In 2010, the commander of Canada’s busiest Air Force Base, Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton, confessed to a series of vile, heinous crimes. “Colonel” Russell Williams admitted to murdering a Corporal under his command, 37-year-old Marie-France Comeau and a civilian, 27-year-old Jessica Elizabeth Lloyd. He broke into the homes of two other women (his neighbors) and sexually assaulted them. He also admitted to burglarizing dozens of homes to steal underwear and lingerie from the women living there, some as young as nine years old. He took thousands of pictures of all his crimes, storing them on his home computer.
Williams pleaded guilty to 88 charges and was sentenced to two life sentences for first-degree murder, two 10-year sentences for other sexual assaults, two 10-year sentences for forcible confinement and 82 one-year sentences for burglary; all to be served concurrently at Kingston Penitentiary. He was stripped of his rank and Canadian Forces burned his uniforms, then destroyed his medals and his commission scroll, a paper signed by the Governor General and Defence Minister (with the permission of the Queen) confirming his status as a serving officer.
Col. Williams had a distinguished 23 year career before he started his predatory crime spree. He served as a pilot instructor to Canadian Forces school in Manitoba. He was a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada, where he wrote a thesis supporting the pre-emptive war in Iraq. As a pilot, he flew dignitaries in VIP aircraft, including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, the Governor General of Canada, and the Canadian Prime Minister. He also deployed to Dubai as a base commander supporting Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. He assumed command of CFB Trenton, which is where Canadian troops killed in Afghanistan arrive upon returning home. The base is the starting point for funeral processions along the Trenton-Toronto “Highway of Heroes.”
Marie-France Comeau was in her home in Brighton, Ontario on the evening of November 25, 2009. As she was in the basement trying to get her cat to come upstairs when she noticed the cat was fixated on the corner of the basement. Williams entered the basement earlier through an open basement window. He had already broken into her house to make sure she lived alone (While there, he took photos of himself wearing Comeau’s underwear). As Comeau went to see what the cat was looking at, Williams attacked her with a large flashlight attempting to knock her out. He tied her to a pole in the basement and took photos of her there. He took her upstairs, sexually assaulted her, then put duct tape over her mouth and nose and held it there until she died.
He first saw Jessica Elizabeth Lloyd as he peeped into her home on January 27, 2010. He watched her as she ran on a treadmill. He later entered her home while she was away to make sure she lived alone. He then left, leaving her back patio unlocked. He then waited in a field for her to come home and go to sleep. He took photos of her in the clothes she wore to bed, her eyes covered with duct tape. He then took video of himself raping Lloyd. He took Lloyed to his home in Tweed, Ontario. He held her captive in Tweed for almost 24 hours, then walked her out of his house as if he was going to let her go, then crushed her skull from behind with a large flashlight and then strangled her. He took photos before he buried her body 40 feet on the side of a road south of Tweed.
His full confession is cued up in the video below.