On 28/1/2010, 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd disappeared from her Belleville, Ontario, home. Investigators found distinctive tire tracks in the snow along a tree line about 100 meters north of her house.

A week later, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) conducted a comprehensive check of all drivers who used the highway near Lloyd's home between 7 p.m. on 4/2/2010 and 6 a.m. the next day, searching for matching tire tracks.

An officer noted similarities between the tires of a Nissan Pathfinder driven by Colonel Russell Williams and those near Lloyd's home.

On 7/2/2010, Williams was summoned by police while at his newly built Ottawa-area home with his wife.

OPP Detective Sergeant Jim Smyth pressured Williams with forensic evidence linking him to Lloyd's disappearance. After 10 hours, Williams confessed.

The double life of an exemplary colonel

47-year-old Colonel Russell Williams joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1987, becoming a pilot in 1990. On 15/7/2009, he was sworn in as commander of CFB Trenton, Canada's largest air force base. He had piloted aircraft carrying Queen Elizabeth II, the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and other dignitaries on the Canadian Armed Forces VIP aircraft. Williams was considered an exemplary officer throughout his 23-year career.

Colonel Russell Williams was a respected senior officer and decorated with numerous medals. Photo: DND

Colonel Russell Williams was a respected senior officer and decorated with numerous medals. Photo: DND

Unbeknownst to anyone, Williams had been secretly burglarizing women's homes, driven by a sexual fetish for lingerie.

Investigators linked Williams to 82 break-ins at 47 homes across Ontario, starting in 2007, with one home targeted 9 times. He stole lingerie, swimwear, and shoes, often photographing himself wearing the items while masturbating. In some cases, he targeted young girls, the youngest being 9.

The burglaries escalated to sexual assaults, culminating in rape and murder.

Williams confessed to two violent attacks in September 2009. He broke into Laurie Massicotte's home, tied her up, blindfolded her, and posed her for photographs. Another unnamed woman was subjected to a similar attack.

Williams' interrogation revealed chilling, emotionless descriptions of two murders.

In November 2009, Williams broke into the home of Corporal Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old military technician at CFB Trenton, through a basement window. He confessed to knocking Comeau unconscious with a flashlight, repeatedly raping her, and then strangling her. During the attack, Comeau pleaded for her life, saying, "Please have mercy... I want to live".

Williams stated he placed Comeau's body in the garage. When asked why he returned to the base immediately after the murder, he replied it was due to duty: "I had an early flight the next morning". After her body was discovered, Williams sent a condolence letter to her family, feigning ignorance of the crime.

Police discovered Williams exploited his access to Comeau's flight schedule to determine when she would be home alone.

Two months after Comeau's death, Williams broke into Lloyd's home, holding her captive for hours. He forced her to wear stolen lingerie, sexually assaulted her, and took hundreds of photographs before killing her with duct tape.

After confessing, Williams pinpointed Lloyd's body on a map, leading police to the location early on 8/2.

He also disclosed where police could find hidden evidence in his Ottawa home. There, police discovered a trove of "trophies" from years of crimes: thousands of meticulously cataloged and photographed stolen undergarments, thousands of photos of victims and of Williams posing in their lingerie, videos of the assaults and murders.

A photograph showing a portion of the thousands of stolen women's undergarments kept by Russell Williams, presented in court. Photo: CBC

A photograph showing a portion of the thousands of stolen women's undergarments kept by Russell Williams, presented in court. Photo: CBC

During interrogation, Williams seemed more concerned with public perception than his victims. "My two immediate concerns from a cognitive perspective were what my wife was going through at that moment and the impact this was going to have on the Canadian Forces," Williams said in his videotaped confession.

The shocking confessions rocked the Canadian public and deeply impacted the military. General Walter Natynczyk, then Chief of the Defence Staff, called Williams' actions a "gross betrayal of trust and duty".

"He lived a sophisticated double life and was very successful at hiding it," said retired Lieutenant-General Angus Watt, who had recommended Williams for promotion.

A career in ruins

Williams was remanded into custody on 8/2/2010. The Canadian Armed Forces quickly appointed an interim commander and removed Williams' biography from the Department of National Defence website the following day.

Williams was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of forcible confinement, two counts of breaking and entering, and sexual assault. 82 additional charges related to the break-ins were later added.

Within hours of the announcement of Williams' arrest, police agencies across the country reopened unsolved homicide cases involving young women in areas where he had been stationed.

On 18/10/2010, Williams pleaded guilty to all 88 charges. In court, the prosecutor described Williams' progression from break-ins to sexual assault, and finally to rape and murder. He meticulously followed police reports on his crimes, documenting them and keeping photos and videos. He even left notes and messages for his victims.

During one break-in into the bedroom of a 12-year-old girl, Williams left a message on her computer: "Merci" (French for "Thank you").

Russell Williams leaves the courthouse after being sentenced in 2010. Photo: Ottawa Citizen

Russell Williams leaves the courthouse after being sentenced in 2010. Photo: Ottawa Citizen

On 22/10/2010, the Ontario Superior Court judge sentenced Williams to two concurrent life sentences for first-degree murder, two 10-year sentences for sexual assault, two 10-year sentences for forcible confinement, and 82 one-year sentences for breaking and entering, all to be served concurrently.

Williams must serve a minimum of 25 years before being eligible for parole.

Following his conviction, Williams was expelled from the Canadian Armed Forces, stripped of his rank of Colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and his military decorations. He was allowed to keep his $60,000 CAD annual military pension. After being returned to the Canadian Armed Forces, Williams' uniform was burned, his medals were cut into pieces, and his commission papers were shredded. His Nissan Pathfinder was also crushed and destroyed.

In December 2010, Williams' wife filed for divorce, a process that took years to finalize.

On 10/5/2012, the Canadian Armed Forces admitted a "serious error" in publishing a book with Williams' photo in the background and ordered the destruction of 4,000 copies. The photo was unrelated to the book's content but was deemed offensive.

In 2014 and 2016, Williams reached out-of-court settlements with the families of Lloyd and Massicotte for $7 million USD.

Tue Anh (according to People, Toronto Star)