How Police Exposed a Secret Double Life

A military career and hidden criminal life of Russell Williams. (Digital Illustration: GoBeyondLocal)

How Police Exposed a Secret Double Life

For years, Russell Williams had a public identity built around military service.

He became a senior Canadian Air Force officer, flew dignitaries and eventually commanded CFB Trenton, a major air base in Canada. Away from that work, police would later connect him to a growing series of crimes in Ontario.

The first cases looked very different from the murders that eventually brought investigators to his door.

Beginning around 2007, women in the area around Tweed reported break-ins. Items taken from homes included intimate clothing and personal effects. Investigators later connected Williams to dozens of these offences.

He had been entering homes, taking clothing and photographing himself with some of the stolen items. The offences continued while his military career advanced.

By 2009, the crimes had become more serious. Two women were sexually assaulted in their homes near Tweed. One of the victims was Laurie Massicotte. Another woman also reported an assault during the same period.

Williams still occupied a position of authority within the Canadian military. In June 2009, he took command of 8 Wing at CFB Trenton.

Marie-France Comeau was a corporal stationed at the same base. She was 38 years old and lived alone in Brighton, Ontario.

In November 2009, Williams entered her home. The investigation later established that he sexually assaulted and killed her. Her death formed part of the case that eventually exposed the scale of his criminal activity.

Two months later, another woman disappeared.

Jessica Lloyd, 27, was last seen at her home near Belleville on January 27, 2010. Police began searching for her and examining the area around the house.

Investigators found distinctive tire tracks in the snow near the property. The tracks showed that a vehicle had moved off the road and along the edge of the land.

Those tracks gave investigators something physical to compare.

On February 4, Ontario Provincial Police officers set up a roadside checkpoint and examined vehicles passing through the area. Williams happened to drive through in a Nissan Pathfinder. An officer noticed that the tire pattern resembled the tracks found near the Lloyd home.

The tires were examined more closely. They matched.

Three days later, Williams was asked to come to a police station for questioning.

He arrived as a senior military officer being questioned about a missing woman and a series of violent offences. During the interview, investigators also examined the boots he had worn. Footwear impressions found near the Lloyd home provided another comparison.

The boot prints matched as well.

The questioning continued for hours. Investigators confronted Williams with the physical evidence linking his vehicle and footwear to the area around the Lloyd home.

His account began to collapse under the evidence. He eventually admitted that he had abducted Lloyd.

Williams led investigators to a rural location where the body of Lloyd had been concealed. He also admitted responsibility for the killing of Comeau and the earlier sexual assaults.

The search of his properties uncovered extensive evidence connected to the burglaries. Investigators found large quantities of stolen clothing and photographs documenting his crimes.

The investigation eventually connected Williams to 82 break-ins, two sexual assaults and the murders of Comeau and Lloyd. A military career that had placed him in command of an important air base had existed alongside crimes carried out over several years.

Williams pleaded guilty in October 2010 to 88 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder. A court sentenced him to two concurrent life terms, with parole eligibility set at 25 years.

His military rank and honours were stripped away after the conviction. The career that had taken him into command of CFB Trenton ended with his imprisonment.