Allegations of murder jolt military

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An OPP cruiser sits outside the home of CFB Trenton wing commander Col. Russell Williams in Tweed, Ont., on Monday.

BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- The Canadian military was rocked to its core Monday following the bombshell allegation that the colonel in command of the country's largest air force base had killed two women and sexually assaulted two others.

Col. Russell Williams, a 46-year-old career member of the Canadian Forces and commander of 8 Wing Trenton, was charged Monday with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville, Ont., and Marie France Comeau, a 38-year-old corporal with CFB Trenton's 437 squadron who was killed last November.

He is also charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement in attacks on two other women in the region during home invasions last September.

"We're all shocked," said Lt. Annie Morin, a public affairs officer at CFB Trenton. "The wing commander has been a man that's been respected and very much liked, so this news came as a very big shock..."

Canada's top soldier said that military members are "in shock" following the charges against Williams. "This is a tough day for anyone in uniform," chief of defence staff Gen. Walter Natynczyk, a Winnipeg native, told the Kingston Whig-Standard while visiting CFB Kingston on Monday.

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.

Williams, who lives in Tweed, northeast of Belleville, appeared in court Monday in Belleville. Shackled and clad in a blue jumpsuit, he looked down for the most part, but when prompted, glanced up at the judge and said his name. His face, according to people in the courtroom, was expressionless.

Lloyd worked at Tri-Board Student Transportation Services in Napanee, Ont. She was reported missing Jan. 29 after she didn't show up for work. She last communicated with a friend on Jan. 28 at 10:36 p.m. through text messaging. Her body was found Monday in a secluded area near Tweed, Ont.

Comeau, 38, was found dead in her home, in nearby Brighton, Ont., on Nov. 25. She was a military flight attendant based in Trenton.

Police aren't saying much about what led them to Williams, except that there was a canvass of an area highway to check vehicle tracks and that pointed them to the officer. Investigators said the only link to the two dead women they were prepared to identify was "geography." They wouldn't say whether the victims knew the suspect.

Detectives are reviewing all cold cases of missing and slain women at every military posting -- including Canada's secret base in the Middle East -- at which Williams has served.

One of those cases is the unsolved 2001 slaying of Kathleen MacVicar, 19, which happened at CFB Trenton.

MacVicar was staying with relatives on the base and working at a call centre in Belleville when she was found slain on the base in June, 2001.

Her mother, Colleen MacVicar, said Monday that she had been contacted by OPP officer earlier in the day and told they were examining the case in light of the charges against Williams.

One of the two women allegedly assaulted by Williams last September said she was in shock when police informed her Monday of the arrest.

The single mother from Tweed said she was asleep alone in her house on Sept. 30, and awoke at 2 a.m., choking, with a comforter pressed to her face.

She said a man beat her about the head and told her with a deep and muffled voice not to look at him. He then blindfolded her and she never laid eyes on him, the Toronto Sun reported.

The woman said that after the assault, the man took pictures and then ordered her onto her knees, head down, on a couch, and then left.

Williams's neighbours, Larry and Bonnie Jones, said Williams and his wife had lived in Tweed about five years.

Larry Jones said Williams and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman, have a place in Trenton and a new house in Ottawa where Harriman works for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. The two have no children, he said, adding Williams kept to himself and did not seem to have many friends.

According to Larry Jones, police at one point considered him a suspect in the home invasions, which he said occurred at two nearby homes.

"(You) wouldn't believe the rumours around town... Wife getting calls, 'How does it feel to live with a murderer?' " he said.

He said he was detained for questioning and believes he was under police surveillance for weeks.

Chief of Air Staff Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps said a review will be initiated by 1 Canadian Air Division, in Winnipeg, to determine the appropriate action to take, pending the outcome of his civilian court proceedings. Williams was remanded into custody on Monday.

-- Canwest News Service, The Canadian Press

Distinguished career

The life of Col. Russell Williams, 46, commander of 8 Wing Trenton:

Williams joined the Canadian Forces in 1987 after obtaining a degree in economics and political science from the University of Toronto. He received his pilot's wings in 1990 and was posted to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School in Portage la Prairie, Man., where he served for two years as an instructor.

In 1992, he was posted to 434 (Combat Support) Squadron in Shearwater, N.S., where he flew the CC-144 Challenger in the electronic warfare/coastal patrol role.

He was subsequently posted to 412 (Transport) Squadron in Ottawa where he continued to fly the Challenger, this time in a VIP transport role. Promoted to major in 1999, he was posted to director general military careers where he served as the multi-engine pilot career manager.

Williams attended the Canadian Forces command and staff course from August 2003 to June 2004, where he obtained a master of defence studies from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. Following promotion to lieutenant-colonel in June 2004, he was appointed commanding officer 437 (Transport) Squadron.

In January 2009, he was posted to the Canadian Forces Language School in Gatineau, Que., for a six-month period of French-language training, during which he was promoted to his current rank.

His bio states Williams is a keen photographer, golfer, fisherman and runner.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 9, 2010 A5