Col. Russell Williams has pleaded guilty to all charges today in a Belleville court, including two counts of first-degree murder, according to published reports.
Col. Russell Williams
The 47-year-old Williams, a University of Toronto Scarborough graduate, was charged with the murder of 38-year-old Cpl. Marie-France Comeau and 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd, along with more than 80 other charges, including break-ins, attempted break-ins and lingerie thefts.
Williams’ lawyer, Ottawa-based Michael Edelson, could not be reached for comment at the time of publishing.
In February, The Toronto Observer reported Toronto police were digging deeper into Williams’ history in Scarborough.
Williams attended the same university in Scarborough during the same period as convicted killer and rapist Paul Bernardo, which led to speculation the two might have been connected.
“Everything’s on the table,” Det. Doug Sansom said in February. “There’s nothing that is specifically jumping out, but any reasonable cases will be looked at.”
A Toronto police source, wishing not to be named, said that likely “nothing new is up.”
Bernardo was arrested in 1993 on two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of sex assault.
At that point, Williams was rising through the military ranks in Halifax. He embarked on his 23-year military career shortly after graduating from UTSC in 1986 with a degree in political science and economics.
Bernardo graduated the following year with a degree in commerce and economics.