GUILTY Canada - Marie-France Comeau, 37, & Jessica Lloyd, 27, slain, Ont, 2009 & 2010 - #3

[Hazel]

Video Interview with Andy here:

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2680496

link doesn't work Wondergirl


Found this Global News VIDEO link, re RW last Court Appearance by video in a Belleville courtroom. Carey Marsden reports. July 22

Andy Lloyd briefly interviewed outside of Provincial Court Building:

VIDEO clip: http://www.globaltoronto.com/video/index.html?releasePID=plO7N8rx2cXWYrnwvsB9tO8SJjNJzplu

 

[Wondergirl]

Quote from MacLean's Article:

Is Harriman still visiting her husband in prison? Does Williams phone the house?

Does a part of her still cling to the hope that he might actually be innocent, and that the police have made a terrible mistake? Has he apologized to her?

For now—and perhaps forever—Harriman is not saying.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/07/27/the-colonels-wife/6/


The answers to these questions that were raised, 6 pages into a sympathetic story (about the accused murderer's wife) are the ones that the public should really be made aware of.

This article indicating the exemplary life and times of RW's wife could have been written about RW himself. MEH's exemplary life prior to RW's arrest does not automatically command sympathy from me. If there is one thing that has become clear by what has been presented thus far in this case, it is that appearances can be deceiving.

It is important for me, to note her behaviour after his arrest. If we knew the answers to the questions noted above, we might have a better indication of how much sympathy and compassion MEH has for the victims. Who knows the answers to these questions?

Would the story change, the sympathy be withdrawn, if the public finds out she is supporting him in the aftermath of his crime spree, the aftermath of the absolute violation of basic human rights and dignities that we all expect as human beings?

 

[Wondergirl]

Comments at the bottom of this article are worth noting. They appear to be written by people local to the area of the crimes. (Spelling corrected, lol)

A couple of Quoted lines from the Comments on the Intelligencer Article:

You know what.. Jessica Lloyds reputation in the community WAS exemplary. Did it matter... NO not a bit. DOES it matter...YES very much so.

The Lloyd family does not have the option of going on with life in a normal manner..not now,not ever, should these two people actually be given that privilege?

A couple of Quoted Lines from the Comments on the Intelligencer Article:

I would have wanted far, far away from him in every way. And yet she goes to Qunite Regional Detention Center to visit this rapist & murderer. Does that seem at all odd to anyone but me? Why would she continue visits with this monster?

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2687650

 

[Wondergirl]

A civil lawsuit against Col. Russ Williams and his wife has been adjourned until Oct. 19.

A pretrial hearing of the criminal charges against Williams, meanwhile, is set for Aug. 26 in Belleville criminal court.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/07/27/14839821.html

 

[Summersolstice]

Comments at the bottom of this article are worth noting. They appear to be written by people local to the area of the crimes. (Spelling corrected, lol)

A couple of Quoted lines from the Comments on the Intelligencer Article:

You know what.. Jessica Lloyds reputation in the community WAS exemplary. Did it matter... NO not a bit. DOES it matter...YES very much so.

The Lloyd family does not have the option of going on with life in a normal manner..not now,not ever, should these two people actually be given that privilege?

A couple of Quoted Lines from the Comments on the Intelligencer Article:

I would have wanted far, far away from him in every way. And yet she goes to Qunite Regional Detention Center to visit this rapist & murderer. Does that seem at all odd to anyone but me? Why would she continue visits with this monster?

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2687650

I especially found the part about rats very emphatic.

 

[Summersolstice]

Approachable. Professional. Aggressive. Pretsell Cavanaugh Lawyers:

"Mike Pretsell graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Psychology in 1990. He graduated from Queen's University Faculty of Law in 1994. Mike has been involved in private practice in the City of Belleville since being called to the Bar in Ontario in 1996.

Mike is a member of the Hastings Law Association, the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, and the Canadian Bar Association. He is a former Director of the Canadian Bar Association, Workplace Safety and Insurance Section, and former Director of the Hastings Law Association. He is presently the Chair of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, Long Term Disability Litigation Section.

Mike's practice is in the areas of litigation matters before all levels of Court and Tribunal. Work is particularly focused on commercial and criminal litigation.

Mike lives in Belleville.

WSIB Appeals
Commercial litigation
Personal Injury litigation
Wrongful Dismissal
Disability litigation
Criminal defence"

From: http://pcslaw.ca/

I would like to add one more word to the slogan: motivated.

http://pcslaw.ca/fees.html

 

[flipflop]

Quote from MacLean's Article:

Is Harriman still visiting her husband in prison? Does Williams phone the house?

Does a part of her still cling to the hope that he might actually be innocent, and that the police have made a terrible mistake? Has he apologized to her?

For now—and perhaps forever—Harriman is not saying.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/07/27/the-colonels-wife/6/


The answers to these questions that were raised, 6 pages into a sympathetic story (about the accused murderer's wife) are the ones that the public should really be made aware of.

This article indicating the exemplary life and times of RW's wife could have been written about RW himself. MEH's exemplary life prior to RW's arrest does not automatically command sympathy from me. If there is one thing that has become clear by what has been presented thus far in this case, it is that appearances can be deceiving.

It is important for me, to note her behaviour after his arrest. If we knew the answers to the questions noted above, we might have a better indication of how much sympathy and compassion MEH has for the victims. Who knows the answers to these questions?

Would the story change, the sympathy be withdrawn, if the public finds out she is supporting him in the aftermath of his crime spree, the aftermath of the absolute violation of basic human rights and dignities that we all expect as human beings?

If your husband was up on the same charges as RW would you make a settlement with your husband like this...

a judge is being asked to decide whether Harriman did do something wrong. On March 22, six weeks after her world was shattered, she made a deal with her incarcerated husband. He took the notorious Tweed cottage; she took the Ottawa townhouse, paying him $62,000 in cash and assuming the remainder of the mortgage

Personally, I would not be paying him a cent! This makes no sense to me, I would be divorcing him and taking it all. Seeing that she did it this way, It tells me that RW and Liz did to try avoid any lawsuits. I really hope Jane Doe wins her lawsuit.

 

[Hazel]

If your husband was up on the same charges as RW would you make a settlement with your husband like this...

a judge is being asked to decide whether Harriman did do something wrong. On March 22, six weeks after her world was shattered, she made a deal with her incarcerated husband. He took the notorious Tweed cottage; she took the Ottawa townhouse, paying him $62,000 in cash and assuming the remainder of the mortgage

Personally, I would not be paying him a cent! This makes no sense to me, I would be divorcing him and taking it all. Seeing that she did it this way, It tells me that RW and Liz did to try avoid any lawsuits. I really hope Jane Doe wins her lawsuit.

Apparently Liz took 'other assets' besides the Ottawa $700K townhome.
Also, it is interesting that now they are saying $244,500.


IMO, they didn't do the transfers to "try avoid any lawsuits". How could the transfers avoid lawsuits?
They knew the potential for one or more lawsuits was there. No duh! Everybody knew that!
hmm, had a very long post here, but decided to follow Jane Doe's lawyers' example
No comment


He transferred his interest in the couple's home and other assets to Harriman March 22 in exchange for $244,500 in consideration, the factum says.
RSBM

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2687650

 

[Summersolstice]

Apparently Liz took 'other assets' besides the Ottawa $700K townhome.
Also, it is interesting that now they are saying $244,500.


IMO, they didn't do the transfers to "try avoid any lawsuits". How could the transfers avoid lawsuits?
They knew the potential for one or more lawsuits was there. No duh! Everybody knew that!
hmm, had a very long post here, but decided to follow Jane Doe's lawyers' example
No comment


He transferred his interest in the couple's home and other assets to Harriman March 22 in exchange for $244,500 in consideration, the factum says.
RSBM

http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2687650

I'm sure those are very high-priced lawyers because the good ones don't come cheap.

 

[Sillybilly]

IMO, they didn't do the transfers to "try avoid any lawsuits". How could the transfers avoid lawsuits?

<rsbm>

And, regardless of whether the transaction was based on fraudulent intent or simply ignorance of the law, a judge can order a reversal.

ETA: However, if fraudulent intent could be proven, I suppose a judge could award punitive damages in addition to the reversal.

 

[Hazel]

<rsbm>

And, regardless of whether the transaction was based on fraudulent intent or simply ignorance of the law, a judge can order a reversal.

ETA: However, if fraudulent intent could be proven, I suppose a judge could award punitive damages in addition to the reversal.

Is that so Sillybilly? Can a judge order a reversal of the transfers? :woohoo:

As for ignorance of the law, wouldn't a lawyer (or lawyers, as in one for her one for him) have drawn the papers to be signed? I'm sure they would have adviced them not to go ahead with those transactions, but ultimately they have to do what their clients want, right?

On a side note, I am still wondering why RW hasn't retained a lawyer for the civil lawsuit? What are they waiting for? I'm sure there must be a reason for that.

 

[Sillybilly]

Is that so Sillybilly? Can a judge order a reversal of the transfers? :woohoo:

As for ignorance of the law, wouldn't a lawyer (or lawyers, as in one for her one for him) have drawn the papers to be signed? I'm sure they would have adviced them not to go ahead with those transactions, but ultimately they have to do what their clients want, right?

On a side note, I am still wondering why RW hasn't retained a lawyer for the civil lawsuit? What are they waiting for? I'm sure there must be a reason for that.

I'm no expert, but I do have some legal background. Any contract that is in violation of the law is an invalid contract. As for how a judge technically goes about reversing it, i'm not sure ... probably just issues an order and somewhere along the line, the Land Titles or Registry Office puts title back to the status quo prior to the transfer.

I have no clue if or why a lawyer would do this ... maybe just thought it was worth a shot in his client's interest. No, a lawyer does not (or should not) do what their client advises if it is illegal. But, I cannot see a lawyer worth his salt not knowing it had the potential for problems down the road. That would constitute being incompetent. If it could be proven the lawyer knew it was wrong and did, they'd be in doo doo with the Law Society. Not sure about now, but used to be in Ontario if you were the legal owner, you could do your own paperwork and file it.

 

[Sillybilly]

On a side note, I am still wondering why RW hasn't retained a lawyer for the civil lawsuit? What are they waiting for? I'm sure there must be a reason for that.

Typically in a civil suit, the Statement of Claim is issued and the defendant has 20 days to file a Statement of Defence. If that SOD is not filed within the appropriate timeframe, the plaintiff can receive Default Judgment. We discussed this way back in one of the threads, and I believe i found a whole bunch of exceptions (i.e. various motions can be made by the respondent's lawyer if certain conditions are met, etc, etc). Trust me Hazel ... LOL. I can't recall the nitty-gritty, but please don't make me look for it

Oh look ... here's my old post:

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - OPP charge Col. Williams with 82 additional charges

 

[Sillybilly]

Just as the public has been made aware of the content of the victim's Statement of Claim, you would think subsequent court documents would have been discovered by now if RW is in fact providing a defence. Any documents related to the suit would have the same file number.

Ontario Ministry of Attorney General "Public Access to Civil Court Files and Documents"

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov....res/public_access/public_access_to_docs_3.asp

In the above article, I don't see anything in the restricted access sections that relates to the civil suit against RW.

Also at the Attorney General's website, a primer on civil actions:

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/courts/civil/suing_and_being_sued_main.asp

 

[Summersolstice]

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Williams+cleared+suspicion+murders/3359226/story.html

 

[Pink Panther]

She was most likely married to this psychopath/sociopath for almost 20 years! If, as it seems likely, she had NO IDEA who he really was or what he was doing, why shouldn't she be entitled to her 50 percent of the marital assets? She hasn't commited a crime. Quite the contrary, she is most likely a victim. I don't believe that she set out to garnish other potential victims' civil lawsuit "rewards". I think she set out to safeguard her own assets as best she could and all within her legal rights. She was with him for almost 20 years! She's entitled to her fair share of the partnership. What's his is his and is accessible for civil lawsuits. What's hers is hers unless she can be proven to have been complicit. There is no indication whatsoever, that she was.

JMO

 

[Summersolstice]

She was most likely married to this psychopath/sociopath for almost 20 years! If, as it seems likely, she had NO IDEA who he really was or what he was doing, why shouldn't she be entitled to her 50 percent of the marital assets? She hasn't commited a crime. Quite the contrary, she is most likely a victim. I don't believe that she set out to garnish other potential victims' civil lawsuit "rewards". I think she set out to safeguard her own assets as best she could and all within her legal rights. She was with him for almost 20 years! She's entitled to her fair share of the partnership. What's his is his and is accessible for civil lawsuits. What's hers is hers unless she can be proven to have been complicit. There is no indication whatsoever, that she was.

JMO

Has there been any movement toward a divorce/separation in court yet?

I believe the spouse's entitlement to 50 per cent of the matrimonial property would only apply if there were a divorce. If the filing of documents for a marital breakdown preceded the alleged victim's lawsuit, then the alleged victim might only get access to RW's share, if she won the lawsuit. If RW and his wife remained married, then I believe every bit of the matrimonial property could be on the table. And if it is the intention of the couple in question to remain married, then that decision might have motivated the events in question. In other words, the alleged victim had to act quickly. Timing is everything.

I'm sure the legal beagles here can clarify this for me.

 

[Salem]

Would one of you lovely posters provide me with a brief summary of this case, please? I have no idea what is happening here and I just don't have time to read the whole thread. I have looked at it and, honestly, it looks very confusing.

I would really appreciate the help! Please

TIA,

Salem

 

[Snoopster]

I'll give it a go, Salem. Some key elements that make this case so fascinating (I see a number of made-for-TV movies in the future!) are:

• suspect with very high profile job (including flying the Queen and leading the base responsible for the Canadian military response to the Haiti earthquake)
• two known female murder victims, who were attacked in their homes
• multiple sexual assault break-ins, with 'trophies' kept and catalogued
• family involved with nuclear energy facilities
• wife with fairly high profile job in the non-profit sector

I'm sure someone else could give a better update but here are the basics:

In late January a young woman, Jessica Lloyd, went missing from her home just outside of Belleville Ontario. A frantic search was undertaken. One week later, the police set up roadblocks on the major road near her home. As a result of the roadblock they identified a suspect.....Colonel Russ Williams, the commander of the local military base.

When they brought him in for questionning he apparently confessed to killing Jessica (and lead them to her body), but they quickly pinned another sexual assault/murder on him and a number of local break-in sexual assaults on him. The other murder victim was a woman who worked at the airbase with RW, and who had been murdered a couple of months prior in another nearby town.

Clearly, he was a serial rapist/murderer. In light of his high profile role in the airforce, and all of the traveling and moves that that would have entailed (including a stint at the not-so-secret Canadian armed forces base "Mirage" in the Middle East) much speculation has endured about other unsolved crimes for which he may have been responsible.

Since the initial news broke in February, further details have come to light, including the fact that Col. Williams has been charged with many other break-ins, not only in the Belleville/Tweed area of eastern Ontario, but also in Ottawa, where he and his wife (an executive with the Canadian Heart & Stroke Association) also maintained a home. He collected "trophies" from his assaults and break ins and was found to have broken in to some women's homes multiple times.

Besides his high profile role in the armed forces, RW went to a very upscale boarding school in Toronto in his high school years and attended the same University of Toronto campus at the same time as another notorious serial rapist/murderer, Paul Bernardo. As well, in his younger years he lived in Deep River, Ontario, as both his father and step-father were scientists at the nuclear facility there. Oh yeah, there was some wife-swapping that went on there too.

Yes, a thoroughly disturbing case. More revelations to come, no doubt!

 

[Salem]

Thank you Snoopster!!!!! Thank you! A while back when I tried to read the threads so I would know what the case was about, it seemed I started in the middle of a discussion about dances and balls and I just could never figure out what the heck was going on. As a mod in this forum, I like to have some idea what the cases are about.

Your synopsis was very good and now I think I even understand why there was discussion of all those fabulous sounding parties/dances.

Thanks!

Salem