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The Interrogation of Col. Russell Williams
JCS's 37-minute breakdown, the fullest single telling on file.
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David Russell Williams, a decorated Canadian Forces pilot who rose to colonel and commanded CFB Trenton — Canada's largest military airbase — was revealed in February 2010 to be responsible for a series of sexual crimes and two murders. Williams, born in Bromsgrove, England in 1963, emigrated with his family to Canada in 1968 and studied economics and political science at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus before joining the Canadian Forces in 1987. Over a 23-year military career he flew VIP aircraft transporting dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth II, and by 2009 he had been appointed Wing Commander of CFB Trenton.
The case began unraveling after Jessica Lloyd, aged 27, disappeared from her home in Belleville, Ontario, on January 28, 2010. Investigators traced distinctive tire tracks found near her property, and a roadside canvassing operation by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in early February matched the treads to Williams' Nissan Pathfinder. On February 7, 2010, Williams was brought in for questioning at Ottawa Police Service headquarters and interrogated by OPP Detective Sergeant James Smyth. Confronted with tire tread and boot print evidence, Williams began confessing that evening, and over roughly ten hours detailed his role in the sexual assault and murder of Lloyd, the earlier sexual assault and murder of Corporal Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old military traffic technician found dead in her home in late November 2009, and additional crimes. He directed police to the location where he had disposed of Lloyd's body.
Subsequent investigation, aided by evidence and notes Williams disclosed were hidden at his Ottawa home, uncovered photographs, videos, and stolen items connected to at least 82 break-ins involving theft of women's and girls' underwear, dating back to 2006, which investigators said had escalated over time to sexual assaults and ultimately to rape and murder. Williams was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of forcible confinement, two counts of breaking and entering and sexual assault relating to two home invasions near Tweed, Ontario, in September 2009, along with 82 additional break-and-enter charges.
Williams pleaded guilty to all charges on October 18, 2010. During the proceedings, further details emerged, including a home invasion in which a message reading "Merci" was left on a 12-year-old girl's computer, and evidence that he had photographed himself wearing stolen underwear on victims' beds. On October 22, 2010, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert F. Scott sentenced Williams to two concurrent life sentences for first-degree murder with no parole eligibility for 25 years, plus concurrent 10-year sentences for sexual assault and forcible confinement and 82 one-year sentences for breaking and entering. Following his conviction, the Governor General of Canada revoked his military commission and rank, and his uniform and decorations were destroyed.
