Gone was the poised self-assurance, displaced by a tired, blank stare.
He spoke just seven words: His name - David Russell Williams - and a mumbled "Thank you, Your Honour," when his two-minute court appearance wrapped up. But as Colonel Russell Williams gazed into the video camera, clad in an orange prison-issue jumpsuit, stubble on his chin, the packed courtroom was agog.
Commander of the sprawling 8 Wing/CFB Trenton military base until he was charged last week with two counts of first-degree murder and two of sexual assault, Col. Williams addressed the court from the Quinte detention centre in Napanee, Ont. His case was put over until March 25.
Among the spectators was Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Tony O'Keeffe, director of cadets at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Outside court, Col. O'Keeffe said he would be monitoring the criminal proceedings as "the eyes and ears" of the military, and that he would travel to Quinte later in the day to meet Col. Williams, "in a professional capacity to disclose to him his rights and explain exactly what's happening to him as this case unfolds ... he's being officially relieved of command at 8 Wing/Trenton."
Col. O'Keeffe added that after knowing Col. Williams for nine years, he could not find words to convey his shock at the events.
"I found Russ Williams to be a man of integrity and intellect," he said.
Col. O'Keeffe also alluded to Col. Williams's wife, Mary Elizabeth Harriman, saying she had "no idea" of what has been alleged against her husband of 19 years.
"The Canadian Forces' position is that she, too, is a victim in this, and our hearts and sympathies are with her as well as with any other Canadian family that has been affected," he said.
Col. Williams is expected to remain on the Forces' payroll pending the outcome of the criminal charges, but Col. O'Keeffe said he was unsure what military proceedings might then ensue.
Until his arrest, Col. Williams, 46, commanded the biggest military base in Canada, a short drive west of Belleville.
One first-degree murder charge stems from the slaying last November of Corporal Marie-France Comeau, a 37-year-old flight attendant with CFB Trenton's 437 transport squadron, found asphyxiated in her Brighton, Ont., home.
The second victim, Jessica Lloyd, of Belleville, 27, was reported missing on Jan. 28 after failing to show up for work at her bus-company job in Napanee.
Col. Williams has also been charged with sexual assault and forcible confinement in two Tweed, Ont., home invasions last September in which the victims were tied to chairs and photographed.
In addition, Col. Williams is a suspect in a four-year string of burglaries, mostly in the Ottawa area and Hastings County, during which an intruder stole women's lingerie.
