Colonel Russell Williams.
Colonel Russell Williams, the former Trenton military base commander now facing charges of murder and sexual assault, has retained high-profile Ottawa defence lawyer Michael Edelson.
Currently being held without bail at the Quinte detention centre near Napanee, Ont., Col. Williams has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday morning in Belleville.
He is to appear by video link at what is expected to be a brief hearing that will set another court date.
It was unclear whether Mr. Edelson would attend the court in person or be represented by a local agent.
His practice has encompassed several prominent criminal cases.
His current clients include former Nova Scotia bishop Raymond Lahey, charged with possessing and importing child pornography.
And in August, Mr. Edelson led a team of lawyers that succeeded in clearing Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien of influence-peddling charges.
Until he was arrested and charged last week, Col. Williams, 46, was the commander of 8 Wing/CFB Trenton, the biggest military base in Canada, a short drive west of Belleville.
He faces two first-degree murder charges.
One 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 home.
His second alleged victim, Jessica Lloyd, 27, was reported missing Jan. 28 after failing to show up for her bus-company job in Napanee.
After Col. Williams was arrested and charged, police located Ms. Lloyd's body in Tweed, north of Belleville. She had been strangled to death.
He has also been charged with sexual assault in two Tweed home-invasions last September, in which the victims were tied to chairs and photographed.
In addition, Col. Williams is a suspect in a bizarre, four-year string of burglaries, mostly in the Ottawa area and in Hastings County during which an intruder stole women's lingerie.