he said.
"You've got somebody who's busy doing the same thing. You need to start trying to predict where the next event will occur and also trying to get some idea of who this person might be."
Both Belleville and Ontario Provincial Police have said very little about how they came to suspect Williams. They have also noted they are now examining other cases for potential links.
Sgt. Kristine Rae, OPP eastern region spokeswoman, told The Intelligencer investigators aren't saying if profiling or other methods played a role in the case.
"Thoughout the investigations there have been special units that have been utilized but we're not prepared to discuss which ones," said Rae.
Rae did say, however, that legislation requires all Ontario police officers to enter information into the computerized Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System, or ViCLAS, so crimes can be compared and similarities found.
"The information sharing is definitely there," said Rae.
"The investigators investigate all these crimes very seriously," she said. "Everything possible that can be collected is collected.
"With Jessica Lloyd's disappearance, it wasn't until that point in time that all four of them could be linked. We have to go where the evidence takes us."
Police said information obtained in a Feb. 4 traffic blitz on Highway 37, the main route between Belleville and Tweed, led them to arrest Williams. Drivers were asked various questions related to the case.
Rae would not comment on rumours that Williams himself was questioned at the checkpoint or that police were examining vehicles' tires. She also declined to answer whether police received a tip while at the checkpoint or gathered evidence some other way, saying only that the evidence was "information that officers obtained" at the time.
Police have also faced questions about their warnings to the public about the case.
Rae said she issued a public warning personally Sept. 30, the day of the second home invasion in Tweed.
"There was a strong concern for the community."
She said the press release was sent that day to media throughout the region.
Last week, with Lloyd still missing, Belleville Police issued a public warning to women, advising them to take greater precautions to stay safe.
Kim Charlebois, executive director of the Belleville-based Sexual Assault Centre for Quinte and District, said at the time it was the right move. She cited Toronto's "Jane Doe" case -- in which police withheld information about a rapist and further rapes occurred -- as an example of what can happen when such warnings aren't issued.
Charlebois said Tuesday the release of further details following Williams' arrest hasn't changed her opinion on last week's warning and its timing, which she described as "a really tough call."
"I didn't think it was fear-mongering; I didn't think it was too harsh," she said. "It's always important to let the community know if they believe there's a serious offender in the community."
That applies to a wide range of cases, she said, from pedophiles just released from prison to someone who has attacked women and hasn't been captured.
"Too many times in the past the information has come too late."
She added the warning was the best option with a suspect still at large.
"We can't blame the police for not making an arrest when they don't yet have the evidence to find somebody," said Charlebois.
She said staff of the Sexual Assault Centre, Belleville's Three Oaks Foundation and Central Hastings OPP held an information meeting at Centre Hastings Secondary School in Madoc after the home invasions and offered advice on personal safety.
"The community was aware," she said.
Charlebois said there is a constant fight to change public perceptions about such attacks even when there isn't a current case in the news.
"A lot of people laugh at what we say or ignore what we have to say. (They say) 'It's just those women again.'
"We talk about the person often being in a position of power and trust. We talk about not buying
into the false message or the stereotype that it's the person in the dark alley or that stranger that nobody's ever heard of before, a person that's not from your community."
She said reports that Williams is "a nice man" match similar comments in countless other cases.
"When are we going to realize that often women are being sexually assaulted and physically assaulted by people that are perceived to be nice men?" she said. "There are different sides to people."
Charlebois said women's advocates need more public support in ending violence against women.
Belleville's Three Oaks Foundation executive director Pam Havery said Tuesday she was "not comfortable commenting" on how police have handled the Williams case.
"I don't want to comment on the specific cases until they're resolved," she said.
But she said the foundation, which provides shelter and services for abused women and their children, takes seriously all police warnings about women's safety.
"We encourage women to ensure that they take the precautions all the time," Havery said, suggesting women keep identification and cash on them. "We're doing work with women around Internet safety."
Havery said there has been increased interest in the foundation since Lloyd disappeared.
"We've had an increase in calls. Anything like this has such high visibility and it's such high publicity that it's a trigger."
She said women in need in the Quinte region can call the foundation's 24-hour crisis line at 613-966-3074 or 1-800-267-0533 or visit www.threeoaksfoundation.orgfor information.
Rae said daily safety precautions are good practice for everyone.
She suggested residents be aware of their surroundings, not travel alone, carry a mobile phone, change their direction or enter a public place if concerned about their situation and call police.
"Those calls we don't mind," said Rae.
lhendry@intelligencer.ca
Posted February 10th, 2010
Area police were forced to manage a "balancing act" between making an arrest and warning the public in the Russ Williams case, a criminology expert says.
Police, though, were continuing to guard their methods Tuesday as their investigation continues.
"It's really for the police chief and investigators to engage in that balancing act: is it likely they're going to be able to track this person down or should they now be announcing to the population that there is a person loose who is doing this and to be doubly careful?" Rob Gordon, director of criminology at Vancouver's Simon Fraser University, said Tuesday in an telephone interview.
If they release information too quickly, it may spoil an investigation that could lead to an arrest and effective prosecution. On the other hand, if they hold on to it for too long, it could result in further victimizations.
"There's no policy any police manager can use with any accuracy to determine when they can tip one way or the other," said Gordon.
In a case in Vancouver, he said, police opted to alert school staff and parents that "someone in the school was an abduction target."
Criminal profiling -- both psychological and geographic -- is a tool used by police in some major cases. An expert can analyze patterns in crimes and help track down suspects.
Williams, a colonel then in command of CFB Trenton, is charged in connection with attacking women in two home invasions in Tweed Sept. 17 and Sept. 30, 2009. He's also charged in the murder of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau of Brighton, who was killed last November, and Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, whose body was discovered in Tweed this week.
Similarities in the first two home invasions could warrant enlistng the help from one type of profiler, Gordon said.
"You certainly would after the second one occurred, depending on the availability of the resources," he said.
"You've got somebody who's busy doing the same thing. You need to start trying to predict where the next event will occur and also trying to get some idea of who this person might be."
Both Belleville and Ontario Provincial Police have said very little about how they came to suspect Williams. They have also noted they are now examining other cases for potential links.
Sgt. Kristine Rae, OPP eastern region spokeswoman, told The Intelligencer investigators aren't saying if profiling or other methods played a role in the case.
"Thoughout the investigations there have been special units that have been utilized but we're not prepared to discuss which ones," said Rae.
Rae did say, however, that legislation requires all Ontario police officers to enter information into the computerized Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System, or ViCLAS, so crimes can be compared and similarities found.
"The information sharing is definitely there," said Rae.
"The investigators investigate all these crimes very seriously," she said. "Everything possible that can be collected is collected.
"With Jessica Lloyd's disappearance, it wasn't until that point in time that all four of them could be linked. We have to go where the evidence takes us."
Police said information obtained in a Feb. 4 traffic blitz on Highway 37, the main route between Belleville and Tweed, led them to arrest Williams. Drivers were asked various questions related to the case.
Rae would not comment on rumours that Williams himself was questioned at the checkpoint or that police were examining vehicles' tires. She also declined to answer whether police received a tip while at the checkpoint or gathered evidence some other way, saying only that the evidence was "information that officers obtained" at the time.
Police have also faced questions about their warnings to the public about the case.
Rae said she issued a public warning personally Sept. 30, the day of the second home invasion in Tweed.
"There was a strong concern for the community."
She said the press release was sent that day to media throughout the region.
Last week, with Lloyd still missing, Belleville Police issued a public warning to women, advising them to take greater precautions to stay safe.
Kim Charlebois, executive director of the Belleville-based Sexual Assault Centre for Quinte and District, said at the time it was the right move. She cited Toronto's "Jane Doe" case -- in which police withheld information about a rapist and further rapes occurred -- as an example of what can happen when such warnings aren't issued.
Charlebois said Tuesday the release of further details following Williams' arrest hasn't changed her opinion on last week's warning and its timing, which she described as "a really tough call."
"I didn't think it was fear-mongering; I didn't think it was too harsh," she said. "It's always important to let the community know if they believe there's a serious offender in the community."
That applies to a wide range of cases, she said, from pedophiles just released from prison to someone who has attacked women and hasn't been captured.
"Too many times in the past the information has come too late."
She added the warning was the best option with a suspect still at large.
"We can't blame the police for not making an arrest when they don't yet have the evidence to find somebody," said Charlebois.
She said staff of the Sexual Assault Centre, Belleville's Three Oaks Foundation and Central Hastings OPP held an information meeting at Centre Hastings Secondary School in Madoc after the home invasions and offered advice on personal safety.
"The community was aware," she said.
Charlebois said there is a constant fight to change public perceptions about such attacks even when there isn't a current case in the news.
"A lot of people laugh at what we say or ignore what we have to say. (They say) 'It's just those women again.'
"We talk about the person often being in a position of power and trust. We talk about not buying
into the false message or the stereotype that it's the person in the dark alley or that stranger that nobody's ever heard of before, a person that's not from your community."
She said reports that Williams is "a nice man" match similar comments in countless other cases.
"When are we going to realize that often women are being sexually assaulted and physically assaulted by people that are perceived to be nice men?" she said. "There are different sides to people."
Charlebois said women's advocates need more public support in ending violence against women.
Belleville's Three Oaks Foundation executive director Pam Havery said Tuesday she was "not comfortable commenting" on how police have handled the Williams case.
"I don't want to comment on the specific cases until they're resolved," she said.
But she said the foundation, which provides shelter and services for abused women and their children, takes seriously all police warnings about women's safety.
"We encourage women to ensure that they take the precautions all the time," Havery said, suggesting women keep identification and cash on them. "We're doing work with women around Internet safety."
Havery said there has been increased interest in the foundation since Lloyd disappeared.
"We've had an increase in calls. Anything like this has such high visibility and it's such high publicity that it's a trigger."
She said women in need in the Quinte region can call the foundation's 24-hour crisis line at 613-966-3074 or 1-800-267-0533 or visit www.threeoaksfoundation.orgfor information.
Rae said daily safety precautions are good practice for everyone.
She suggested residents be aware of their surroundings, not travel alone, carry a mobile phone, change their direction or enter a public place if concerned about their situation and call police.
"Those calls we don't mind," said Rae.
lhendry@intelligencer.ca
UPDATE: Police release few details in Williams case
Won't confirm report tire tracks led to arrest
Posted By W. Brice McVicar
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 Jessica Lloyd and 37-year-old Marie-France 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 police force and the Belleville municipal 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
Posted By W. Brice McVicar
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 Jessica Lloyd and 37-year-old Marie-France 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 police force and the Belleville municipal 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
Remembering Jessica Lloyd
Posted By W. Brice McVicar
Updated February 10th, 2010
Those who knew 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd best have chosen to mourn her death silently in accordance with her family's wishes, declining interview requests and offering little insight into the murder victim's life.
Lloyd, whose body was discovered Monday off Cary Road near Tweed, worked as a transportation planner for the Tri-Board Transportation Services in Napanee. She was reported missing Jan. 29 when she failed to show up for work.
Steve Wowk, manager at Tri-Board, did not want to comment on Lloyd's death.
"Our thoughts are with the family," he said. "Everyone's going through a hard time right now and we really don't want to make a comment at this point."
A friend of Lloyd made a similar comment, noting a group of women who knew her had talked Monday evening and agreed, "out of respect" for Lloyd's family, they "wouldn't talk to the media."
Lloyd's family had requested, through a statement read by Belleville police Chief Cory McMullan at a press conference Monday, to have their privacy respected. That statement, however, did acknowledge the week leading up to the discovery of Lloyd's body and the subsequent arrest of Col. Russ Williams.
"Thanks to everyone who helped search for Jessica and to those who created and printed the banners, posters and flyers and to all family and friends who distributed them," McMullan read. "Thanks to the many companies who assisted in making sure Jessica's picture was everywhere."
And it was everywhere.
Lloyd's image was common throughout the Quinte region due to those posters, flyers and vehicle decals which were distributed throughout the area. Representatives from some of the companies who helped create them, and raise awareness about Lloyd's disappearance, said their efforts were done with the hope of seeing Lloyd return home.
"We all hoped that she'd be home safely," said Judy Bleekman, the payroll clerk for LMB Transport.
LMB Transport used its trucks to spread the word about Lloyd's disappearance by placing large decals featuring the missing person poster on a number of their trucks.
Bleekman said the use of their vehicles seemed natural as the whole community was following the case.
"We all live so close by and we're all from the same community," she said.
Andrew Martin, manager for Signs Unlimited, shared the same view. The Tyendinaga Territory company printed "hundreds" of vehicle decals and three large banners which were placed along Highway 401.
Martin said the company offered its services because Lloyd's disappearance took place "in our community."
2 Xtreme Graphics also played a vital role in the search for Lloyd with hundreds of hours dedicated to printing decals. Within a week, the local company produced approximately 12,000 vehicle decals.
Percy Watson, the company's manager, said owner Shannon Hannah decided to create the decals.
"She happened to know the family and came up with the idea. We started printing on Monday and continued right on through to Friday," he said. "We did well over 12,000 decals and we printed over 200 of the tractor trailer decals."
Watson said the outcome certainly was not what the community had been hoping for, though he hopes the efforts of his company and the entire community was an asset.
"It's really unfortunate," he said. "We did what we could and, hopefully, it did help. Our hearts certainly go out to her family."
Funeral arrangements for Lloyd are being handled by John R. Bush Funeral Home and visitation for family and friends will be Friday 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Service will be in the chapel Saturday at 1 p.m.
Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family.
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
Updated February 10th, 2010
Those who knew 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd best have chosen to mourn her death silently in accordance with her family's wishes, declining interview requests and offering little insight into the murder victim's life.
Lloyd, whose body was discovered Monday off Cary Road near Tweed, worked as a transportation planner for the Tri-Board Transportation Services in Napanee. She was reported missing Jan. 29 when she failed to show up for work.
Steve Wowk, manager at Tri-Board, did not want to comment on Lloyd's death.
"Our thoughts are with the family," he said. "Everyone's going through a hard time right now and we really don't want to make a comment at this point."
A friend of Lloyd made a similar comment, noting a group of women who knew her had talked Monday evening and agreed, "out of respect" for Lloyd's family, they "wouldn't talk to the media."
Lloyd's family had requested, through a statement read by Belleville police Chief Cory McMullan at a press conference Monday, to have their privacy respected. That statement, however, did acknowledge the week leading up to the discovery of Lloyd's body and the subsequent arrest of Col. Russ Williams.
"Thanks to everyone who helped search for Jessica and to those who created and printed the banners, posters and flyers and to all family and friends who distributed them," McMullan read. "Thanks to the many companies who assisted in making sure Jessica's picture was everywhere."
And it was everywhere.
Lloyd's image was common throughout the Quinte region due to those posters, flyers and vehicle decals which were distributed throughout the area. Representatives from some of the companies who helped create them, and raise awareness about Lloyd's disappearance, said their efforts were done with the hope of seeing Lloyd return home.
"We all hoped that she'd be home safely," said Judy Bleekman, the payroll clerk for LMB Transport.
LMB Transport used its trucks to spread the word about Lloyd's disappearance by placing large decals featuring the missing person poster on a number of their trucks.
Bleekman said the use of their vehicles seemed natural as the whole community was following the case.
"We all live so close by and we're all from the same community," she said.
Andrew Martin, manager for Signs Unlimited, shared the same view. The Tyendinaga Territory company printed "hundreds" of vehicle decals and three large banners which were placed along Highway 401.
Martin said the company offered its services because Lloyd's disappearance took place "in our community."
2 Xtreme Graphics also played a vital role in the search for Lloyd with hundreds of hours dedicated to printing decals. Within a week, the local company produced approximately 12,000 vehicle decals.
Percy Watson, the company's manager, said owner Shannon Hannah decided to create the decals.
"She happened to know the family and came up with the idea. We started printing on Monday and continued right on through to Friday," he said. "We did well over 12,000 decals and we printed over 200 of the tractor trailer decals."
Watson said the outcome certainly was not what the community had been hoping for, though he hopes the efforts of his company and the entire community was an asset.
"It's really unfortunate," he said. "We did what we could and, hopefully, it did help. Our hearts certainly go out to her family."
Funeral arrangements for Lloyd are being handled by John R. Bush Funeral Home and visitation for family and friends will be Friday 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Service will be in the chapel Saturday at 1 p.m.
Donations to the Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated by the family.
bmcvicar@intelligencer.ca
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