ONTARIO
AFFAIRE RUSSELL WILLIAMS
82 NOUVELLES ACCUSATIONS
29 avril 2010
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Ontario/2010/04/29/001-williams_accusations.shtml#commentaires
Le colonel Russell Williams, déjà accusé de meurtres et d'agressions sexuelles, devra répondre à 82 nouvelles accusations d'entrée par effraction.
C'est ce qu'a annoncé jeudi la division des crimes majeurs de la Police provinciale de l'Ontario (PPO) après avoir procédé à une révision de plusieurs crimes demeurés non résolus.
Cette révision a été effectuée en collaboration avec les corps de police d'Ottawa et de Belleville et le Service national d'enquête des Forces canadiennes.
Williams fait plus précisément face à:
61 chefs d'accusation d'entrée par effraction avec vols;
11 chefs de tentative d'entrée par effraction;
10 chefs d'entrée par effraction dans le but de commettre un acte criminel.
46 de ces présumés crimes auraient été commis dans la région de Tweed, qui relève de la PPO, 34 dans la région d'Ottawa et 2 autres dans la région de Belleville.
Nouvelle comparution jeudi
Ces accusations ont été déposées quelques heures avant la brève comparution de Russell Williams par vidéoconférence devant un tribunal de Belleville. Il restera derrière les barreaux au centre de détention de Quinte, près de Napanee, d'ici sa prochaine comparution, prévue le 24 juin.
L'ex-commandant de la base de Trenton est accusé du meurtre prémédité de deux femmes, Jessica Lloyd et la caporale Marie-France Comeau, qui était basée à Trenton.
Il fait également face à quatre chefs d'accusation pour séquestration, introduction par effraction et agression sexuelle sur deux femmes. Ces derniers événements auraient eu lieu en septembre 2009.
Jessica Lloyd a été portée disparue le 29 janvier dernier. Le corps de la jeune femme de 27 ans a été retrouvé dans la municipalité de Tweed le 8 février, au lendemain de l'arrestation du colonel.
Quant à Marie-France Comeau, elle a été trouvée sans vie dans son domicile de Brighton en novembre 2009.
Russell Williams a tenté de se suicider il y a près d'un mois. Après avoir bloqué la serrure de sa cellule, il aurait essayé de s'étouffer en s'enfonçant dans la gorge un rouleau de papier de toilette rempli de carton et de papier d'aluminium. Une note de suicide aurait indiqué qu'il n'était plus capable de supporter la situation.
Les gardiens auraient cependant réussi à s'interposer. Depuis, il fait l'objet d'une surveillance constante pour éviter qu'il tente de nouveau de s'enlever la vie.
Russell Williams, qui avait été suspendu de ses fonctions, est officiellement congédié de son poste de commandant de la base de Trenton. Il reste toutefois membre des Forces canadiennes et conserve ses grades et son salaire.
Il est défendu par l'un des avocats les plus réputés d'Ottawa, Me Michael Edelson.
audio-vidéo:
Déjà accusé du meurtre de deux femmes, voilà que 82 nouvelles accusations s'ajoutent contre lui. Sébastien St-François
*
MEURTRES ET AGRESSIONS SEXUELLES
WILLIAMS PLAIDERAIT COUPABLE
Mise à jour : 29/04/2010 13h51
http://lcn.canoe.ca/lcn/infos/national/archives/2010/04/20100429-135150.html
L'ancien commandant de la base militaire de Trenton en Ontario aurait décidé d'en finir rapidement avec la justice. Selon le Globe and Mail de Toronto, le colonel Russell Williams plaiderait coupable à toutes les accusations portées contre lui.
Selon le journal, les avocats de Williams et ceux de la Couronne ont conclu une entente à cet effet.
Le colonel Williams se reconnaîtrait coupable de deux meurtres prémédités, de deux agressions sexuelles, et de 82 chefs d'accusation reliés à des entrées par effraction dans des domiciles des régions d'Ottawa et de Trenton.
Ces 82 nouvelles accusations ont été déposées ce matin.
L’ancien commandant de la base militaire de Trenton a comparu aujourd’hui par vidéoconférence. Déjà accusé de deux meurtres au premier degré et d’agressions sexuelles , il doit maintenant répondre à 82 nouvelles accusations déposées i par la police ontarienne (OPP).
COMPARUTION CE MATIN
Le militaire de 47 ans, qui est accusé des meurtres de la caporale Marie-France Comeau, 37 ans, et de Jessica Loyd, 27 ans, a fait une brève apparition vidéo de sa cellule du centre de détention de Napanee. Vêtu d’une combinaison orangée de prisonnier, il a simplement décliné son identité.
Il demeure détenu jusqu’à sa prochaine comparution le 24 juin prochain.
Plus de la moitié des 82 nouvelles accusations portées contre lui, soit 46, concernent des cas d'introduction par effraction dans des résidences de Tweed en Ontario, non loin d’où résidait Russell Williams.
Trente-six autres accusations d’introduction par effraction, auxquelles fait face le militaire, sont reliées à des événements survenus à Fallingbrook près d'Ottawa et à Belleville.
Elles font suite à la découverte de plusieurs caisses de sous-vêtements féminins à sa résidence de la région d’Ottawa.
La police a, de façon méticuleuse, fouillé le passé de Russell Williams tout en rouvrant des dossiers non résolus en matière d'agressions sexuelles.
TENTATIVE DE SUICIDE
Lors de sa comparution de ce matin, Williams semblait en bonne forme.
On sait que selon plusieurs sources, il y a près d'un mois, le colonel a tenté de s'enlever la vie au centre de détention Quinte, à Napanee.
Il aurait essayé de s'étouffer en s'enfonçant dans la gorge un rouleau de papier de toilette rempli de carton et de papier d'aluminium, après avoir bloqué la serrure de sa cellule. Les gardiens auraient cependant réussi à s'interposer.
Williams aurait préalablement écrit une lettre de suicide avec de la moutarde sur le mur de sa cellule dans laquelle il aurait affirmé ne plus être capable de supporter la situation.
Depuis, il fait l'objet d'une surveillance constante pour éviter qu'il tente à nouveau de se suicider.
(TVA Nouvelles avec La Presse Canadienne)
*
AFFAIRE RUSSELL WILLIAMS
DES QUESTIONS SANS RÉPONSE
30 avril 2010
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Ontario/2010/04/30/001-williams_vendredi.shtml
Les nouvelles accusations déposées jeudi contre l'ex-commandant de la base militaire de Trenton, le colonel Russell Williams, ne manquent pas de soulever de multiples questions.
L'homme de 47 ans, déjà accusé des meurtres de Jessica Lloyd et de la caporale Marie-France Comeau et d'agressions sexuelles, doit répondre à 82 nouvelles accusations d'entrée par effraction.
Williams se serait ainsi introduit illégalement des dizaines de fois dans des maisons pour voler de la lingerie féminine. Les crimes présumés auraient été commis essentiellement dans la région de Tweed et dans le quartier Fallingbrook d'Ottawa.
Le fait qu'il y a 82 accusations distinctes sème la stupeur, particulièrement dans la région de Tweed, une communauté d'à peine plus de 5000 personnes, où 46 des crimes allégués auraient été commis entre septembre 2007 et novembre 2009.
Comment est-il possible, demande une femme interrogée par CBC, que la Police provinciale de l'Ontario (PPO) n'ait pas prévenu la population qu'une série d'entrées par effraction était en cours?
Une enquête du Toronto Star révèle une partie de la réponse. De nombreuses victimes rencontrées par le quotidien affirment tout simplement qu'elles ne savaient même pas que quelqu'un avait tenté de s'introduire chez elles.
N'ayant jamais porté plainte, elles n'ont été prévenues que récemment par la police de ce qui se serait produit.
La police dit que les nouvelles accusations découlent de révisions de cas, mais le quotidien avance d'autres hypothèses.
Williams consignait-il soigneusement ses opérations?
A-t-il conservé des « trophées » qui ont permis à la police de recoller les morceaux?
Ou encore, a-t-il déballé son sac à la police?
Une femme a notamment raconté au Star qu'elle ne savait pas que quelqu'un avait tenté d'entrer par effraction chez elle à deux reprises avant qu'elle ne soit agressée le 30 septembre.
« Je découvre qu'il avait été dans ma maison et je ne le savais pas »,
dit la femme.
Le fait qu'elle n'ait jamais porté plainte pour des entrées par effraction soulève des questions sur la façon dont la police en a eu connaissance.
Des accusations ont aussi été déposées contre Williams relativement à une entrée par effraction avec vol dans une autre résidence de la région de Tweed où vivent une femme et ses deux filles.
Aucune des trois n'a remarqué quoi que ce soit et elles ne savent d'ailleurs toujours pas ce qui a pu être volé.
Plusieurs autres victimes de la région de Tweed, qui relève de la Police provinciale de l'Ontario, disent qu'elles ne se doutaient de rien jusqu'à ce que des policiers en civil soient venus sonner à leur porte il y a environ un mois.
Les inspecteurs leur ont alors demandé si elles avaient noté quelque chose d'inhabituel ou si elles avaient perdu la trace d'objets.
Elles ont appris par la suite que des accusations allaient être déposées.
Il semble en outre que certaines résidences de la région de Tweed ont en fait été visitées plusieurs fois.
Le Star révèle que Williams s'est introduit au même endroit à neuf reprises entre août 2008 et août 2009. Il recense deux autres endroits où Williams se serait introduit à trois reprises.
Selon des médias de la région d'Ottawa, jusqu'à 500 pièces de sous-vêtements féminins ont été trouvées à la résidence où le colonel vivait avec sa femme à Ottawa.
Les jours de semaine, Russell Williams vivait dans son cottage de Tweed, non loin de la base de Trenton.
Radio-Canada.ca avec Toronto Star et CBC
*
COL. WILLIAMS FACES 82 MORE CHARGES
UNDERWEAR THEFT CASES CLEARED, OTTAWA POLICE SAY
With files from the CBC's Susan Ormiston
April 29, 2010
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/04/29/ott-russell-williams.html
Williams made a brief court appearance via video link Thursday and was remanded in custody until June 24. (Alex Tavshunsky/CBC) Col. Russell Williams, a former CFB Trenton commander accused of killing two women, now also faces 82 charges involving break-ins in Ottawa, Belleville and Tweed in Ontario.
Williams made a brief court appearance via video link Thursday and was remanded in custody until June 24.
He had already been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of air force flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, who worked at CFB Trenton, and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville.
Williams has also been charged with home-invasion sex attacks on two women last September in eastern Ontario.
He wore an orange prison suit Thursday and appeared thinner than in earlier appearances before the court in his appearance from the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, near Belleville. The former base commander has reportedly been on a hunger strike.
The case was put over until the Crown and defence have completed disclosure proceedings.
THE CHARGES ANNOUNCED THURSDAY ARE:
61 counts of breaking and entering and theft.
11 counts of attempted breaking and entering.
10 counts of breaking and entering with intent to commit an indictable offence.
The Ottawa Police Service, Belleville Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police, with the assistance of Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, said they reviewed unsolved crimes around Ottawa, Belleville and Tweed before laying the new charges.
Thirty-four of the break-ins occurred at 25 addresses in the Ottawa area. Two of the latest charges were related to break-ins in Belleville, while the rest were in the Tweed area or other areas under the OPP's jurisdiction.
Police said the Ottawa incidents all occurred within the Fallingbrook area in the city's east end, near where Williams lived before moving to the Westboro neighbourhood in late 2009.
Police have not released details on what was taken in the thefts.
UNDERWEAR CASE CLOSED
However, Ottawa police confirmed the latest charges close an investigation that they alerted the public about in October 2008, following two break-ins in the Fallingbrook neighbourhood on a single weekend. At the time, they said the only items taken were women's undergarments and urged residents to secure their homes "due to the peculiar nature of these incidents."
Courtney Cochrane, 29, says it's scary that the same person charged in a break-in at her parents house is also charged with two counts of murder. (Steve Fischer/CBC)
Police said the charges date as far back as September 2007. The investigation is continuing, OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae said.
"Nothing has been ruled out at this point," she said.
"It’s going to be an extensive investigation. We are still reviewing unsolved crimes. It’s going to take time."
The last of the Ottawa charges relates to an Oct. 23, 2009, break-in at Courtney Cochrane's parents' home in the Fallingbrook neighbourhood. At the time, 29-year-old Cochrane was visiting intermittently to feed her parents' pets while they were away. She found a ladder set up beside the house a few days before someone broke in through the side door, suggesting the burglar had been scouting the place out.
She said she's unnerved by the fact that the same man charged in the break-in has also been accused of killing two women around her age.
"Had he noticed me? Was it my mother? The police were thinking it was me that he had noticed," she said. "What if I was here? … It's scary what could possibly have happened."
Nothing was taken in the break-in, as the home's security alarm went off.
Initially, Cochrane said, she thought it might have been a random incident. But after lingerie was taken from a neighbouring home, she began to think the burglar was targeting homes with young women in them.
Williams was arrested Feb. 7 while still in command of the Trenton base.
*
CANADIAN FORCES
CRIME
COLONEL RUSSELL WILLIAMS TIMELINE
April 30, 2010
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/30/f-col-russell-williams-timeline.html
Col. Russell Williams, former base commander of CFB Trenton, has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38.
Williams has also been charged with counts of breaking and entering, forcible confinement and the sexual assault of two other women in Tweed, Ont., a small community north of Belleville.
Here is a related timeline of events:
Sept. 17, 2009 — A woman in Tweed is tied up and sexually assaulted in her home.
Sept. 30, 2009 — Another woman is sexually assaulted in her home on Cosy Cove Lane. Col. Russell Williams has a cottage on Cosy Cove Lane.
Nov. 25, 2009 — Corporal Marie France Comeau, 38, is found dead on Nov. 25, 2009 in her home in Brighton, Ont. The death is ruled a homicide.
Dec. 4, 2009 — Comeau is buried at the National Cemetery in Ottawa.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, left, was slain
Nov. 25, 2009. The body of Jessica Lloyd, 27, right, was found by police Monday morning. (Canadian Press)
Jan. 28, 2010 — Jessica Elizabeth Lloyd, 27, sends a text message to a family friend at 10:36 p.m. The next day she does not show up for work. Lloyd's family tells police it is out of character for her to be out of contact.
Jan. 30, 2010 — Police in Belleville, Ont., ask the public for help in locating Lloyd.
"We're treating this suspiciously at this time and doing everything we possibly can from every angle here at the Belleville Police Service to return her home safely,"
Belleville police Deputy Chief Paul Vandegraaf says.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/01/30/ott-missing-person-bellevills.html
AFFAIRE RUSSELL WILLIAMS
82 NOUVELLES ACCUSATIONS
29 avril 2010
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Ontario/2010/04/29/001-williams_accusations.shtml#commentaires
Le colonel Russell Williams, déjà accusé de meurtres et d'agressions sexuelles, devra répondre à 82 nouvelles accusations d'entrée par effraction.
C'est ce qu'a annoncé jeudi la division des crimes majeurs de la Police provinciale de l'Ontario (PPO) après avoir procédé à une révision de plusieurs crimes demeurés non résolus.
Cette révision a été effectuée en collaboration avec les corps de police d'Ottawa et de Belleville et le Service national d'enquête des Forces canadiennes.
Williams fait plus précisément face à:
61 chefs d'accusation d'entrée par effraction avec vols;
11 chefs de tentative d'entrée par effraction;
10 chefs d'entrée par effraction dans le but de commettre un acte criminel.
46 de ces présumés crimes auraient été commis dans la région de Tweed, qui relève de la PPO, 34 dans la région d'Ottawa et 2 autres dans la région de Belleville.
Nouvelle comparution jeudi
Ces accusations ont été déposées quelques heures avant la brève comparution de Russell Williams par vidéoconférence devant un tribunal de Belleville. Il restera derrière les barreaux au centre de détention de Quinte, près de Napanee, d'ici sa prochaine comparution, prévue le 24 juin.
L'ex-commandant de la base de Trenton est accusé du meurtre prémédité de deux femmes, Jessica Lloyd et la caporale Marie-France Comeau, qui était basée à Trenton.
Il fait également face à quatre chefs d'accusation pour séquestration, introduction par effraction et agression sexuelle sur deux femmes. Ces derniers événements auraient eu lieu en septembre 2009.
Jessica Lloyd a été portée disparue le 29 janvier dernier. Le corps de la jeune femme de 27 ans a été retrouvé dans la municipalité de Tweed le 8 février, au lendemain de l'arrestation du colonel.
Quant à Marie-France Comeau, elle a été trouvée sans vie dans son domicile de Brighton en novembre 2009.
Russell Williams a tenté de se suicider il y a près d'un mois. Après avoir bloqué la serrure de sa cellule, il aurait essayé de s'étouffer en s'enfonçant dans la gorge un rouleau de papier de toilette rempli de carton et de papier d'aluminium. Une note de suicide aurait indiqué qu'il n'était plus capable de supporter la situation.
Les gardiens auraient cependant réussi à s'interposer. Depuis, il fait l'objet d'une surveillance constante pour éviter qu'il tente de nouveau de s'enlever la vie.
Russell Williams, qui avait été suspendu de ses fonctions, est officiellement congédié de son poste de commandant de la base de Trenton. Il reste toutefois membre des Forces canadiennes et conserve ses grades et son salaire.
Il est défendu par l'un des avocats les plus réputés d'Ottawa, Me Michael Edelson.
audio-vidéo:
Déjà accusé du meurtre de deux femmes, voilà que 82 nouvelles accusations s'ajoutent contre lui. Sébastien St-François
*
MEURTRES ET AGRESSIONS SEXUELLES
WILLIAMS PLAIDERAIT COUPABLE
Mise à jour : 29/04/2010 13h51
http://lcn.canoe.ca/lcn/infos/national/archives/2010/04/20100429-135150.html
L'ancien commandant de la base militaire de Trenton en Ontario aurait décidé d'en finir rapidement avec la justice. Selon le Globe and Mail de Toronto, le colonel Russell Williams plaiderait coupable à toutes les accusations portées contre lui.
Selon le journal, les avocats de Williams et ceux de la Couronne ont conclu une entente à cet effet.
Le colonel Williams se reconnaîtrait coupable de deux meurtres prémédités, de deux agressions sexuelles, et de 82 chefs d'accusation reliés à des entrées par effraction dans des domiciles des régions d'Ottawa et de Trenton.
Ces 82 nouvelles accusations ont été déposées ce matin.
L’ancien commandant de la base militaire de Trenton a comparu aujourd’hui par vidéoconférence. Déjà accusé de deux meurtres au premier degré et d’agressions sexuelles , il doit maintenant répondre à 82 nouvelles accusations déposées i par la police ontarienne (OPP).
COMPARUTION CE MATIN
Le militaire de 47 ans, qui est accusé des meurtres de la caporale Marie-France Comeau, 37 ans, et de Jessica Loyd, 27 ans, a fait une brève apparition vidéo de sa cellule du centre de détention de Napanee. Vêtu d’une combinaison orangée de prisonnier, il a simplement décliné son identité.
Il demeure détenu jusqu’à sa prochaine comparution le 24 juin prochain.
Plus de la moitié des 82 nouvelles accusations portées contre lui, soit 46, concernent des cas d'introduction par effraction dans des résidences de Tweed en Ontario, non loin d’où résidait Russell Williams.
Trente-six autres accusations d’introduction par effraction, auxquelles fait face le militaire, sont reliées à des événements survenus à Fallingbrook près d'Ottawa et à Belleville.
Elles font suite à la découverte de plusieurs caisses de sous-vêtements féminins à sa résidence de la région d’Ottawa.
La police a, de façon méticuleuse, fouillé le passé de Russell Williams tout en rouvrant des dossiers non résolus en matière d'agressions sexuelles.
TENTATIVE DE SUICIDE
Lors de sa comparution de ce matin, Williams semblait en bonne forme.
On sait que selon plusieurs sources, il y a près d'un mois, le colonel a tenté de s'enlever la vie au centre de détention Quinte, à Napanee.
Il aurait essayé de s'étouffer en s'enfonçant dans la gorge un rouleau de papier de toilette rempli de carton et de papier d'aluminium, après avoir bloqué la serrure de sa cellule. Les gardiens auraient cependant réussi à s'interposer.
Williams aurait préalablement écrit une lettre de suicide avec de la moutarde sur le mur de sa cellule dans laquelle il aurait affirmé ne plus être capable de supporter la situation.
Depuis, il fait l'objet d'une surveillance constante pour éviter qu'il tente à nouveau de se suicider.
(TVA Nouvelles avec La Presse Canadienne)
*
AFFAIRE RUSSELL WILLIAMS
DES QUESTIONS SANS RÉPONSE
30 avril 2010
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/Ontario/2010/04/30/001-williams_vendredi.shtml
Les nouvelles accusations déposées jeudi contre l'ex-commandant de la base militaire de Trenton, le colonel Russell Williams, ne manquent pas de soulever de multiples questions.
L'homme de 47 ans, déjà accusé des meurtres de Jessica Lloyd et de la caporale Marie-France Comeau et d'agressions sexuelles, doit répondre à 82 nouvelles accusations d'entrée par effraction.
Williams se serait ainsi introduit illégalement des dizaines de fois dans des maisons pour voler de la lingerie féminine. Les crimes présumés auraient été commis essentiellement dans la région de Tweed et dans le quartier Fallingbrook d'Ottawa.
Le fait qu'il y a 82 accusations distinctes sème la stupeur, particulièrement dans la région de Tweed, une communauté d'à peine plus de 5000 personnes, où 46 des crimes allégués auraient été commis entre septembre 2007 et novembre 2009.
Comment est-il possible, demande une femme interrogée par CBC, que la Police provinciale de l'Ontario (PPO) n'ait pas prévenu la population qu'une série d'entrées par effraction était en cours?
Une enquête du Toronto Star révèle une partie de la réponse. De nombreuses victimes rencontrées par le quotidien affirment tout simplement qu'elles ne savaient même pas que quelqu'un avait tenté de s'introduire chez elles.
N'ayant jamais porté plainte, elles n'ont été prévenues que récemment par la police de ce qui se serait produit.
La police dit que les nouvelles accusations découlent de révisions de cas, mais le quotidien avance d'autres hypothèses.
Williams consignait-il soigneusement ses opérations?
A-t-il conservé des « trophées » qui ont permis à la police de recoller les morceaux?
Ou encore, a-t-il déballé son sac à la police?
Une femme a notamment raconté au Star qu'elle ne savait pas que quelqu'un avait tenté d'entrer par effraction chez elle à deux reprises avant qu'elle ne soit agressée le 30 septembre.
« Je découvre qu'il avait été dans ma maison et je ne le savais pas »,
dit la femme.
Le fait qu'elle n'ait jamais porté plainte pour des entrées par effraction soulève des questions sur la façon dont la police en a eu connaissance.
Des accusations ont aussi été déposées contre Williams relativement à une entrée par effraction avec vol dans une autre résidence de la région de Tweed où vivent une femme et ses deux filles.
Aucune des trois n'a remarqué quoi que ce soit et elles ne savent d'ailleurs toujours pas ce qui a pu être volé.
Plusieurs autres victimes de la région de Tweed, qui relève de la Police provinciale de l'Ontario, disent qu'elles ne se doutaient de rien jusqu'à ce que des policiers en civil soient venus sonner à leur porte il y a environ un mois.
Les inspecteurs leur ont alors demandé si elles avaient noté quelque chose d'inhabituel ou si elles avaient perdu la trace d'objets.
Elles ont appris par la suite que des accusations allaient être déposées.
Il semble en outre que certaines résidences de la région de Tweed ont en fait été visitées plusieurs fois.
Le Star révèle que Williams s'est introduit au même endroit à neuf reprises entre août 2008 et août 2009. Il recense deux autres endroits où Williams se serait introduit à trois reprises.
Selon des médias de la région d'Ottawa, jusqu'à 500 pièces de sous-vêtements féminins ont été trouvées à la résidence où le colonel vivait avec sa femme à Ottawa.
Les jours de semaine, Russell Williams vivait dans son cottage de Tweed, non loin de la base de Trenton.
Radio-Canada.ca avec Toronto Star et CBC
*
COL. WILLIAMS FACES 82 MORE CHARGES
UNDERWEAR THEFT CASES CLEARED, OTTAWA POLICE SAY
With files from the CBC's Susan Ormiston
April 29, 2010
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/04/29/ott-russell-williams.html
Williams made a brief court appearance via video link Thursday and was remanded in custody until June 24. (Alex Tavshunsky/CBC) Col. Russell Williams, a former CFB Trenton commander accused of killing two women, now also faces 82 charges involving break-ins in Ottawa, Belleville and Tweed in Ontario.
Williams made a brief court appearance via video link Thursday and was remanded in custody until June 24.
He had already been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of air force flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, who worked at CFB Trenton, and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville.
Williams has also been charged with home-invasion sex attacks on two women last September in eastern Ontario.
He wore an orange prison suit Thursday and appeared thinner than in earlier appearances before the court in his appearance from the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, near Belleville. The former base commander has reportedly been on a hunger strike.
The case was put over until the Crown and defence have completed disclosure proceedings.
THE CHARGES ANNOUNCED THURSDAY ARE:
61 counts of breaking and entering and theft.
11 counts of attempted breaking and entering.
10 counts of breaking and entering with intent to commit an indictable offence.
The Ottawa Police Service, Belleville Police Service and Ontario Provincial Police, with the assistance of Canadian Forces National Investigation Service, said they reviewed unsolved crimes around Ottawa, Belleville and Tweed before laying the new charges.
Thirty-four of the break-ins occurred at 25 addresses in the Ottawa area. Two of the latest charges were related to break-ins in Belleville, while the rest were in the Tweed area or other areas under the OPP's jurisdiction.
Police said the Ottawa incidents all occurred within the Fallingbrook area in the city's east end, near where Williams lived before moving to the Westboro neighbourhood in late 2009.
Police have not released details on what was taken in the thefts.
UNDERWEAR CASE CLOSED
However, Ottawa police confirmed the latest charges close an investigation that they alerted the public about in October 2008, following two break-ins in the Fallingbrook neighbourhood on a single weekend. At the time, they said the only items taken were women's undergarments and urged residents to secure their homes "due to the peculiar nature of these incidents."
Courtney Cochrane, 29, says it's scary that the same person charged in a break-in at her parents house is also charged with two counts of murder. (Steve Fischer/CBC)
Police said the charges date as far back as September 2007. The investigation is continuing, OPP Sgt. Kristine Rae said.
"Nothing has been ruled out at this point," she said.
"It’s going to be an extensive investigation. We are still reviewing unsolved crimes. It’s going to take time."
The last of the Ottawa charges relates to an Oct. 23, 2009, break-in at Courtney Cochrane's parents' home in the Fallingbrook neighbourhood. At the time, 29-year-old Cochrane was visiting intermittently to feed her parents' pets while they were away. She found a ladder set up beside the house a few days before someone broke in through the side door, suggesting the burglar had been scouting the place out.
She said she's unnerved by the fact that the same man charged in the break-in has also been accused of killing two women around her age.
"Had he noticed me? Was it my mother? The police were thinking it was me that he had noticed," she said. "What if I was here? … It's scary what could possibly have happened."
Nothing was taken in the break-in, as the home's security alarm went off.
Initially, Cochrane said, she thought it might have been a random incident. But after lingerie was taken from a neighbouring home, she began to think the burglar was targeting homes with young women in them.
Williams was arrested Feb. 7 while still in command of the Trenton base.
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CANADIAN FORCES
CRIME
COLONEL RUSSELL WILLIAMS TIMELINE
April 30, 2010
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/30/f-col-russell-williams-timeline.html
Col. Russell Williams, former base commander of CFB Trenton, has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38.
Williams has also been charged with counts of breaking and entering, forcible confinement and the sexual assault of two other women in Tweed, Ont., a small community north of Belleville.
Here is a related timeline of events:
Sept. 17, 2009 — A woman in Tweed is tied up and sexually assaulted in her home.
Sept. 30, 2009 — Another woman is sexually assaulted in her home on Cosy Cove Lane. Col. Russell Williams has a cottage on Cosy Cove Lane.
Nov. 25, 2009 — Corporal Marie France Comeau, 38, is found dead on Nov. 25, 2009 in her home in Brighton, Ont. The death is ruled a homicide.
Dec. 4, 2009 — Comeau is buried at the National Cemetery in Ottawa.
Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, left, was slain
Nov. 25, 2009. The body of Jessica Lloyd, 27, right, was found by police Monday morning. (Canadian Press)
Jan. 28, 2010 — Jessica Elizabeth Lloyd, 27, sends a text message to a family friend at 10:36 p.m. The next day she does not show up for work. Lloyd's family tells police it is out of character for her to be out of contact.
Jan. 30, 2010 — Police in Belleville, Ont., ask the public for help in locating Lloyd.
"We're treating this suspiciously at this time and doing everything we possibly can from every angle here at the Belleville Police Service to return her home safely,"
Belleville police Deputy Chief Paul Vandegraaf says.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/01/30/ott-missing-person-bellevills.html
Jan. 31, 2010 — The Ontario Provincial Police deploy a helicopter over the Belleville area to look for Lloyd. The previous day, authorities combed the area near Highway 37 and Harmony Road.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/01/31/jessica-lloyd-missing654.html
Feb. 2, 2010 — Police in Belleville, Ont., ask people with information regarding the disappearance of a Lloyd to call them instead of posting it to Facebook. More than 34,000 friends, family and strangers join a Facebook group dedicated to finding Lloyd.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/02/tor-missing-woman-bellevillle.html
Feb. 7, 2010 — Col. Russell Williams is arrested in Ottawa and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau. He is also charged with two sexual assaults that happened in Tweed in September.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/08/belleville-jessica-lloyd-dead-missing.html
Feb. 11, 2010 — Sources tell CBC News Williams led police to the body of Jessica Lloyd.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/02/11/williams-murder-charges.html
Feb. 13, 2010 — A funeral service is held for Jessica Lloyd in Belleville. Small groups of people gather outside the funeral home during the service, with one group of young women carrying a sign that says: "Rest in peace, sweet angel."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/13/ottawa-jessica-lloyd-funeral.html
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/13/ottawa-jessica-lloyd-funeral.html
Feb. 16, 2010 — OPP search Williams' home in Ottawa's Westboro neighbourhood.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/16/ottawa-russell-williams-edison-home.html
Feb. 18, 2010 — Williams appears before a Belleville court via video link from Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont. He is represented by Michael Edelson, a prominent Ottawa-based defence lawyer. On the same day, OPP confirm they have finished searching Williams' Ottawa home.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/18/colonel-russell-williams-court-belleville.html
March 25, 2010 — Williams appears briefly before a video camera at the Quinte Detention Centre in Napanee, Ont., which is linked to a courtroom in Belleville. The former base commander of CFB Trenton is told he would be remanded in custody until April 29.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/03/25/ottawa-williams-court.html
April 5, 2010 — Williams is placed under suicide watch at the Quinte Detention Centre near Napanee, Ont., after an apparent suicide attempt, according to a media report.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/04/05/williams-apparent-suicide-reports.htm
April 8, 2010 — Williams begins a hunger strike, according to reports.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/04/08/williams-hunger-strike.html
April 29, 2010 — Williams is charged with 82 more offences in connection with break-ins in Ottawa, Belleville and Tweed in Ontario.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/04/29/ott-russell-williams.html
THE NEW CHARGES INCLUDE:
• 61 counts of breaking and entering and theft.
• 11 counts of attempted breaking and entering.
• 10 counts of breaking and entering with intent to commit an indictable offence.
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NEW WILLIAMS CHARGES UNNERVE OTTAWA COMMUNITY
FORMER BASE COMMANDER CHARGED IN CONNECTION WITH THEFTS OF WOMEN'S UNDERWEAR
With files from the CBC's Steve Fischer, Evan Dyer and Chad Pawson
April 30, 2010
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2010/04/30/ott-russell-williams-break-in.html
Courtney Cochrane, 29, says it's scary that the same person charged in a break-in at her parents house is also charged with two counts of murder. (Steve Fischer/CBC)Residents of Ottawa's Fallingbrook neighbourhood were unsettled to discover a series of break-ins involving women's undergarments have now been linked to Col. Russell Williams, the former air force base commander accused of killing two women.
Williams, who made a brief court appearance Thursday via video link, faces charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of air force flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, who worked at CFB Trenton, and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville. He has also been charged with home-invasion sex attacks on two women last September in eastern Ontario.
On Thursday he was charged with 82 more offences, including 46 counts related to break-ins around Tweed, where Williams had a cottage.
Two of the charges related to incidents in Belleville, and 34 charges were in connection with break-ins at 25 homes in Ottawa's Fallingbrook neighbourhood, where Williams lived until last year.
Fallingbrook residents were on edge after a series of break-ins dating back to 2007.
Rob Waller, who still lives in the neighbourhood, said that twice in the last two years he saw evidence that someone had tried to break into his home.
"I noticed that this window was cracked and then you can see there someone has jammed a knife or something," Waller said.
Police came to his home and told him and his wife they were taking the break-ins very seriously. Waller, who also has two daughters, said it was very concerning to hear from police about the nature of the crimes.
BREAK-INS 'PECULIAR IN NATURE': POLICE
On Oct. 31, 2008, Ottawa police issued a statement to the public to be vigilant after two break-ins that month.
Williams was charged earlier with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, as well as with sexual assaults during two home invasions. (Alex Tavshunsky/CBC)
"It should be noted that the only items taken in the two Break & Enters were women's undergarment[s]," the statement read.
"Due to the peculiar nature of these incidents, the Ottawa Police wishes to remind the public to be vigilant and ensure that they secure their home at all times."
Ottawa police spokeswoman Kathy Larouche said the break-ins were "extremely peculiar in nature" and similar in pattern.
She said as a result of the charges laid against Williams on Thursday, police consider those two break-in cases to be closed.
The last of the Ottawa break-in charges relates to an Oct. 23, 2009, break-in at Courtney Cochrane's parents' home in the neighbourhood. At the time, the 29-year-old Cochrane was visiting intermittently to feed her parents' pets while they were away. She found a ladder set up beside the house a few days before someone broke in through the side door, suggesting the burglar had been scouting the place out.
Cochrane said she's unnerved by the fact that the same man charged in the break-in has also been accused of killing two women around her age.
"Had he noticed me? Was it my mother? The police were thinking it was me that he had noticed," she said. "What if I was here? … It's scary what could possibly have happened."
Initially, Cochrane said, she thought it might have been a random incident. But after lingerie was taken from a neighbouring home, she began to think the burglar was targeting homes with young women in them.
Williams was arrested Feb. 7 while still in command of the Trenton base. He has been remanded in custody until June 24.
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POLICE PAINT PORTRAIT OF A CHILLING STALKER
Jim Rankin in Belleville
Sandro Contenta in Toronto
With files from Antonia Zerbisias, Brendan Kennedy and CP
Apr 30 2010
The Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/802107--police-paint-portrait-of-a-chilling-stalker
BELLEVILLE—A slew of new charges against Col. Russell Williams paint a portrait of a predator who repeatedly broke into the homes of neighbours and apparently stalked one of the women he’s accused of killing.
The alleged break-ins involved incredible stealth: Several of the victims told The Star they did not know their homes had been broken into until police recently notified them. It raises the question of whether Williams told police.
Included in the 82 break-and-enter charges laid Thursday is the Brighton home of Cpl. Marie-France Comeau. Williams is accused of breaking in and stealing personal belongings on Nov. 16, 2009 — eight days before he allegedly killed her.
The chilling stalking pattern appears to have also occurred with a woman Williams is accused of sexually assaulting near his cottage in Tweed. He is charged with breaking into her home twice — Sept. 24 and 26th last year, allegedly stealing personal belongings — before she was attacked in her home on the 30th.
The charges also suggest a compulsion to return to the scene of the crime. He is accused of sexually assaulting a second Tweed woman on Sept. 17, 2009 — then returning the very next night and again on the 22nd to steal belongings.
He is also charged with breaking into one home near his Tweed cottage nine times between April 2008 and August 2009.
“I feel very fortunate,” said the woman who has lived in that home for five years. “A lot of other girls got it a lot worse than me.”
Thirty four of the new charges stemming from break-ins and theft, occurred in Ottawa between May 2008 and July 2009 — all within easy walking distance of the Wilkie Dr. home where Williams lived with his wife Mary Elizabeth Harriman until the end of last July.
Tweed, a sleepy village north of Belleville, was the scene of most of the 46 other new charges. Two involve a home in Belleville and one was Comeau’s home in Brighton. These break-ins began in Sept. 2007 and continued until Nov. 2009.
He is accused of being particularly busy in October 2008 — allegedly breaking into seven Ottawa homes. He’s also accused of a break-in on New Year’s Eve in 2008 and another on New Year’s Day. On Feb. 14, 2009 — Valentine’s Day — he’s accused of an attempted break-in.
Williams bought his cottage in Tweed in 2004. He spent most weekdays in 2009 at the cottage and weekends in Ottawa with his wife,
Williams asked that the fresh charges not be read out as he made his third court appearance in Belleville via video link Thursday morning.
“Thank you,” said Williams, 47, looking straight into the camera as his case was put over for two months.
He stood straight and rolled his shoulders several times during the five-minute appearance. He appeared healthy for a man who had reportedly tried to kill himself in his cell at the Quinte Detention Centre and had stopped eating.
In February, the former commander of CFB Trenton was charged with murdering two women — Jessica Elizabeth Lloyd, 27, of Belleville and Comeau, 38 — and sexually assaulting two more in home-invasion-style break-ins.
Ottawa victims of the break-ins told eerily similar stories — backyard windows methodically, almost surgically removed and, in some cases, neatly replaced. The thief left little or no trace.
One woman whose home Williams allegedly robbed says the thief stole one bra and at least five pairs of underwear in the spring of 2008.
The woman didn’t call police until much later, when she saw her backyard window was missing its screen. They told her they were investigating a series of similar break-ins in the neighbourhood, where only women’s underwear and sex toys were stolen.
In October of 2008, Ottawa police publicly warned neighbourhood residents of the rash of fetish break-ins. A police spokesman confirmed Thursday that the charges against Williams relate to that investigation.
Other residents of the Fallingbrook neighbourhood were unsettled by the possibility that someone may have been stalking them.
“It’s exceptionally creepy,” said a mother of two who lives at another house Williams is accused of trying to break into. The burglar was scared off by an alarm.
“Was he watching us, or was he just waiting for our house to be emptied? If he was watching us as a family, was he waiting for us to be home or waiting for us to be away?”
A man whose house was among those burglarized said he and his wife came home one day to find family pictures on their bed and underwear drawers open.
“It was pretty upsetting,” said the man, who didn't want to be identified.
The couple has four children, including 11- and 18-year-old girls. Photos of the girls were taken and the person who broke in rifled through his wife’s panty drawer and his two girls’ panty drawers, he said.
“All the different neighbours we have here, that we know of, it was all the same thing. (The burglar) looked into the women’s cupboards and underpants, and having a look (at) pictures.”
Media in Ottawa reported that during a week-long search at Williams’ current Ottawa home in February police found more than 500 pairs of women’s underwear.
In Tweed, one of the sexual assault victims only learned Thursday that Williams is accused of having broken into her home twice before she was restrained, partially undressed and assaulted Sept. 30, 2009.
“I’m just finding out now that he had been in my home, and I didn’t know about it,’’ she said in an interview.
Since she never reported any break-ins, how do the police know they happened?
Was her attacker so meticulous, so ordered, that he kept notes, as well as fetish-related souvenirs of his visits?
“I’m thinking back a year ago, when a sarong went missing,’’ she says. “I searched my house for it. I thought one of my daughters borrowed it. I never thought anything of it. I only know what was missing after the actual attack.”
And that included two pairs of cotton briefs — her “grannies,’’ as she describes them — and a lilac pillowcase from one of her daughters’ beds.
“I have no idea how he got in. I don’t know if he managed to get a key somehow. The police would not tell me,’’ the woman says.
The only explanation she can come up with is that, on the occasions of the break-ins prior to the assault, she was not home, but at her boyfriend’s place, about a mile away.
“He did his homework,’’ she speculates.
Several of the Tweed victims said they only became aware that something was up when plainclothes detectives visited about a month ago and asked vague questions about unusual happenings or things missing. This week, police phoned to say charges were being laid, but offered no specifics.
“What can I say, I’m just blown away,” said a woman whose home was allegedly broken into in November, 2008, and again a year and a day later — the latter coming just after police allege Williams had broken in to two other Tweed homes and confined and assaulted women.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, lives with her husband and 19-year-old daughter, who she described as beautiful. Knowing what Williams is alleged to have done to other women, she feels sick that something worse could have happened. “This is what’s so upsetting,” said the woman.
Along the highway between Tweed and Belleville, another woman feels fortunate. Her home was broken into twice over two days in mid-November. She noticed and notified police.
“I think I was very lucky. It was my birthday.”
She said she came home to change after work and went to a neighbour’s house for a party. “I’m sorting my life now,” she said. “It makes you think about certain things.”
At a home on the outskirts of Tweed, on a street traveled seldom enough that a passing car would get some attention, Williams allegedly broke in on a weekend in early November. It’s home to a mother and two daughters, Sarah Letwin, 15 and Hali Letwin, 20.
They had no idea they’d been broken into — not until the police came a few weeks ago to ask questions about things going missing. The three hadn’t noticed anything awry. They still don’t know what’s gone, even though Williams is charged with theft of something.
“It’s really terrifying to know that someone who may have committed these acts was in your home,” said Hali.
At a home near Cosy Cove Lane, where Williams owns his cottage, a young man who lives there with his brother and dad said police came calling a month ago, asking similar questions. They, too, had no idea they’d been broken into.
The new charges appear the be the result of a review of break-ins and cold cases by a joint police and military task force that included the Belleville and Ottawa police departments, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.
Lieut.-Col. Tony O’Keeffe, who has been assigned by the military to follow the criminal proceedings, and personally update Williams on administrative matters, said after court that his old acquaintance looked better than he had when they last spoke, about 10 days ago.
Asked if Williams seemed suicidal, O’Keeffe said the two did not directly discuss the colonel’s reported suicide attempt and subsequent hunger strike.
“He looks okay to me, but honestly I can’t tell,” said O’Keeffe.
The colonel, who piloted dignitaries on Canadian air force flights before becoming commander of CFB Trenton, was brought in for questioning following a police roadside check along a road leading to one of the crime scenes. Police, according to media reports, were looking for distinctive tire tracks left at one of the crime scenes. The day after his arrest, Williams reportedly led police to Lloyd’s body.
Williams has yet to enter a plea, and none of the allegations have been tested in court.
He is scheduled to make another court appearance via video link on June 24. A designate for Williams’s lawyer said that, in light of the new charges, more time would be needed to review disclosure documents.
*
EVENTS LEADING TO COL. RUSSELL WILLIAMS ARREST
Jesse McLean
Feb 09 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/762518
Sept. 17 and 30, 2009: Police investigate two home invasions in Tweed where women were tied to a chair and photographed. The suspect entered the houses while the residents slept.
Nov. 15, 2009: Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, a flight attendant with CFB Trenton's 437 transport squadron, is found slain in her Brighton, Ont., home. Her boyfriend discovers her body after she misses work.
Jan. 28: The last time anyone hears from Jessica Lloyd, 27. She is reported missing after she doesn't show up for her job in Napanee.
Feb. 4: While doing a roadside canvass on Highway 37, investigators get some information that leads them to Col. Russell Williams' home in Tweed.
Feb. 7: Ontario Provincial Police and Belleville Police arrest Williams, 46, a commander at CFB Trenton. He is charged with the first-degree murders of Lloyd and Comeau. He also faces two counts of forcible confinement and two counts each of break and enter and sexual assault.
Feb. 8: Investigators find Lloyd's body off Cary Rd. in Tweed.
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EXPERTS TELL OF RARE 'MACHO MAN' KILLERS
Daniel Dale
With files from Cathal Kelly
Feb 10 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/763103--experts-tell-of-rare-macho-man-killers
A repeat killer in a decorated uniform? If Col. Russell Williams is guilty, he is an unusual specimen. According to an American criminal profiler, however, he is not entirely unique.
After interviewing 25 serial killers, Deborah Schurman-Kauflin identified a rare type of offender she dubbed the "Macho Man" in a 2005 book – the rarest type in fact, she said Tuesday.
Macho Man killers, she said, tend to be articulate men with significant others who "do well in the workplace," "are drawn to law enforcement or military," display an obsessive-compulsive need for things to be "done a very specific way," "prefer to dress in uniform," and "stand up very straight, even in personal life."
Profiling experts contacted about Williams could only speculate on his psyche. But they offered insights gleaned from knowledge of high-functioning offenders, which may help explain how a top military official could commit heinous crimes – and how a criminal could achieve such prestige in the first place.
Mark Zelig, a forensic psychologist and former Salt Lake City police lieutenant, said many serial offenders are experts in "compartmentalization" who are able to separate their secret deviant behaviour from their respectable daily lives. "If they can't separate it, then their behaviour comes to attention early in life, and they probably never have the opportunity to be coined a serial offender," he said.
Schurman-Kauflin said it would not be surprising if a serial offender fooled military brass into believing he was a good man. "A serial offender who is very organized can hide his dark side," she said. "In fact, he will go out of his way to cultivate relationships with others so that he is viewed in a positive light. Doing so is another way he is expressing his power. He can fool the top guys, and he enjoys doing that."
Schurman-Kauflin, Zelig and Pat Brown, a profiler and U.S. television commentator, said Williams could have been drawn to the military by some of the same traits shared by offenders.
Brown noted that a job as a military officer allows for "a level of extreme power and control," the goal of many sex offenders. Zelig said many serial offenders possess low levels of anxiety; if this were true of Williams, it could partially explain his success as a military pilot. And Schurman-Kauflin said an offender may deliberately seek to attain an elite job because it would "help him in many ways," such as minimizing the possibility he would be suspected of an offence.
"Everything a serial offender does is to further his compulsion to fulfil his deviant desires."
Like the other profilers, Mark Safarik, a consultant who formerly worked for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, said it is likely the offender in the latest crimes has been active for far longer.
Typically, he said, an offender progresses from relatively minor transgressions like prowling or peeping to "fantasy fulfilment," perhaps with willing partners. When "that isn't enough of a thrill," Safarik said, "he crosses over into non-compliant victims."
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Cartes. TWEED BREAK-IN MAP
Former Trenton base commander Col. Russell Williams faced new charges Thursday connected to 82 alleged break-ins, mostly in Tweed and a neighbourhood in suburban Ottawa.
http://www.thestar.com/staticcontent/802283
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Cartes. COLONEL CHARGED: OTTAWA
Former Trenton base commander Col. Russell Williams faced new charges Thursday connected to 82 alleged break-ins, mostly in Tweed and a neighbourhood in suburban Ottawa.
http://www.thestar.com/staticcontent/802314
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Image. A map of eastern Ontario, showing the location of CFB Trenton, the air base that Col. Russell Williams commanded. (CBC)
