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(Posted 9:30
a.m., Feb. 13)
Colonel charged with murder has Orléans connection
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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|  Accused
double murderer, Russell Williams and his wife Mary Elizabeth Harriman were residents
of Fallingbrook as recently as August of last year. File photo
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The former
CFB Trenton base commander charged with two counts of first degree murder in connection
with the deaths of two women in Tweed and Brighton, once lived on a quiet street
in Fallingbrook. Col.
Russell Williams and his wife Mary Elizabeth Harriman lived in a two storey house
on Wilkie Drive until August 2009 when they sold it to a newlywed couple who bought
it through a sale agent. According
to his biography, Williams moved to Ottawa in July 2006 after being posted to
the Directorate of Air Requirements at DNDHQ where he served as project director
for the Airlift Capability Projects Strategic (CC177 Globemaster III) and Tactical
(CC130J Hercules J), and Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue. In
January 2009 he was posted to the Canadian Forces Language School in Gatineau
for a six-month period of French language training. On July 15 he was appointed
commanding officer of CFB Trenton. Shortly afterwards, Williams put the house
on Wilkie Drive up for sale. They
ended up buying a home in Tweed which was close enough to CFB Trenton without
being too far from Ottawa. They also bought a house on Edison Avenue in the west
end which has been the focus of the local police investigation into Williams past
activities. Whether
that investigation will be expanded to include the period during which Williams
and Harriman lived in Orléans is not yet known. Residents
who knew the couple say there was never anything suspicious about them. In fact,
from all reports they were model neighbours. The only thing that happened during
Williams time in Orléans that was of a curious nature was a pair of break-ins
in October 2008
in which the only items that were taken were several pairs of women’s underwear.
Police, however, are stressing that Williams is not a suspect in those cases.
Still, it makes for some interesting discussions. The
mere fact that the people living on Wilkie might have had a serial killer in their
midst is enough to send a chill up their spines. “If
it’s true, that’s pretty scary when you think about it,” says one
resident who agreed to be interviewed under conditions of anonymity. “They
were just like any other couple you would ever meet. There was nothing out of
the ordinary about them at all.” Williams
has been arraigned on two counts of first degree murder in the deaths of Jessica
Lloyd, of Belleville, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 35, of Brighton. He’s
also been charged with two counts of break and enter and two counts each of forcible
confinement and sexual assault involving two other victims in the Tweed area. (This
story was made possible thanks to thie generous support of our local
business partners.) Return
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