As youth, charged commander of CFB Trenton attended Upper Canada College and U of T
Published On Fri Feb 12 2010
Toronto police say they're ready to cooperate with Ontario Provincial Police investigators probing the past of Col. Russell Williams, the suspended Trenton base commander charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
In his youth, Williams attended Birchmount Park Collegiate in Scarborough as Russell Sovka – his stepfather's name – and was then an Upper Canada College student for several years. He has also studied at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams' brother is a Bowmanville doctor and his mother works at Sunnybrook hospital.
Police spokeswoman Const. Wendy Drummond said any investigation will be long and painstaking.
"We will be working with the Ontario Provincial Police, as required, to go through any unsolved cases in our jurisdiction that may be somehow related," she said Thursday.
"It'll take months before anything can be determined as far as previous cases and how they're linked."
On Thursday, OPP investigators continued to scour the Ottawa home where Williams lived with his wife, Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, associate director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Williams, who was suspended as commander of the sprawling Canadian Forces Base Trenton after he was charged Monday, remains in a Kingston prison, but he is no longer under the suicide watch in place during his first days in custody.
He is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville-area woman who vanished in late January, and of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a steward on the big military planes flying out of Trenton. He also is charged with two counts of sexual assault in connection with two home invasions last September near Tweed, northeast of Trenton.
Before coming to Trenton, Williams, 46, was stationed in Toronto, the Maritimes and Manitoba; he has also served overseas.
But if the memories of past friends and acquaintances are any indication, he did not make much of an impression.
Permell Ashby, who attended Birchmount Park Collegiate from 1976 to 1981 and played flute in the band with Williams – he played trumpet, she recalls – remembers Williams, but that's about all.
"I remember that I would often say hello," said Ashby. "He was in the band and everyone was friendly with each other."
Innes van Nostrand, who attended UCC with Williams in the early 1980s, said he was pretty good at flying under the radar.
He remembers him as "kind of a diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here.
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician," recalled van Nostrand, who is now a vice-principal at the elite boarding school.
On Thursday, The Globe and Mail reported Williams was born in England and grew up in Chalk River, where his stepfather was a nuclear engineer. Because of his expertise, the family travelled widely, including to South Korea.
For a time, The Globe reported, the family lived near the Scarborough Bluffs. When his stepfather and mother left to spend more time in Asia, Williams was enrolled at UCC.
While there, The Globe reported, he was a house prefect, mentoring young students, and reported to a fellow student who held the post of house steward, Andrew Saxton, now a member of Parliament representing North Vancouver.
"I have not seen him for nearly three decades and did not realize he was the same person with whom I went to school until (Thursday) morning," Saxton said.
With files from Carmen Chai, Patty Winsa and The Canadian Press
Showing posts with label February 12th 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label February 12th 2010. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2010
Williams, Bernardo were college 'pals'
By The Canadian Press
Fri. Feb 12 - 7:27 AM
TORONTO — Police sources tell the Toronto Sun both Colonel Russell Williams and Paul Bernardo were ``pals'' when they attended the University of Toronto in the 1980s.
They both studied economics at the Military Trail campus in east-end Toronto and graduated together in 1987.
Unidentified police sources tell the newspaper the two ``partied'' together and that their relationship is now under scrutiny by police.
But Bernardo's father, Ken Bernardo, told the Sun his son doesn't recall Williams by that name, or by his stepfather's last name, Sovko.
Williams was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Corporal Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a video court appearance on February 18th.
Bernardo is serving life in prison for the murders of schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
Fri. Feb 12 - 7:27 AM
TORONTO — Police sources tell the Toronto Sun both Colonel Russell Williams and Paul Bernardo were ``pals'' when they attended the University of Toronto in the 1980s.
They both studied economics at the Military Trail campus in east-end Toronto and graduated together in 1987.
Unidentified police sources tell the newspaper the two ``partied'' together and that their relationship is now under scrutiny by police.
But Bernardo's father, Ken Bernardo, told the Sun his son doesn't recall Williams by that name, or by his stepfather's last name, Sovko.
Williams was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Corporal Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a video court appearance on February 18th.
Bernardo is serving life in prison for the murders of schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
Former officer paints a picture of a serial killer
By IAN ROBERTSON, QMI Agency
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 8:58pm
A sexual deviant who binds and takes photos of female victims as souvenirs is “the worst of the worst,” a private investigator and ex-Toronto Police detective says.
Such men often have a “trophy collection,” former Det.-Sgt. Dave Perry said in an interview.
And the veteran of some of the city’s worst sex and homicide cases, now CEO of ISN Investigative Solutions Network Inc., said such offenders usually start young.
While emotional and sexual gratification are key motives, Perry said, attackers rarely take captive photos.
The danger of them escaping detection is what starts teens fantasizing about assaults that can escalate over many years into physical contact, rape and murder, “because what used to work doesn’t any more,” he said.
Behavioural experts say trophies include peeping toms seeking personal items such as panties belonging to women they secretly observe and taking them from washing lines, laundry dryers or homes during break-ins.
Psychological and behavioural profiling of offences and offenders became a valuable tool years ago in helping predict a low-level offender’s likelihood of becoming a serial stalker and for revisiting unsolved cases, Perry said.
“But it’s not an absolute science,” he cautioned. “When you try to figure out a sexual offender, you could go crazy.”
Since the arrest this week of Col. Russell Williams, until recently commander of 8 Wing at CFB Trenton, families of unsolved sex crime victims have had their hopes raised, urging police to revisit those cases.
Similar demands were made after the arrest of Scarborough rapist Paul Bernardo, who was convicted in 1995 of the murders of teens Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French after he moved to St. Catharines.
The OPP has asked police in Toronto, Manitoba and the Maritimes — where Williams has lived — to wait for its behavioural science analysis service team’s profile, which could take several months.
Asking to reopen cold cases now “is a natural reaction,” Perry said.
But, he said, “people have to calm down and relax.
“There are a lot of sex offenders out there, who haven’t been caught, and you only want to use evidence to rule somebody in or out,” Perry said. “To jump to conclusions and pile it all on one man is negligent.”
He praised the OPP team, which helped him in such high-profile cases as the 2003 rape, murder and dismemberment of Holly Jones, 10.
Michael Briere, the only neighbour to refuse a police DNA request, pleaded guilty to her slaying.
Perry said he earlier rewrote the sex crimes unit manual, requiring the force to consult it on non-intercourse cases with warning signs of a possible sex offender.
DNA comparisons are essential, but since the national databank was only created in 2000, older cases are more difficult to match to a suspect.
Canadian police need a warrant or post-conviction order to get a suspect’s DNA.
But Perry said Toronto Police have obtained “cast-off samples” from public places, where an officer has observed and seized a suspect’s discarded cigarette butt, drinking glass or pop container.
Williams, 46, who used the name Sovka at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute and Upper Canada College while living in Scarborough in the late 1970s and 1980s, is charged with murdering two women.
A funeral service will be held Saturday for Jessica Lloyd, 27, whose body was found Monday near Belleville.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, was murdered in November in her Brighton home, west of Trenton.
An avid photographer, Williams is also charged with the forcible confinement of two women in Tweed, a village northeast of Belleville, two break and enters and their sexual assaults.
The OPP said a home invader awakened each survivor, raped and tied them up, then took their photos.
Search warrants police obtained for William’s bungalow in Tweed cited lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices. Ottawa police also searched the trendy Westboro neighbourhood home shared with his wife, Elizabeth Harriman.
In custody at the Quinte Detection Centre in Napanee, east of Belleville, his next court appearance is Thursday in Belleville, via a video link.
ian.robertson@sunmedia.ca
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 8:58pm
A sexual deviant who binds and takes photos of female victims as souvenirs is “the worst of the worst,” a private investigator and ex-Toronto Police detective says.
Such men often have a “trophy collection,” former Det.-Sgt. Dave Perry said in an interview.
And the veteran of some of the city’s worst sex and homicide cases, now CEO of ISN Investigative Solutions Network Inc., said such offenders usually start young.
While emotional and sexual gratification are key motives, Perry said, attackers rarely take captive photos.
The danger of them escaping detection is what starts teens fantasizing about assaults that can escalate over many years into physical contact, rape and murder, “because what used to work doesn’t any more,” he said.
Behavioural experts say trophies include peeping toms seeking personal items such as panties belonging to women they secretly observe and taking them from washing lines, laundry dryers or homes during break-ins.
Psychological and behavioural profiling of offences and offenders became a valuable tool years ago in helping predict a low-level offender’s likelihood of becoming a serial stalker and for revisiting unsolved cases, Perry said.
“But it’s not an absolute science,” he cautioned. “When you try to figure out a sexual offender, you could go crazy.”
Since the arrest this week of Col. Russell Williams, until recently commander of 8 Wing at CFB Trenton, families of unsolved sex crime victims have had their hopes raised, urging police to revisit those cases.
Similar demands were made after the arrest of Scarborough rapist Paul Bernardo, who was convicted in 1995 of the murders of teens Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French after he moved to St. Catharines.
The OPP has asked police in Toronto, Manitoba and the Maritimes — where Williams has lived — to wait for its behavioural science analysis service team’s profile, which could take several months.
Asking to reopen cold cases now “is a natural reaction,” Perry said.
But, he said, “people have to calm down and relax.
“There are a lot of sex offenders out there, who haven’t been caught, and you only want to use evidence to rule somebody in or out,” Perry said. “To jump to conclusions and pile it all on one man is negligent.”
He praised the OPP team, which helped him in such high-profile cases as the 2003 rape, murder and dismemberment of Holly Jones, 10.
Michael Briere, the only neighbour to refuse a police DNA request, pleaded guilty to her slaying.
Perry said he earlier rewrote the sex crimes unit manual, requiring the force to consult it on non-intercourse cases with warning signs of a possible sex offender.
DNA comparisons are essential, but since the national databank was only created in 2000, older cases are more difficult to match to a suspect.
Canadian police need a warrant or post-conviction order to get a suspect’s DNA.
But Perry said Toronto Police have obtained “cast-off samples” from public places, where an officer has observed and seized a suspect’s discarded cigarette butt, drinking glass or pop container.
Williams, 46, who used the name Sovka at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute and Upper Canada College while living in Scarborough in the late 1970s and 1980s, is charged with murdering two women.
A funeral service will be held Saturday for Jessica Lloyd, 27, whose body was found Monday near Belleville.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, was murdered in November in her Brighton home, west of Trenton.
An avid photographer, Williams is also charged with the forcible confinement of two women in Tweed, a village northeast of Belleville, two break and enters and their sexual assaults.
The OPP said a home invader awakened each survivor, raped and tied them up, then took their photos.
Search warrants police obtained for William’s bungalow in Tweed cited lingerie, baby blankets and computer data storage devices. Ottawa police also searched the trendy Westboro neighbourhood home shared with his wife, Elizabeth Harriman.
In custody at the Quinte Detection Centre in Napanee, east of Belleville, his next court appearance is Thursday in Belleville, via a video link.
ian.robertson@sunmedia.ca
Williams went to Scarborough high school
By DON PEAT, Toronto Sun
Last Updated: 11th February 2010, 8:52pm
The men and women of the Canadian Forces may feel like the "sacred trust" they put in their leadership was violated as a prominent commander faces murder charges, but the allegations must not dampen their pride, a general says.
Days after being charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of sexual assault, the early life of Air Force Col. Russell Williams is coming to life.
Yearbooks for Birchmount Park Collegiate in the late 1970s show a young Williams, then using his step-father's last name Sovka, with a faint smile in both his first and second years.
The Globe and Mail reported today that Williams finished his high school education at Upper Canada College before going to the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams is also featured prominently in photos of the school's band in the back pages of the yearbook.
Last Updated: 11th February 2010, 8:52pm
The men and women of the Canadian Forces may feel like the "sacred trust" they put in their leadership was violated as a prominent commander faces murder charges, but the allegations must not dampen their pride, a general says.
Days after being charged with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of sexual assault, the early life of Air Force Col. Russell Williams is coming to life.
Yearbooks for Birchmount Park Collegiate in the late 1970s show a young Williams, then using his step-father's last name Sovka, with a faint smile in both his first and second years.
The Globe and Mail reported today that Williams finished his high school education at Upper Canada College before going to the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.
Williams is also featured prominently in photos of the school's band in the back pages of the yearbook.
Random House to publish book on accused air force Col. Russell Williams in fall
(CP) – February 12th, 2010
TORONTO — A book on the Canadian air force colonel recently accused of killing two women and assaulting two others is set for release later this year.
Random House Canada says "Betrayal in Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams" will be published in the fall.
Timothy Appleby, a longtime crime reporter and foreign correspondent for the Globe and Mail, is writing the book.
In a release, he says "Williams looked to be everything a career military man should be" and "his shock arrest has left his friends, family, neighbours and the Canadian Armed Forces reeling."
Williams, a former commander of CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a court appearance via video on Feb. 18.
TORONTO — A book on the Canadian air force colonel recently accused of killing two women and assaulting two others is set for release later this year.
Random House Canada says "Betrayal in Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams" will be published in the fall.
Timothy Appleby, a longtime crime reporter and foreign correspondent for the Globe and Mail, is writing the book.
In a release, he says "Williams looked to be everything a career military man should be" and "his shock arrest has left his friends, family, neighbours and the Canadian Armed Forces reeling."
Williams, a former commander of CFB Trenton in eastern Ontario, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
He is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and is scheduled to make a court appearance via video on Feb. 18.
Book to cover colonel's case
By DON PEAT, Toronto Sun
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 5:08pm
Less than a week after Col. Russell Williams’ arrest shocked the country, Random House Canada has announced it will have a book out on the accused killer this fall.
Betrayal In Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams is expected to be on book shelves in late 2010, the publisher announced Thursday.
“Though the charges against the colonel are not yet proven, the case is riveting and deserves the best possible reporting to bring all its fascinating aspects to life,” Anne Collins, publisher of the Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, stated in a press release.
“People can’t stop talking about the alleged abuse of his position, the colonel’s (alleged) ability to lead a double life, the tragic loss of these vital young women.”
Random House has tapped Globe and Mail reporter Timothy Appleby to write it.
— Don Peat
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 5:08pm
Less than a week after Col. Russell Williams’ arrest shocked the country, Random House Canada has announced it will have a book out on the accused killer this fall.
Betrayal In Uniform: The Secret Life of Colonel Russell Williams is expected to be on book shelves in late 2010, the publisher announced Thursday.
“Though the charges against the colonel are not yet proven, the case is riveting and deserves the best possible reporting to bring all its fascinating aspects to life,” Anne Collins, publisher of the Knopf Random Canada Publishing Group, stated in a press release.
“People can’t stop talking about the alleged abuse of his position, the colonel’s (alleged) ability to lead a double life, the tragic loss of these vital young women.”
Random House has tapped Globe and Mail reporter Timothy Appleby to write it.
— Don Peat
Bernardo gives tips in case against colonel
By JOE WARMINGTON and DON PEAT, QMI Agency
February 12th, 2010
TORONTO — Locked away inside Kingston Penitentiary, notorious schoolgirl killer Paul Bernardo has heard about the arrest of Col. Russell Williams and, in a bizarre turn, even has some advice for cops.
Bernardo, speaking from solitary confinement, shared his thoughts with his father, Ken Bernardo.
“He said he doesn’t understand it and how (Williams allegedly would) have the ability to cover all that up,” Ken Bernardo told the Sun.
Williams, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
Bernardo, 45, was convicted in 1995 for the first-degree murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
In the wake of Williams’ arrest, police forces across the country have vowed to examine cold cases in their area to see if they might be a match with the alleged crimes the colonel is accused of committing. Williams’ military life straddles at least four provinces including Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec. He was also stationed in the Middle East at Camp Mirage for six months.
Bernardo offered advice for police as they scour Williams’ life.
“(Paul) suggested they go back 20 years and look at everything, because that’s when his testosterone would have been at the highest,” Bernardo’s father said.
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
February 12th, 2010
TORONTO — Locked away inside Kingston Penitentiary, notorious schoolgirl killer Paul Bernardo has heard about the arrest of Col. Russell Williams and, in a bizarre turn, even has some advice for cops.
Bernardo, speaking from solitary confinement, shared his thoughts with his father, Ken Bernardo.
“He said he doesn’t understand it and how (Williams allegedly would) have the ability to cover all that up,” Ken Bernardo told the Sun.
Williams, 46, was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau.
Bernardo, 45, was convicted in 1995 for the first-degree murders of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
In the wake of Williams’ arrest, police forces across the country have vowed to examine cold cases in their area to see if they might be a match with the alleged crimes the colonel is accused of committing. Williams’ military life straddles at least four provinces including Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec. He was also stationed in the Middle East at Camp Mirage for six months.
Bernardo offered advice for police as they scour Williams’ life.
“(Paul) suggested they go back 20 years and look at everything, because that’s when his testosterone would have been at the highest,” Bernardo’s father said.
don.peat@sunmedia.ca
Ex-general cautious about CFB Trenton charges
Updated: Fri Feb. 12 2010 17:03:03
CTV.ca News Staff
A retired military official says that troops at CFB Trenton aren't demoralized, despite reports that spirits at the base have plunged after Col. Russell Williams was charged in two deaths and two sex assaults.
Retired major general Lewis MacKenzie said Friday that the base is still operating around the clock.
"There are reports that morale in Trenton has hit rock bottom? Baloney," MacKenzie told CTV News Channel.
Williams is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville, Ont., woman who was found dead on Monday, and the first-degree murder of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old air force flight attendant who was found dead at her Brighton, Ont., home last November.
Still, MacKenzie said the military community across the country has been affected by the charges, adding: "You can really be pissed off and still have good morale."
Williams is also charged with two counts each of forcible confinement, as well as break-and-enter and sexual assault relating to alleged attacks on two women from Tweed, Ont., a town about 60 kilometres north of CFB Trenton.
"We feel that we have been let down," MacKenzie said.
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that Lt.-Col. Dave Cochrane would take over command of the base.
According to interviews with Williams' friends and family, the former colonel exhibited few signs that suggested he would ever be on police radar.
MacKenzie agreed, adding that military officials would have had very little indication that Williams could one day face criminal charges.
Since police announced charges against Williams earlier this week, it has emerged that the accused was born in England, but moved to Canada in his youth.
His parents divorced after arriving in Canada and his mother eventually remarried. For a time, Williams changed his name to Russell Sovka, taking the last name of his then-stepfather, Jerry Sovka.
Stan Sovka, the brother of Williams' former stepfather, said he and his wife, Madeline, were shocked by the charges facing the man they knew long before he became a rising star in the Canadian Forces.
"That's not the guy we know," Madeline Sovka said from Calgary. "We knew a very nice man, a nice boy growing up, no problem, very gentle."
Before studying at the University of Toronto, Williams attended Upper Canada College, an elite private school that counts Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and actor Brendan Fraser among its alumni.
Back then, Williams was a quiet student who earned good grades. A yearbook photo shows him wearing a striped tie and sport coat, sporting a bushy hairstyle that was typical of the time period.
He liked music, was considered a skilled trumpet player and was one of the top-five prefects in his dorm, demonstrating the leadership qualities that got him noticed in the military.
Innes van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at Upper Canada College, graduated from the school at the same time as Williams and remembers him as a "diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here."
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician."
He graduated in 1982, moving on to earn a degree in political science and economics at the University of Toronto campus in Scarborough, in east-end Toronto.
Members of Williams' family still hold ties to the Toronto area.
His mother, Nonie Sovka, still lives in Toronto, where she works as a physiotherapist at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
She wrote a letter to Madeline and Stan Sovka at Christmas telling them about the "beautiful ceremony" that saw her son promoted to colonel last summer.
Since the charges were announced against her son, Nonie Sovka's voicemail has indicated she will be "off campus on an emergency basis."
His brother, Harvey Williams, is a doctor in Bowmanville, Ont., a small town about an hour east of Toronto.
After graduating from university, Williams joined the military and began his ascent to the position of the commander of CFB Trenton.
Williams married Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, who works as an associate executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Madeline Sovka said she has not spoken with Harriman but said she believes the couple was close.
"He had a good relationship and a wonderful wife," she said. "We just don't know if it's possible that he could be the one."
Police investigation
Beyond looking at Williams' roots, police are probing if the accused colonel has ties to other unsolved crimes in regions where he has previously been posted.
His official Department of National Defence biography indicates he earned his wings within three years of joining the military and was assigned to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man. He worked there for two years as an instructor.
In 1992, he was posted to CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, where he piloted a CC144 Challenger.
After that, Williams was transferred to Ottawa, eventually earning a promotion to the rank of major in November 1999. He then returned to school, earning a Master of Defence Studies degree from the Royal Military College in 2004.
From December 2005 to June 2006, he led Camp Mirage, a logistics base that is reportedly near Dubai, but which is not officially acknowledged by the government or military. In January 2009, he was promoted to colonel and spent six months attending French language training in Gatineau, Que.
He took over the leadership reins at CFB Trenton in July of last year.
In Ottawa, Insp. Al Tario is heading up a team that will determine if Williams can be tied to 30 unsolved crimes dating back more than three decades ago.
"We'll be looking at our unsolved break-ins, unsolved sexual assaults. We'll be looking at unsolved homicides, unsolved missing person cases, etc.," Tario told CTV News on Thursday.
On Thursday, police continued to search the Ottawa home Williams shares with his wife.
Police also searched the lakeside cottage the couple owns in Tweed, a small town near Trenton where Williams is accused of sexually assaulting two of his neighbours.
At present, Williams is being held in the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., about 60 kilometres east of CFB Trenton. The Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper reports that Williams was initially placed on suicide watch at the jail, but has since been allowed to exchange his suicide gown for a standard issue, orange jumpsuit.
He is scheduled to make a video appearance in court on Feb. 18.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTV.ca News Staff
A retired military official says that troops at CFB Trenton aren't demoralized, despite reports that spirits at the base have plunged after Col. Russell Williams was charged in two deaths and two sex assaults.
Retired major general Lewis MacKenzie said Friday that the base is still operating around the clock.
"There are reports that morale in Trenton has hit rock bottom? Baloney," MacKenzie told CTV News Channel.
Williams is charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, a 27-year-old Belleville, Ont., woman who was found dead on Monday, and the first-degree murder of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old air force flight attendant who was found dead at her Brighton, Ont., home last November.
Still, MacKenzie said the military community across the country has been affected by the charges, adding: "You can really be pissed off and still have good morale."
Williams is also charged with two counts each of forcible confinement, as well as break-and-enter and sexual assault relating to alleged attacks on two women from Tweed, Ont., a town about 60 kilometres north of CFB Trenton.
"We feel that we have been let down," MacKenzie said.
On Friday afternoon, it was announced that Lt.-Col. Dave Cochrane would take over command of the base.
According to interviews with Williams' friends and family, the former colonel exhibited few signs that suggested he would ever be on police radar.
MacKenzie agreed, adding that military officials would have had very little indication that Williams could one day face criminal charges.
Since police announced charges against Williams earlier this week, it has emerged that the accused was born in England, but moved to Canada in his youth.
His parents divorced after arriving in Canada and his mother eventually remarried. For a time, Williams changed his name to Russell Sovka, taking the last name of his then-stepfather, Jerry Sovka.
Stan Sovka, the brother of Williams' former stepfather, said he and his wife, Madeline, were shocked by the charges facing the man they knew long before he became a rising star in the Canadian Forces.
"That's not the guy we know," Madeline Sovka said from Calgary. "We knew a very nice man, a nice boy growing up, no problem, very gentle."
Before studying at the University of Toronto, Williams attended Upper Canada College, an elite private school that counts Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and actor Brendan Fraser among its alumni.
Back then, Williams was a quiet student who earned good grades. A yearbook photo shows him wearing a striped tie and sport coat, sporting a bushy hairstyle that was typical of the time period.
He liked music, was considered a skilled trumpet player and was one of the top-five prefects in his dorm, demonstrating the leadership qualities that got him noticed in the military.
Innes van Nostrand, now a vice-principal at Upper Canada College, graduated from the school at the same time as Williams and remembers him as a "diligent, hard-working fellow who was not a high-profile guy here."
"That's how I think most people in the class would probably describe him: a serious student and a really good musician."
He graduated in 1982, moving on to earn a degree in political science and economics at the University of Toronto campus in Scarborough, in east-end Toronto.
Members of Williams' family still hold ties to the Toronto area.
His mother, Nonie Sovka, still lives in Toronto, where she works as a physiotherapist at Sunnybrook Health Science Centre.
She wrote a letter to Madeline and Stan Sovka at Christmas telling them about the "beautiful ceremony" that saw her son promoted to colonel last summer.
Since the charges were announced against her son, Nonie Sovka's voicemail has indicated she will be "off campus on an emergency basis."
His brother, Harvey Williams, is a doctor in Bowmanville, Ont., a small town about an hour east of Toronto.
After graduating from university, Williams joined the military and began his ascent to the position of the commander of CFB Trenton.
Williams married Mary-Elizabeth Harriman, who works as an associate executive director of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Madeline Sovka said she has not spoken with Harriman but said she believes the couple was close.
"He had a good relationship and a wonderful wife," she said. "We just don't know if it's possible that he could be the one."
Police investigation
Beyond looking at Williams' roots, police are probing if the accused colonel has ties to other unsolved crimes in regions where he has previously been posted.
His official Department of National Defence biography indicates he earned his wings within three years of joining the military and was assigned to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man. He worked there for two years as an instructor.
In 1992, he was posted to CFB Shearwater in Nova Scotia, where he piloted a CC144 Challenger.
After that, Williams was transferred to Ottawa, eventually earning a promotion to the rank of major in November 1999. He then returned to school, earning a Master of Defence Studies degree from the Royal Military College in 2004.
From December 2005 to June 2006, he led Camp Mirage, a logistics base that is reportedly near Dubai, but which is not officially acknowledged by the government or military. In January 2009, he was promoted to colonel and spent six months attending French language training in Gatineau, Que.
He took over the leadership reins at CFB Trenton in July of last year.
In Ottawa, Insp. Al Tario is heading up a team that will determine if Williams can be tied to 30 unsolved crimes dating back more than three decades ago.
"We'll be looking at our unsolved break-ins, unsolved sexual assaults. We'll be looking at unsolved homicides, unsolved missing person cases, etc.," Tario told CTV News on Thursday.
On Thursday, police continued to search the Ottawa home Williams shares with his wife.
Police also searched the lakeside cottage the couple owns in Tweed, a small town near Trenton where Williams is accused of sexually assaulting two of his neighbours.
At present, Williams is being held in the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., about 60 kilometres east of CFB Trenton. The Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper reports that Williams was initially placed on suicide watch at the jail, but has since been allowed to exchange his suicide gown for a standard issue, orange jumpsuit.
He is scheduled to make a video appearance in court on Feb. 18.
With files from The Canadian Press
Our Forces suffer a big blow to morale
Charges against colonel couldn't come at a worse time for military
By Don Martin
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
It shouldn't be happening because the uniform isn't on trial, but morale is free-falling inside Canadian Forces Base Trenton after the base commander was charged with double murders and a pair of sexual assaults.
The stain on the one is, wrongly, spreading to the many.
"Everyone in the Canadian Forces will tell you officially that it won't harm morale, but how couldn't it?" confided a senior officer in the reserves. "People are going to feel shocked, and I expect that many folks, particularly in the Trenton area, are going to be looking at people in military uniforms a little differently as this plays out. This can't be good for morale."
He is, sadly, correct.
Col. Russell Williams is entitled to the judicial presumption of innocence, but he can only be cleared after a prolonged media frenzy of a trial fixated on someone whose heinous crimes are worsened, if that's possible, by his lofty standing in the Canadian Forces.
Questions will swirl about how a man accused of such crimes could have been promoted to a rank where he mingled with the defence minister and piloted prime ministers or governors general on Challenger jets.
Assault victims are already coming forward to document the horror they allegedly experienced in cringing detail. Websites are filling with tributes for the murder victims and venomous outrage aimed at the accused.
And all this is erupting before a single shred of what will undoubtedly be horrific evidence in an expanding investigation is put before the courts of law and public opinion.
One retired senior officer with numerous contacts inside the chain of command was spitting fury at the situation confronting soldiers on Tuesday.
"The commander they entrusted with their lives stands accused of taking them. There is no greater breach of trust," he fumed.
Ironically, this blow strikes a military firing on all cylinders and arguably at the peak of its deployment power.
Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, commander of land forces, was practically bursting his brass buttons late last week when we chatted over coffee in an Ottawa restaurant.
He's a general with a no-nonsense edginess who relishes in telling stories about his most aggressive officers and thinks a busy military is a happy fighting force.
By that measure, his army is a very, very happy place.
"I have never seen the army more active than it is right now," he told me.
His regular 2,500-soldier deployment in Kandahar is preparing to assist the British and Americans in a major Taliban clear out this week. He's got 3,000 soldiers in the California desert training in mock Afghanistan conditions for a battlefield they'll be fighting on later this year. There are 4,000 soldiers in the Vancouver area backstopping RCMP for 2010 Winter Olympics security. There are 1,500 army soldiers in Haiti helping earthquake survivors. And the northern Rangers are more active than ever patrolling the Arctic.
Without an infusion of 2,500 regular soldiers in the last few years, the army would be stretched beyond its deployment capacity, he said.
"Morale is really high even though everyone is literally working their butts off," Leslie said. "The respect and support they enjoy from Canadians is unprecedented in my 30 years wearing army green."
The proof of an energized army comes every time he addresses troops poised to head overseas for the dangers of Afghanistan. Leslie offers them a last-minute chance to refuse the assignment without losing face.
"I've probably asked that question to 25,000 soldiers and only had one bow out. His excuse was that his wife just found out his girlfriend was pregnant," he said with a grin. Gosh, I couldn't dream up a better excuse to flee for the relative safety of Kandahar battlefields if confronted by that scenario.
Contacted for a followup on Tuesday to discuss the impact of Williams' arrest on soldier morale, Leslie not surprisingly backs his soldiers.
"I am personally shocked and appalled, but morale is and will remain high in the army."
Here's hoping he's right. If the charges against Williams stick, it's only evidence of a single deranged individual and not a uniform stain on Canadian soldiers who deserve only our respect.
dmartincanwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
By Don Martin
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
It shouldn't be happening because the uniform isn't on trial, but morale is free-falling inside Canadian Forces Base Trenton after the base commander was charged with double murders and a pair of sexual assaults.
The stain on the one is, wrongly, spreading to the many.
"Everyone in the Canadian Forces will tell you officially that it won't harm morale, but how couldn't it?" confided a senior officer in the reserves. "People are going to feel shocked, and I expect that many folks, particularly in the Trenton area, are going to be looking at people in military uniforms a little differently as this plays out. This can't be good for morale."
He is, sadly, correct.
Col. Russell Williams is entitled to the judicial presumption of innocence, but he can only be cleared after a prolonged media frenzy of a trial fixated on someone whose heinous crimes are worsened, if that's possible, by his lofty standing in the Canadian Forces.
Questions will swirl about how a man accused of such crimes could have been promoted to a rank where he mingled with the defence minister and piloted prime ministers or governors general on Challenger jets.
Assault victims are already coming forward to document the horror they allegedly experienced in cringing detail. Websites are filling with tributes for the murder victims and venomous outrage aimed at the accused.
And all this is erupting before a single shred of what will undoubtedly be horrific evidence in an expanding investigation is put before the courts of law and public opinion.
One retired senior officer with numerous contacts inside the chain of command was spitting fury at the situation confronting soldiers on Tuesday.
"The commander they entrusted with their lives stands accused of taking them. There is no greater breach of trust," he fumed.
Ironically, this blow strikes a military firing on all cylinders and arguably at the peak of its deployment power.
Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, commander of land forces, was practically bursting his brass buttons late last week when we chatted over coffee in an Ottawa restaurant.
He's a general with a no-nonsense edginess who relishes in telling stories about his most aggressive officers and thinks a busy military is a happy fighting force.
By that measure, his army is a very, very happy place.
"I have never seen the army more active than it is right now," he told me.
His regular 2,500-soldier deployment in Kandahar is preparing to assist the British and Americans in a major Taliban clear out this week. He's got 3,000 soldiers in the California desert training in mock Afghanistan conditions for a battlefield they'll be fighting on later this year. There are 4,000 soldiers in the Vancouver area backstopping RCMP for 2010 Winter Olympics security. There are 1,500 army soldiers in Haiti helping earthquake survivors. And the northern Rangers are more active than ever patrolling the Arctic.
Without an infusion of 2,500 regular soldiers in the last few years, the army would be stretched beyond its deployment capacity, he said.
"Morale is really high even though everyone is literally working their butts off," Leslie said. "The respect and support they enjoy from Canadians is unprecedented in my 30 years wearing army green."
The proof of an energized army comes every time he addresses troops poised to head overseas for the dangers of Afghanistan. Leslie offers them a last-minute chance to refuse the assignment without losing face.
"I've probably asked that question to 25,000 soldiers and only had one bow out. His excuse was that his wife just found out his girlfriend was pregnant," he said with a grin. Gosh, I couldn't dream up a better excuse to flee for the relative safety of Kandahar battlefields if confronted by that scenario.
Contacted for a followup on Tuesday to discuss the impact of Williams' arrest on soldier morale, Leslie not surprisingly backs his soldiers.
"I am personally shocked and appalled, but morale is and will remain high in the army."
Here's hoping he's right. If the charges against Williams stick, it's only evidence of a single deranged individual and not a uniform stain on Canadian soldiers who deserve only our respect.
dmartincanwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Ont. killings not linked to Halifax cold cases
Police yet to share evidence
By Glenn Johnson
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
There is no evidence to suggest any connection with cold cases in Halifax and recent homicides in Ontario, Halifax police said Thursday.
"That is exactly correct," said Halifax Regional Police Const. Brian Palmeter.
Palmeter said his force received a number of calls asking whether there was any connection with any cold cases there because Col. Russell Williams had served at CFB Shearwater, near Halifax. Other media inquiries about unsolved homicides have been made in other cities where Williams was also stationed with the Canadian Forces, including Manitoba.
Palmeter said the Halifax and Ontario officers have not discussed any evidence in the specific cases.
Palmeter said the three cold cases in Halifax involved the deaths of young women, including one in January of 1992 and another in late November, 1994. But Palmeter said there is no evidence Williams was in the area during those times.
"We were getting a lot of calls trying to connect him to these files and I said we had no information. We don't even know that this guy was here when these happened."
Palmeter said any speculation is premature because the police forces are not at the point where any specific evidence has been shared about cases. "We're not saying there is not a conceivable possibility -- but we haven't been given any evidence that suggests there is any connection with our files at this time."
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
By Glenn Johnson
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
There is no evidence to suggest any connection with cold cases in Halifax and recent homicides in Ontario, Halifax police said Thursday.
"That is exactly correct," said Halifax Regional Police Const. Brian Palmeter.
Palmeter said his force received a number of calls asking whether there was any connection with any cold cases there because Col. Russell Williams had served at CFB Shearwater, near Halifax. Other media inquiries about unsolved homicides have been made in other cities where Williams was also stationed with the Canadian Forces, including Manitoba.
Palmeter said the Halifax and Ontario officers have not discussed any evidence in the specific cases.
Palmeter said the three cold cases in Halifax involved the deaths of young women, including one in January of 1992 and another in late November, 1994. But Palmeter said there is no evidence Williams was in the area during those times.
"We were getting a lot of calls trying to connect him to these files and I said we had no information. We don't even know that this guy was here when these happened."
Palmeter said any speculation is premature because the police forces are not at the point where any specific evidence has been shared about cases. "We're not saying there is not a conceivable possibility -- but we haven't been given any evidence that suggests there is any connection with our files at this time."
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Serial killers live double lives, expert says
Sociopaths able to keep criminal activities secret by assuming respected roles in community
By Sharon Kirkey
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
Elliott Leyton says it surprises him how many people think it would be difficult for a killer to conceal his crimes from those closest to him.
Duplicity and compartmentalization are easy for a lot of people, he says, especially when they're doing something so horrific.
Serial killers are sociopaths, and have no feelings of guilt or remorse for those they harm. "So they're not being torn apart," says Leyton, a Canadian anthropologist and expert on the psychology of multiple killers.
"If you strangled somebody in a fit of rage, you wouldn't be able to cope with it. You'd either kill yourself or turn yourself in. The thought of it would be just utterly overwhelming to you," Leyton says. "You would at some point be able to see what you've done -- you've killed a human being."
But serial killers don't see others as human beings, he says, only tools or toys to be used.
"So they have no guilt, no remorse, no feelings of having done something wrong," Leyton says. "There's just more triumph."
If police and a Crown prosecutor can prove the startling allegations of murder and rape facing Col. Russell Williams, the air force commander charged with killing two women and sexually assaulting two others, the question many will be asking is: How could he have hidden his dark secret from his wife?
For serial murderers such as Robert Pickton, one of Canada's most prolific killers, secrets can be easy to hide. Convicted in 2007 of the murder of six women who disappeared from Vancouver's downtown eastside, Pickton was a loner, living on a Port Coquitlam, B.C., pig farm "in the middle of nowhere," says Mike Arntfield, professor of information and media studies at the University of Western Ontario in London, and a 10-year police veteran. "It's not difficult for him to keep his activities a secret."
But there are cases of killers living duplicitous, dichotomous double lives, he says, who "feign normality as this soccer dad and loving husband, and then they have this deep dark secret."
Dennis Rader, the so-called BTK ( "bind, torture and kill") strangler, murdered 10 people around Wichita, Kan., between 1974 and 1991 before he was caught. Rader was a bylaw officer and father of two, a Cub Scout leader and an elder in his Lutheran Church.
Leyton says serial killers all live double lives "and do so with ease."
Williams was an elite pilot, a "shining bright star" of the military, who rose through the ranks during his 23-year career to fly the prime minister and Governor General across Canada and overseas in one of four Canadian Forces Challenger jets.
He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman, have a cottage in Tweed, Ont., as well as a newly built home in Ottawa, where Harriman works for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The two have no children.
They have been a couple since at least 1991, the year a search of old city directories shows they were sharing the same apartment in Portage la Prairie, Man., where Williams was then working as a flying instructor at the Canadian Forces Flying Training School.
"We often wrestle with how they do it, the double life. Why they stay with someone to whom they do not reveal," says Dr. Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia and past president of the American Psychological Association.
The relationship can provide a legitimacy, a cover, says Farley, a native of Edmonton. But it can also provide crucial emotional stability in an otherwise unstable, violent and risky life, a psychological space the killer can step into. "That has survival value for him, surviving in his head when he's doing these heinous other things to women.
"He can red-line that relationship with her, keep it intact, compartmentalize it."
Farley stressed he can only speculate on the Williams case. But as many as 20 per cent of men state in anonymous surveys that they have had affairs. "If we can maintain this kind of dual lives, if many people can do it in ordinary life, we shouldn't be surprised that some people are able to maintain it at a more extreme level."
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
By Sharon Kirkey
Canwest News Service
February 12, 2010
Elliott Leyton says it surprises him how many people think it would be difficult for a killer to conceal his crimes from those closest to him.
Duplicity and compartmentalization are easy for a lot of people, he says, especially when they're doing something so horrific.
Serial killers are sociopaths, and have no feelings of guilt or remorse for those they harm. "So they're not being torn apart," says Leyton, a Canadian anthropologist and expert on the psychology of multiple killers.
"If you strangled somebody in a fit of rage, you wouldn't be able to cope with it. You'd either kill yourself or turn yourself in. The thought of it would be just utterly overwhelming to you," Leyton says. "You would at some point be able to see what you've done -- you've killed a human being."
But serial killers don't see others as human beings, he says, only tools or toys to be used.
"So they have no guilt, no remorse, no feelings of having done something wrong," Leyton says. "There's just more triumph."
If police and a Crown prosecutor can prove the startling allegations of murder and rape facing Col. Russell Williams, the air force commander charged with killing two women and sexually assaulting two others, the question many will be asking is: How could he have hidden his dark secret from his wife?
For serial murderers such as Robert Pickton, one of Canada's most prolific killers, secrets can be easy to hide. Convicted in 2007 of the murder of six women who disappeared from Vancouver's downtown eastside, Pickton was a loner, living on a Port Coquitlam, B.C., pig farm "in the middle of nowhere," says Mike Arntfield, professor of information and media studies at the University of Western Ontario in London, and a 10-year police veteran. "It's not difficult for him to keep his activities a secret."
But there are cases of killers living duplicitous, dichotomous double lives, he says, who "feign normality as this soccer dad and loving husband, and then they have this deep dark secret."
Dennis Rader, the so-called BTK ( "bind, torture and kill") strangler, murdered 10 people around Wichita, Kan., between 1974 and 1991 before he was caught. Rader was a bylaw officer and father of two, a Cub Scout leader and an elder in his Lutheran Church.
Leyton says serial killers all live double lives "and do so with ease."
Williams was an elite pilot, a "shining bright star" of the military, who rose through the ranks during his 23-year career to fly the prime minister and Governor General across Canada and overseas in one of four Canadian Forces Challenger jets.
He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman, have a cottage in Tweed, Ont., as well as a newly built home in Ottawa, where Harriman works for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The two have no children.
They have been a couple since at least 1991, the year a search of old city directories shows they were sharing the same apartment in Portage la Prairie, Man., where Williams was then working as a flying instructor at the Canadian Forces Flying Training School.
"We often wrestle with how they do it, the double life. Why they stay with someone to whom they do not reveal," says Dr. Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia and past president of the American Psychological Association.
The relationship can provide a legitimacy, a cover, says Farley, a native of Edmonton. But it can also provide crucial emotional stability in an otherwise unstable, violent and risky life, a psychological space the killer can step into. "That has survival value for him, surviving in his head when he's doing these heinous other things to women.
"He can red-line that relationship with her, keep it intact, compartmentalize it."
Farley stressed he can only speculate on the Williams case. But as many as 20 per cent of men state in anonymous surveys that they have had affairs. "If we can maintain this kind of dual lives, if many people can do it in ordinary life, we shouldn't be surprised that some people are able to maintain it at a more extreme level."
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Canadian Forces name Williams' successor
By QMI Agency
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 6:51pm
The Canadian Forces have announced a replacement for Col. Russell Williams as commander of the 8 Wing Trenton military base.
Toronto native Lt.-Col Dave Cochrane will take control of the Ontario base on Feb. 19, when he is officially promoted to the rank of Colonel, said Chief of Air Staff, Lt.-Gen Andre Deschamps in a statement Friday.
Cochrane has a masters degree in defence studies from the Royal Military College. He is married to Sherri Cochrane (nee Smith) of Ottawa. They have a son, 13-year-old Jamie, and a daughter, 12-year-old Lindsay.
"I believe Col. Cochrane has the exceptional leadership qualities necessary to lead 8 Wing Trenton at this challenging and critical time, as the Canadian Forces are experiencing an unprecedented operational tempo," Deschamps said.
"He is a highly experienced, trustworthy and capable commander who is well known in the local community, as are his wife and children. He is a respected member of the air mobility community and has my utmost confidence."
Cochrane will take over from Lt.-Col. David Murphy, who has served as acting commander since Williams, 46, was arrested in connection the murder of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd.
Williams was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder. He is currently being held at a provincial jail in Napanee, Ont., where it is reported he is on suicide watch. He has been placed in a segregation cell where he can be monitored by staff.
Last Updated: 12th February 2010, 6:51pm
The Canadian Forces have announced a replacement for Col. Russell Williams as commander of the 8 Wing Trenton military base.
Toronto native Lt.-Col Dave Cochrane will take control of the Ontario base on Feb. 19, when he is officially promoted to the rank of Colonel, said Chief of Air Staff, Lt.-Gen Andre Deschamps in a statement Friday.
Cochrane has a masters degree in defence studies from the Royal Military College. He is married to Sherri Cochrane (nee Smith) of Ottawa. They have a son, 13-year-old Jamie, and a daughter, 12-year-old Lindsay.
"I believe Col. Cochrane has the exceptional leadership qualities necessary to lead 8 Wing Trenton at this challenging and critical time, as the Canadian Forces are experiencing an unprecedented operational tempo," Deschamps said.
"He is a highly experienced, trustworthy and capable commander who is well known in the local community, as are his wife and children. He is a respected member of the air mobility community and has my utmost confidence."
Cochrane will take over from Lt.-Col. David Murphy, who has served as acting commander since Williams, 46, was arrested in connection the murder of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd.
Williams was charged Monday with two counts of first-degree murder. He is currently being held at a provincial jail in Napanee, Ont., where it is reported he is on suicide watch. He has been placed in a segregation cell where he can be monitored by staff.
'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."
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