CFB Commander Will Plead Guilty: Lawyer

A former rising star in the Canadian military plans to plead guilty to two murders and 86 other charges, a development Thursday that left one victim’s family desperate for answers from Col. Russell Williams.

Williams intends to plead guilty Oct. 18 to two counts of first-degree murder, two sexual assaults and scores of break and enters, his lawyer told Ontario Superior Court.

Dressed in a dark suit and a rumpled, white open-collar shirt, Williams hung his head low through the proceedings and showed little emotion.

The military was rocked to its core in February when Williams — then commander of CFB Trenton — was charged in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37.

Then in April, Williams was hit with 82 break-and-enter charges, some of which involved lingerie.

Lloyd’s brother said he doesn’t want an apology, just the truth.

“Why, why her? How did all this come about? There are so many questions everybody wants to ask,” Andy Lloyd said outside court.

“I think everybody would like to hear him explain what happened. I’m not looking for an apology. It’s not going to hold its weight in anything.”

Like many others, Lloyd said he was initially “shocked” that someone in Williams’ position of respect and trust had been implicated in his sister’s murder.

His mom, Roxanne Lloyd, was in court clutching a photo of her slain daughter.

It was to remind people “that there are victims in this case,” Andy Lloyd said.

In addition to the murder and break and enter charges, Williams, 47, faces two counts of sexual assault and two of forcible confinement.

“It is his intention on the next court date … to enter a plea of guilty on all counts,” lawyer Michael Edelson told Justice Robert Scott.

The Oct. 18 guilty plea will be immediately followed by a sentencing hearing at which victim impact statements will be presented to the court. The hearing is expected to last several days.

A spokesman for CFB Trenton declined to comment on Thursday’s developments, and the Department of National Defence also said it would not comment.

On the base Williams once commanded, most military members refused to speak.

“I’m glad he did (indicate he’ll plead guilty),” said one as he walked by.

Comeau was found dead in her home in Brighton, Ont., last November. She was a flight attendant at CFB Trenton and served aboard the same military VIP flights Williams piloted for much of the 1990s, ferrying the Governor General, the prime minister and other dignitaries on domestic and overseas trips.

Court documents show Williams is alleged to have burglarized Comeau’s home 10 days before she was found dead on Nov. 25. The information does not specify what was allegedly stolen.

Lloyd was found dumped on a dirt road in nearby Tweed, where Williams also lived. She worked in Napanee, Ont., co-ordinating school bus schedules.

Area residents expressed sympathy for Williams’ victims, but said their faith in the military and community was unshaken.

Beverley Yeotes, of Belleville, who has a cottage in Tweed, called Williams a “con” who fooled everyone.

“I feel he loves power even more than his powerful job,” Yeotes said, adding she wasn’t shocked by the admission of guilt.

“What else could he do?”

Another woman, who would not give her name, called it “upsetting” that an intelligent man who had been so successful could do what he is accused of doing.

Before his arrest, police had been looking for a suspect in two home invasions near Williams’ house in eastern Ontario in which women were tied up and sexually assaulted. Police initially focused on one neighbourhood resident.

Some of the break and enter charges centre around the Ottawa neighbourhood where Williams once lived.

A man whose house was among those burglarized said he and his wife came home one day to find family pictures on their bed and the underwear drawers of his wife and daughters left open.

One of Williams’ alleged sex assault victims has also launched a $2.45-million lawsuit against Williams and his wife, Mary-Elizabeth Harriman.

The 21-year-old woman, identified only as Jane Doe, claims the “horrific and reprehensible” alleged sexual attack has left her fearful and suicidal.

The civil suit allegations have not been proven in court.

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