Canada - Marie-France Comeau, 37, & Jessica Lloyd, 27, slain, Ont, 2009 & 2010 - #1

[Hazel]

Lengthty but very good article; unfortunately, the Globe&Mail article links are not accessible after one or two months.

http://www.globalnational.com/Senior+military+officer+faces+homicide+charges+Ontario+deaths/2536787/story.html
snipped

He said the couple have a place in Trenton and a new house in Ottawa where his wife, Mary Elizabeth 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. He said in all the time they were neighbours, they had probably spoken only 20 times.

Bonnie Jones said she sometimes took them cucumbers from her garden but they didn't interact much. "They were city folks who kept to themselves," she said.

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 belive 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.

"I told them they were barking up the wrong tree," he said. "They wasted weeks . . . never questioned (Williams) . . . because he's untouchable."

(JMO again, I think it is amazing the police was looking in the right direction. I cannot help wondering what brought them to suspect poor Mr. Jones, to the point of removing his computer, boots, hunting knife, and making him take a lie-detector test. Something is missing here :waitasec: cannot put my finger on it)

Harriman is taking an extended leave from her position in Ottawa as associate executive director at the Heart and Stroke Foundation to deal with the situation.

"She is one of our most beloved staff," said spokeswoman Eileen Melnick-McCarthy. "She is taking an extended leave to focus on family matters and we continue to support her."

(I hope this means she is suffering terribly, and feeling awful for all the horrendous things she is only now finding out her husband has done, and that this leave of absence doesn't mean she is looking for the best lawyers money can buy.)

RS&bbm

One thing that just occurred to me after reading more about Ms. Comeau's murder is that the neighbours saw her coming in, and didn't see nor hear anything until they saw the police cruicers.
Could it be possible R. Williams was already inside the house, and she was surprised and attacked? Same could be the case with Jessica. It is hard to think that he broke into the house while she was there. Just a thought, and JMO.

 

[flipflop]

I didn't like him to look at him, I saw him at the torch relay and his eyes made me uneasy.

He seemed to be quite familiar with the Quinte area- as the Tweed area is only of interest to people who have been in the area for some time and appreciated getting to the outskirts of Belleville. Tweed connects to highway 7, which I commonly drive to go to Ottawa- so it makes sense that he resided there.

You can also NOT take highway 401 to Tweed, you would have to take the back roads or highway 37 which you have to enter Belleville first before hitting it. My guess is that his body language indeed gave it away, and maybe he then confessed.

I am still surprised that he killed two and spared the other two. I know Paul Bernardo was a serial rapist because a serial killer, but then again, many are lead to believe Karla helped him with that...
A big HMM.

When I first looked at his pic in this link, at a quick glance I thought of Dr. Hannibal Lector from Silence of the Lambs.
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgu...ox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&um=1

 

[noZme]

Astonishing revelations today! "...What evil lurks in the heart of man..."

reactions on base,
Gen: Personnel at Trenton in a 'state of shock
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2010/02/08/12796426-qmi.html

several good articles about Williams, wife, victims
http://www.newswatchcanada.ca/

Colonel Russ Williams: a profile
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2538294

1st court appearance

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2536807

discussion
http://www.unsolvedcanada.ca/index.php?PHPSESSID=6c1f918928b24d1277bc79293e9fad18&topic=215.45

http://www.unsolvedcanada.ca/index.php/topic,3203.30.html

 

[CDNnewsmedia]

Originally Posted by CDNnewsmedia View Post

In addition, it could be they didn't have Comeau case DNA, only tread marks. Or were misled by some evidence. Given that the Tweed torture cases also involved photography I think it's reasonable to presume with the examination of the Williams house and computers there may be direct evidence, perhaps from all the cases. Sick ...
(BBM)

Torture? Is this your word or has it been used by LE or the media?

It's based upon a media report which said the victims were tied up and photographed, and one other piece of info I can't reveal (because it's disgusting). But it has DNA implications and my source said he heard it directly from a police source... It's also, in an unrelated way, worth noting that the OPP official announcement stated: "The joint investigative team would like to thank the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service their assistance and cooperation." That, to me, cinches the evidence of a DNA link.

 

[Patience]

It has now been reported by numerous media outlets that the police were checking tire treads in a roadside check stop. That is how they found Williams.

Unbelievable. Summersolstice thanks for all your links in this thread. I also think Russ has a killer history. I notice he went to the University of Toronto up to 1987 which is the year that Elizabeth Bain went missing. Elizabeth went to the Scarborough Campus of the U OF T in 1987 and prior to that she attended the downtown campus.


http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=464173

 

[RubyRed]

'Amazing' Jessica Lloyd remembered by family and friends

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news...+remembered+family+friends/2538422/story.html

 

[Hazel]

'In the company of the devil': Victim

This answers a lot of questions. What a courageous woman!!!

For 21/2 hours in the deepest dark of last Sept. 30, she fought, begged, cajoled and prayed for her life.

And now the horror of that sexual assault returns in a stunning flash.

Her accused attacker is CFB Trenton’s commander, Col. Russ Williams — also charged Monday in another Tweed sexual attack, and for the murders of Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France Comeau.

read more : http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/mike_strobel/2010/02/08/12797076.html

 

[CDNnewsmedia]

PJGRRRL wrote:
Thank you for the clarification. But another question for you- if they had the tire treads from the assaults in the fall, and then treads from the Comeau case- would that not have been sufficient? I guess I can't really ask you that, I would have to ask the LE... The whole situation is infuriating. I have so many questions

Presuming this how it went down (and I do) they had to have a match for the tire tread marks and it could be a popular tire, or at least not extremely rare. So when crimes were clustered as they were, with linkages, they needed to come up with a way to isolate tire treads. When they established the geographic link to the Tweed area they decided to simply stop vehicles travelling from main area centre Belleville to town of Tweed on Hwy 37 and check all the tires of people they stopped. I don't know if this is how it went down, but let's suppose only a few, or only one, vehicle(s) had the exact same tread. They took the driver's name and address, or his license plate and established his residence. Bingo, right beside a guy they had submitted to major investigation on Cosy Cove Lane. Then, maybe they did two things: they had the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (thanked in official OPP press release) take an impression of the tire treads at the base on Friday (if Williams was there) or they jumped to a DNA match... Not knowing his vehicle, I suspect it may have been a relatively odd tire tread pattern (or even snow tires and regular tires mixed, or all-weather tires -- my Goodyears certainly have a distinct tread pattern) and they had the CFNIS take a tread impression before jumping to DNA... Just guessing now on that particular process. But it's clear that by today they were very certain about their evidence if they charge him in 4 individual cases all at once. So I'd say they have physical evidence (tire treads, pictures maybe, hair, clothing...) along with DNA. Imagine if you're a detective and the guy with the right tires also works at the base where Marie Comeau worked -- and indeed was base commander so would have been let in the door had he knocked late at night -- and lives near where 2 September crimes occurred and body of Ms. Lloyd was discovered... Also, footwear prints may have been distinctive at one or more sites... maybe even military boot imprints.

 

[antiquegirl]

Originally Posted by CDNnewsmedia View Post

In addition, it could be they didn't have Comeau case DNA, only tread marks. Or were misled by some evidence. Given that the Tweed torture cases also involved photography I think it's reasonable to presume with the examination of the Williams house and computers there may be direct evidence, perhaps from all the cases. Sick ...
(BBM)

Torture? Is this your word or has it been used by LE or the media?

It's based upon a media report which said the victims were tied up and photographed, and one other piece of info I can't reveal (because it's disgusting). But it has DNA implications and my source said he heard it directly from a police source... It's also, in an unrelated way, worth noting that the OPP official announcement stated: "The joint investigative team would like to thank the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service their assistance and cooperation." That, to me, cinches the evidence of a DNA link.

Thank you, CDN. I'm just having a little problem accepting that LE would already have DNA results from RW, as it's well-known that these tests take weeks, if not months, to process. It's certainly feasible that any DNA collected from the September attacks and from the Comeau crime scene would be available, but it's hard to believe that any taken from RW since his arrest could be yet. Is it possible that there already was some on file? If so, why? Now, if he had left fingerprints, that would be a quick match for them to make.

JMO

 

[Summersolstice]

Unbelievable. Summersolstice thanks for all your links in this thread. I also think Russ has a killer history. I notice he went to the University of Toronto up to 1987 which is the year that Elizabeth Bain went missing. Elizabeth went to the Scarborough Campus of the U OF T in 1987 and prior to that she attended the downtown campus.


http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=464173

The Bain murder coincided with Paul Bernardo, didn't it? Have you found anything about this man's background prior to his university days? There must be family out there, somewhere.

I heard that JTF2, or Joint Task Force 2, was being moved to CFB Trenton. It's my understanding that they're the replacement for the maligned and dishonored Airborne Regiment. The move was to be completed this year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Task_Force_2

http://www.jtf2.forces.gc.ca/mrj-mcf/index-eng.asp

I'm sure the military will face accusations of a cover-up. Something like this brings unwanted publicity to the base that houses the nation's not-so-secret commando unit.

 

[Dee10]

Hazel, thank you for your thoughts on his wife...which I have been thinking & sleuthing her. She certainly has an executive job, so I assume is smart. The older I get the more I discover education and common sense do not always go hand in hand. I am very curious about her. I said to my husband tonight "if I were in her shoes, I would check myself in at the nearest mental health facility...I would be a basket case initially for thought & rest (I am assuming she had NO idea), then I would KILL IT. You have to wonder what she knew? We know for the last 6 months he was in Trenton; her in Ottawa. But I suspect we are going to find out this goes way, way, way back when all is said & done. How would you NOT have suspicions of some kind if he was raping and/or killing over a number of years???

I hope she is not helping getting him the best lawyer, but helping the police piece together his whereabouts & helping in anyway she can. She certainly has the potential to be able to help enormously in this case. At this point anyway, I see her as an innocent victim of circumstances, like I would his family. I guess we will see; time always tells.

 

[Patience]

Here's a look at key points in Williams' 23-year military career:

• WIlliams joined the Canadian Forces in 1987 after obtaining a degree in economics and political science from the University of Toronto.
• Williams earned his wings in 1990 and was posted to 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School, based in Portage La Prairie, Man., where he served for two years as an instructor.
• In 1992, Williams was posted to 434 Combat Support Squadron in Shearwater, N.S., where he flew the CC-144 Challenger in the electronic warfare and coastal patrol role.
• He was then posted to the 412 Transport Squadron in Ottawa, where he transported VIPs, including high-ranking government officials and foreign dignitaries, also on Challengers.
• Williams was promoted to major in November 1999 and was posted to Director General Military Careers, where he served as the multi-engine pilot career manager.
• From August 2003 to June 2004, Williams obtained a master's of defence studies from the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont.
• In June 2004, he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and was appointed commanding officer of 437 Transport Squadron in Trenton, Ont., a post he held for two years.
• Between December 2005 and June 2006, he was the commanding officer for Camp Mirage, the secretive Canadian Forces forward logistics base that's not officially acknowledged by the government or military but has been widely reported to be near Dubai.
• He was posted to the Directorate of Air Requirements in July 2006 where he served as project director for the Airlift Capability Projects Strategic (CC177 Globemaster III) and Tactical (CC130J Hercules J), and Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue.
• 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 colonel.
• Williams succeed Col. Mike Hood as commanding officer at CFB Trenton on July 15, 2009.
• On Dec. 11, 2009, Col. Russ Williams welcomed the Olympic torch when it stopped in Trenton. He said: "On behalf of the base I would like to take the time to thank RBC for providing us with the opportunity to participate in this event. It's very exciting to be a part of this."
• On Jan. 30, 2010, Williams was interviewed about 8 Wing's participation in Haiti relief. Williams said that in addition to Haiti, 8 Wing co-ordinates the resupply for Canada's mission in Afghanistan and air support for the Vancouver Olympics, which has a significant military presence.
• According to Williams's DND profile, he is a keen photographer, fisherman and runner. Williams is married to a woman named Mary Elizabeth, and they lived on Cosy Cover Lane in Tweed, Ont., which is about 60 kilometres northeast of CFB Trenton

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/02/08/f-williams-biography.html#ixzz0f0JKkHRq


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/02/08/f-williams-biography.html

 

[Dee10]

PJGRRRL wrote:
Thank you for the clarification. But another question for you- if they had the tire treads from the assaults in the fall, and then treads from the Comeau case- would that not have been sufficient? I guess I can't really ask you that, I would have to ask the LE... The whole situation is infuriating. I have so many questions

Presuming this how it went down (and I do) they had to have a match for the tire tread marks and it could be a popular tire, or at least not extremely rare. So when crimes were clustered as they were, with linkages, they needed to come up with a way to isolate tire treads. When they established the geographic link to the Tweed area they decided to simply stop vehicles travelling from main area centre Belleville to town of Tweed on Hwy 37 and check all the tires of people they stopped. I don't know if this is how it went down, but let's suppose only a few, or only one, vehicle(s) had the exact same tread. They took the driver's name and address, or his license plate and established his residence. Bingo, right beside a guy they had submitted to major investigation on Cosy Cove Lane. Then, maybe they did two things: they had the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (thanked in official OPP press release) take an impression of the tire treads at the base on Friday (if Williams was there) or they jumped to a DNA match... Not knowing his vehicle, I suspect it may have been a relatively odd tire tread pattern (or even snow tires and regular tires mixed, or all-weather tires -- my Goodyears certainly have a distinct tread pattern) and they had the CFNIS take a tread impression before jumping to DNA... Just guessing now on that particular process. But it's clear that by today they were very certain about their evidence if they charge him in 4 individual cases all at once. So I'd say they have physical evidence (tire treads, pictures maybe, hair, clothing...) along with DNA. Imagine if you're a detective and the guy with the right tires also works at the base where Marie Comeau worked -- and indeed was base commander so would have been let in the door had he knocked late at night -- and lives near where 2 September crimes occurred and body of Ms. Lloyd was discovered... Also, footwear prints may have been distinctive at one or more sites... maybe even military boot imprints.

Also extremely important was the police's interpretation of his reaction and answering whatever questions LE asked when he was was stopped. It raised their hinky meter enough to investigate him further.

 

[Patience]

Here is the Canadian Air Force Bio on Russ Williams, which has the same bio timeline as CBC.
http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/8w-8e/page-eng.asp?id=964

 

[Dee10]

Thank you, CDN. I'm just having a little problem accepting that LE would already have DNA results from RW, as it's well-known that these tests take weeks, if not months, to process. It's certainly feasible that any DNA collected from the September attacks and from the Comeau crime scene would be available, but it's hard to believe that any taken from RW since his arrest could be yet. Is it possible that there already was some on file? If so, why? Now, if he had left fingerprints, that would be a quick match for them to make.

JMO

I am having a problem with that too. I don't know if DOD take DNA, I think they do with fingerprints though for their file...not totally sure though.

I read a new article out of Florida this week that a rapist was caught & his DNA from semen came back the next day, many commented how unusual it is to get lab work back that fast. Does a swab test take more time than semen to get a result...I have no idea. Also, they just found Jessica's body overnight, he was arrested yesterday. He may have DNA ties with other cases, but not sure about Jessica's...just too earlier for that tie IMO. If they used a toothbrush/hairbrush when she was missing it still takes time for a profile (more time than a swab is my understanding). My money is still on they found pictures, maybe DNA in some cases...hopefully both & tires is just an added bonus.

 

[Hazel]

There are so many news coming out, it's hard to keep up. I am now also wondering if RW traveled overseas or even just across the border.

Victim's body found near Tweed

In a now bizarre twist, the CFB Trenton Search and Rescue Unit — dispatched from the very same base commanded by her alleged killer — helped Belleville Police and the OPP conduct aerial searches for any signs of the missing woman.

grrrr!
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/08/12796716.html

 

[Dee10]

There are so many news coming out, it's hard to keep up. I am now also wondering if RW traveled overseas or even just across the border.

Victim's body found near Tweed



grrrr!
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/02/08/12796716.html

Not sure south of the border, but he was overseas 2005-2006 I believe.

 

[Dee10]

There are so many news reports coming out it is hard to keep up, but I would sincerely appreciate ANY update on where Jessica's body was located or a description/area. TIA

ETA - Sorry that sounds so weird, just want to compare it to a psychic's prediction. She's been right so many times, but she doesn't always get to find out the final results. This case is going so fast & I want to see & keep track for her (she didn't ask), but it may help in other missing cases YKWIM.

 

[CDNnewsmedia]

Jeff wrote:
Thank you, CDN. I'm just having a little problem accepting that LE would already have DNA results from RW, as it's well-known that these tests take weeks, if not months, to process. It's certainly feasible that any DNA collected from the September attacks and from the Comeau crime scene would be available, but it's hard to believe that any taken from RW since his arrest could be yet. Is it possible that there already was some on file? If so, why? Now, if he had left fingerprints, that would be a quick match for them to make.
JMO

Jeff:
It's my understanding that all military personnel who go into theatre give DNA samples so they can be identified in case of violent death (plane crash, IED, etc.) and Williams was apparently the base commander at Camp Mirage, secretly located, but said to be in Dubai. If they accessed his DNA and matched it to Marie Comeau's and/or the assault victims, then they could use other evidence to match up with Jessica Lloyd -- or maybe they somehow did a quick DNA check of the Lloyd assault evidence. I'd be surprised if they went ahead with all 4 charges without watertight evidence. Otherwise, do one charge and add the others later. He may also have confessed, when confronted with evidence, but that seems less likely to me.

Dee10 wrote:
Also extremely important was the police's interpretation of his reaction and answering whatever questions LE asked when he was was stopped. It raised their hinky meter enough to investigate him further.

I agree. He did not expect the unpublicized police roadblock and likely quickly understood the jig might be up. That makes for one nervous hombre. And despite his nerves of steel he had to know the cops were on to something, to do what they did. They may even have opened his trunk and looked around in there as well as looking at tire treads. Or, and I'm guessing again, may have told folks it was a RIDE stop and asked them to exit their vehicles. That could elicit some additional body language. But I imagine the tires were their primary interest, along with quizzing on residence, work, etc. The chief detective that decided to set up the roadblock was brilliant on this maneuver. The fact the area pretty much demands people take #37 allowed them to set it up where it couldn't be easily avoided.

 

[antiquegirl]

Jeff wrote:
Thank you, CDN. I'm just having a little problem accepting that LE would already have DNA results from RW, as it's well-known that these tests take weeks, if not months, to process. It's certainly feasible that any DNA collected from the September attacks and from the Comeau crime scene would be available, but it's hard to believe that any taken from RW since his arrest could be yet. Is it possible that there already was some on file? If so, why? Now, if he had left fingerprints, that would be a quick match for them to make.
JMO

Jeff:
It's my understanding that all military personnel who go into theatre give DNA samples so they can be identified in case of violent death (plane crash, IED, etc.) and Williams was apparently the base commander at Camp Mirage, secretly located, but said to be in Dubai. If they accessed his DNA and matched it to Marie Comeau's and/or the assault victims, then they could use other evidence to match up with Jessica Lloyd -- or maybe they somehow did a quick DNA check of the Lloyd assault evidence. I'd be surprised if they went ahead with all 4 charges without watertight evidence. Otherwise, do one charge and add the others later. He may also have confessed, when confronted with evidence, but that seems less likely to me.

Just one more question: Who the heck is Jeff?