Former Base Commander Russell Williams Pleads Guilty to Murdering Two Women and to 86 Other Charges
Williams, once commander of CFB Trenton, admitted all 88 counts in a Belleville courtroom. Three days later he was sentenced to life with no parole for 25 years.
Published
Col. Russell Williams had commanded Canada's largest military air base. On October 18, 2010, he pleaded guilty to all 88 charges against him, including the murders of two women.
Williams, 47, admitted two counts of first-degree murder, for the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, of Brighton, Ontario. He also admitted sexual assaults on two other women, forcible confinement, and 82 counts of breaking and entering or attempting to. Because he pleaded guilty, there was no trial. On October 21, in Ontario Superior Court in Belleville, Justice Robert F. Scott sentenced him to two life terms with no chance of parole for 25 years. "Your Honour, I stand before you indescribably ashamed," Williams told the court before sentencing.
The Department of National Defence revoked his commission and moved to recover his pay from the date of his arrest, and on December 10, 2010, said he had been formally expelled from the Canadian Forces. In November 2010, military officers retrieved his uniforms from his cottage and burned them at CFB Trenton, the base he had once commanded. He was sent to serve his sentence at Kingston Penitentiary.
CBC News reported that Williams was sentenced on October 21, 2010, while The Canadian Encyclopedia dates the sentencing to October 22.
Sources
- Biography: Russell Williams, CBC News
- Williams gets 2 life terms for 'despicable crimes', CBC News
- Williams military uniform burned, CBC News
- Russell Williams' Commission Revoked, National Defence, Government of Canada
- Russell Williams Case, The Canadian Encyclopedia (Historica Canada)
Related News
- February 8, 2010: Col. Russell Williams, Commander of Canada's Largest Air Base, Is Charged With Murdering Two Women