The former base commander of CFB Trenton made a brief video appearance in an Ontario court Thursday, the latest development in a shocking set of criminal charges that have put his case squarely in the national spotlight.
Col. Russell Williams faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of forcible confinement and two counts of break and enter and sexual assault. He stands accused of killing two women from eastern Ontario -- 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd and 37-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau -- and sexually assaulting two others from the same region.
CTV's John Vennavally-Rao said the colonel appeared "haggard" in appearance and said little during his brief appearance in the Belleville court Thursday morning.
Wearing an orange jumpsuit, the 46-year-old Williams walked slowly toward the camera and slouched as he spoke to the court from the nearby Quinte Detention Centre.
"He looked very haggard, very, very tired, but really didn't … convey or express any kind of emotion during his appearance," Vennavally-Rao said.
Williams is scheduled to return to court on March 25.
On Friday, CFB Trenton will officially replace Williams as base commander. Though Williams will remain on the payroll, as he has not been convicted of any crimes, Col. Dave Cochrane will assume the post.
Commenting after the video appearance, friend Lt. Col. Tony O'Keeffe said that Williams appeared exhausted.
"He just looks tired and that's a novelty for the man I know that was able to handle (multiple) tasks of varying complexity," O'Keeffe told The Canadian Press outside the court.
"He's an intellect. He's a professional. He's a friend to me. I don't know what else to say."
O'Keefe added that Williams' wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman, was doing well, despite the circumstances.
"She's an admirable, remarkable lady," O'Keeffe said.
Harriman is an associate executive director at the Heart and Stroke Foundation in Ottawa.
Williams was arrested two weekends ago and was soon relieved of his command at CFB Trenton, the largest military airfield in Canada. The charges shocked fellow members of the military and left the local community shaken.
Meanwhile, police continue to search the colonel's house in Tweed, a town north of Belleville where the accused colonel owns a cottage.
On Thursday, police brought a brown paper bag outside as other officers used a video recorder to tape their search.
The charges followed an investigation into the disappearance of Lloyd, a woman from the Belleville area whose body was found earlier this month.
Comeau, the other woman Williams is accused of killing, was found dead in her Brighton home last November.
The other charges laid against Williams relate to alleged sex attacks against two women.
A search warrant issued before Williams' arrest indicates that police entered the home of a prior suspect -- the accused colonel's neighbour -- looking for lingerie, baby blankets and computer storage devices.
Williams' court arrangements were handled by an agent for Michael Edelson, the high-powered Ottawa defence lawyer Williams recently retained for his case.
Edelson has defended more than 50 clients charged with murder. He also represented Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien in a recent high-profile trial that saw O'Brien found not guilty of influence-peddling.
With files from The Canadian Press
