Canada - Marie-France Comeau, 37, & Jessica Lloyd, 27, slain, Ont, 2009 & 2010 - #2

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antiquegirl said:
You may all be right and I have no idea whether or not RW shaved any part of his body.

Not to be splitting hairs here (heheh), but Dictionary.com defines "hairless" as synonymous with "bald".

hair·less
 
–adjective

without hair; bald: his pink hairless pate.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hairless

Thesaurus.com lists various synonyms for "bald", including the word "hairless".

bald

Main Entry: bald
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: having no covering
Synonyms: baldheaded, bare, barren, depilated, exposed, glabrous, hairless, head*, naked, shaven, skin head, smooth, stark, uncovered

http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/bald

Merriam-Webster and Oxford online dictionaries have no separate definition for the adjective - it being understood that the suffix "less" means "without; lacking".

It also has to be considered that that particular word was merely the arbitrary choice of the witness, or the reporter's source, or the reporter him/herself.

As for premeditation, whoever perpetrated these crimes obviously premeditated them, whether or not he shaved his body. These were not crimes of sudden passion. From what we've read (i.e. duct tape, photography, etc.) extensive
planning had to go into all of them.

JMO
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Common usage is the key. Common people say "bald" for a skinhead, "hairless" for other body parts. I wonder if there is some insider knowledge on the issue of where the hair was missing?
 
Summersolstice said:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/03/05/13128901-qmi.html

Um, if they're planning to select trial by judge, location is irrelevant. Defence lawyers usually choose trial by judge in cases where they think a jury would find their client guilty.
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Agreed. It seems like a waste of newspaper space to print the article. Not to mention the fact that the media may have printed a ton of stuff, but tell me of a high profile case where they haven't? It's not exactly the media that brought the attention to the case either- I feel that the circus was more a reflection of the man in question, and the position that he held that allowed it to grow as big as it did. Not to mention the heinous crimes that were committed. It is not every day that this happens in our area- over my lifetime I can count on one hand the number of murders in my town. As a matter of fact it doesn't happen in Canada as a whole all that often- So as much as I dislike the media I am a grown up and I believe none of what I read and only half of what I see, and I am completely offended that they think us "locals" cannot separate our opinions from what the media tells us. I hope the judge rips his lawyer a new one.
 
Summersolstice said:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/03/05/13128901-qmi.html

Um, if they're planning to select trial by judge, location is irrelevant. Defence lawyers usually choose trial by judge in cases where they think a jury would find their client guilty.
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I find the opposite to be true, especially when the defendant is facing a murder charge, they generally want a trial by jury.
BBM:

Many criminal cases - and almost all civil ones - are heard by a judge sitting without a jury. The judge is the "trier of fact," deciding whether the evidence is credible and which witnesses are telling the truth. Then the judge applies the law to these facts to determine whether a civil claim has been established on a balance of probabilities or whether there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt, in criminal cases, that the suspect is guilty. Anyone who faces five years or more in prison if convicted of a crime has the right, under the Charter, to request a jury trial, and many defendants facing serious offences such as murder opt to have a jury hear their case. The jurors become the triers of fact and assess the evidence while the judge takes on the role of legal advisor, explaining the law to the jurors. The jurors then retire to deliberate on a verdict. In criminal cases the jury's verdict, either "Guilty" or "Not Guilty" must be unanimous.
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http://www.cscja-acjcs.ca/role_of_judge-en.asp?l=5
 
:( Found this picture on link Summer posted above

comeau1_500.jpg

Cpl. Marie-France Comeau from Facebook memorial after she was murdered in Brighton, Ont., in November 2009. The base commander of CFB Trenton has been charged with first-degree murder in her death. (Facebook)​

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Microgalleries/Jess_Lloyd/?&pic=21
 
more bits and pieces from another article:

Colonel's trial likely to move
By W. Brice McVicar, QMI Agency
Last Updated: March 5, 2010 9:02pm
He said media coverage and community involvement in the search for 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd may have altered the opportunity for a fair jury trial locally.
“I think you can get a decent jury, but probably not in Hastings County at this point,” Kafka said. “I think there would probably be a change of venue application to another jurisdiction simply because of the media attention and the local interest.”
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Kafka agreed with Ertel saying media reports of a confession by Williams likely won’t help, but he also questioned the validity of those reports.
“I find it hard to believe seasoned investigators with the OPP would be leaking information about the investigation to the media. More likely it’s somebody who has heard a little snippet indirectly and they claim they’re close to the OPP source,” Kafka said.
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“He’s obviously one of the best, most experienced lawyers in Canada and he’s going to do whatever it is he’s going to do. It’s hard to put yourself in his shoes, but it just strikes me that this is the type of case with so much publicity that you couldn’t get a fair jury anywhere. I’d probably apply for a trial without jury,” he said.
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hmmm :waitasec: does he have any specific judge in mind?
 
Can colonel get a fair trial?
Despite leaks, retention of top lawyer suggests a vigorous fight ahead
By Tim Naumetz | Publication Date: Monday, 01 March 2010
OTTAWA — Police leaks and an avalanche of national media coverage of the arrest of Canadian Forces Col. Russell Williams on murder charges could rule out a fair jury trial, criminal defence lawyers worry.
Publication of apparent details of a lengthy interview and statement the former commander of Canada’s largest air force base allegedly gave police before they laid the charges could make prosecution, even through a trial by judge alone, more difficult, says Mark Ertel, past president of the Defence Counsel Association of Ottawa.
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To top it off, the lawyer Williams retained following his arrest, high-profile Ottawa advocate Michael Edelson, has the kind of expertise and courtroom ferocity that could expose even the smallest slip the police may have made in the case, say some of Edelson’s colleagues in the capital’s criminal bar.

The fact that Williams has hired Edelson suggests the accused air force officer may have more than a guilty plea in mind despite the difficulty of bargaining pleas on two separate murder charges.

“If the police have crossed the boundary, Mike will find it,” says Richard Addelman, the criminal defence lawyer whose Ottawa firm Edelson first worked with more than three decades ago.
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The details of police events that led to the charges against Williams erupted on newspaper front pages, television broadcasts, Internet news pages, and Twitter soon after his arrest, but a Globe and Mail column by Christie Blatchford contained extraordinary accounts of what went on behind the scenes.

She quoted “sources” to say Williams had given police a “lengthy and wide-ranging statement” about the murders and that he allegedly led police to Lloyd’s body and disclosed details about the sexual assaults and other forced entries that Blatchford termed “lingerie break-ins.”

The column named one detective as the “key officer” in the interview room and, this time attributing the information to “those close to the investigation,” went on to describe the manner in which Williams allegedly gave his statement.
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“There’s a reason why the police officers hire him. Obviously, they know who is most effective and who they are best off going to in the event they get into trouble,” says David Paciocco, a prominent University of Ottawa law professor who helps Edelson plan trial strategy and performs other work, including appeals, as general counsel at Edelson’s firm.
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lengthy article -- read more : http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201003016464/Headline-News/Can-colonel-get-a-fair-trial
 
Wouldn't it be just my luck to be called for jury duty?

I do agree that by jury it would be difficult for a fair trial. In this community you would be hard pressed to find anyone that didn't have some type of connection (however weak) between the victims or the alleged perp, or the position he held. For example, I have a very old work connection with Jessica's family, my in laws live in Tweed and know the women that were attacked, and I have many friends that are military.

I wonder how this will turn out.
 
nobodyzgirl said:
I find the opposite to be true, especially when the defendant is facing a murder charge, they generally want a trial by jury.
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Generally it is true that most defendents will go jury on a murder charge. In this case however, we have a confession, it has received tremendous media attention, and is very emotionally charged. By going judge alone, they probably feel they have a better chance that a more calm, clinical, trained legal mind will be dealing with the issues at hand rather than risk 12 separate personalities w/ potential for emotion.

JMO
 
sillybilly said:
Generally it is true that most defendents will go jury on a murder charge. In this case however, we have a confession, it has received tremendous media attention, and is very emotionally charged. By going judge alone, they probably feel they have a better chance that a more calm, clinical, trained legal mind will be dealing with the issues at hand rather than risk 12 separate personalities w/ potential for emotion.

JMO
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Has it actually been confirmed that there was a confession, I thought that was just media speculation - though that's just MOO, and I'm too lazy to search through the forum to see if it was confirmed. As was mentioned earlier in the post, a trial by judge alone would be very difficult. I would think a change of venue and a trial by jury would be the best chance for defense, if they proceed with the trial, especially with RW's high powered lawyer.

Also, MOO, if there is a confession and if in fact, he did direct LE to J Lloyd's remains, then I'd think he'd likely just plead guilty (after some plea bargaining) and there wouldn't be a trial at all, it would just go directly to sentencing. It's been my experience if the accused and his/her counsel don't get the plea deal they want, they take their chances with a jury, not a judge alone. It's easier to bring reasonable doubt to a jury than to a judge.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
 
nobodyzgirl said:
Has it actually been confirmed that there was a confession, I thought that was just media speculation - though that's just MOO, and I'm too lazy to search through the forum to see if it was confirmed. As was mentioned earlier in the post, a trial by judge alone would be very difficult. I would think a change of venue and a trial by jury would be the best chance for defense, if they proceed with the trial, especially with RW's high powered lawyer.

Also, MOO, if there is a confession and if in fact, he did direct LE to J Lloyd's remains, then I'd think he'd likely just plead guilty (after some plea bargaining) and there wouldn't be a trial at all, it would just go directly to sentencing. It's been my experience if the accused and his/her counsel don't get the plea deal they want, they take their chances with a jury, not a judge alone. It's easier to bring reasonable doubt to a jury than to a judge.

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
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Closest we have to a confession is the "detailed statement" reference that was contained in various media articles, i.e. from: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ot...ll+Williams+accused+murder/2564970/story.html

Williams then turned himself in to Ottawa police and gave a detailed statement to a detective from the behavioural sciences squad.
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Police said the colonel directed officers to where they could find evidence — including the keepsakes — inside his Ottawa home.
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Detailed statement, Lloyd's body found within hours, keepsakes, Williams' boot print at homicide scene ... don't think we can get much closer to a confession w/o calling it a "confession".

Given the above, I would imagine his lawyer is going to argue some finer point of law here. Going judge alone so as NOT to take a chance with a jury that may not understand/interpret those finer points like a learned judge would do.

A judge may be looking at the defendent thinking "this guy looks like a serial killer", "i don't like the way this guy's ears stick out", etc. but knows enough to remain unbiased in that regard and not to let it interfere with the precise interpretation of the law. On the other hand, with a jury, you've got 12 individuals with the potential for 12 personal biases ... people who just might convict because they don't like the way a defendent avoids eye contact, etc.

IMO, a judge is more able to determine what truly constitutes reasonable doubt. With a jury of 12, a lawyer is facing the unknown. A judge however will have a history within the legal profession, and as soon as it is known who that judge is, there will be a flurry of activity to bone up on his background, style, idiosyncracies, his likes/dislikes, etc. so the defence can pander to them.

MOO
 
Police say they have recovered evidence — including hidden keepsakes — from the Ottawa home of a former Ontario military base commander charged with murdering two women.
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Ontario Provincial Police investigating Col. Russell Williams also said Sunday they have matched a print from a homicide scene to the 46-year-old’s boot.
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Police said the colonel directed officers to where they could find evidence
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http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Ot...ll+Williams+accused+murder/2564970/story.html
By Sunday, Williams agreed to an interview with the Ontario Provincial Police, where, according to reports, he confessed to the crimes and led detectives to Lloyd’s lifeless body, which was dumped near a dirt road a few kilometers from the colonel’s cottage.
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http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/02/10/portrait-of-an-accused-predator/

(BBM)

I would give a lot more credence to these media claims if they had actually named these LE sources. I am not thinking that they're not true, but has anyone here actually found an article where a specific LE representative has been named as confirming these reports?

After having read this article - http://www.lawtimesnews.com/201003016464/Headline-News/Can-colonel-get-a-fair-trial - (thank you, Hazel), I am now very worried that these type of articles are going to compromise the outcome of this case. If RW is in fact guilty (and I personally believe that he is due to reports such as the above), is it possible that he could be acquitted on such technicalities? That's a scary thought.

JMO
 
http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2479516

I thought I would post this article from the Belleville Intelligencer for information. I don't believe it has been posted yet. I am actually confused by the whole thing, but a couple of statements stood out to me. I am wondering what it all means.

"Col. Russ Williams is now the subject of a military administrative review, but is not likely to face a military trial, The Intelligencer has learned."

"Administrative reviews are conducted by senior officers. They can, for example, be held by the accused's commanding officer or a career review board."

"Unlike the criminal system, the reviews do not require a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
 
I hope you all have been well.

I have been dealing with things in stride, hence my lack of posts.
 
So this may completely be unrelated, which it most likely is. But what it certainly does is paint a picture that Deep River is indeed "picturesque" on the outside, but having spent many a day there, it's far from it. It's not necessarily the people, or the lack of things to do. But have you ever just been in a town and felt a bizarre "vibe" or "feeling"?
Deep River gives me the chills, always has. It's a place that gives your mind a lot of time to think and churn over things, a place to allow you to discover hidden secrets and spots, and a place where some couples are very "open".

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/revealed-dark-side-of-missing-nuclear-scientist-20100305-pov2.html



(Also noticed he loved birds)

Deep River is a model town:

I hate it.

For living here has got me down:

I hate it.

Although the town is trim and neat,

With cosy homes on every street,

Though saying so is not discreet,

I hate it.
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Also, this photo of RW creeps strikes me oddly. His right eye (our left) seems so vacant. Cover his left, then his right on the screen. Anyone agree? I could just be tired, but I don't like it. The eyes are the windows to the souls, or so they say.

qoaa29.jpg
 
@pjgrrrl - yes - I have often thought that his eyes were 'off' and in some photos "san paku" comes to mind.

snipped from link: http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cach...ctogenarian+san+paku&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca
“San” in Japanese means three and “Paku” means white. Therefore, the term means three sides of white showing in ones eyes. Normally we see two sides of white showing in each eye when we look directly into ones eyes. But when you look into a person’s eyes and also see white at the bottom, as well as on either side, it means something called San Paku.

Years ago it was called bedroom eyes. For me I always had an uncomfortable feeling around anyone with that condition and did not know why until I read books explaining the condition and learned that there was a name for it.

It means that individual has a problem. They are out of sync. It could be caused by structural misalignment. One might have some kind of cranial-sacrum, jamming. One might have some mental or emotional dysfunction. It means that person is not operating normally, not functioning and firing on all cylinders, so to speak. It could be some physical structural misalignment of mental or emotional malfunction. It can be corrected when recognized. It is frequently some impingement in the nervous system, caused by structural misalignment in the spine area. Sometimes it can be caused from an accident, a fall, or some physical injury.

A manifestation of the condition is in slowed reflexes. They do not have the same quick reflex action that a person without the condition has. They may not think as well or as logically as one without the condition.

As I understand it, when a person is dying, his eyes may roll upwards. Seeing the picture of the shooter on TV, his eyes were extremely rolled upwards and three sides of white in his eyes were quite visible and noticeable.

Sometimes a person may have the condition in only one eye"

_____________________________
There really isn't a lot of weight attached to the condition of sanpaku, but I did notice it in a few photos that I've seen of RW - where he is looking straight-ahead - and that one eye is upward and different for sure.
 
FUNNYGIRL101 said:
Media would not have the cooperation of sources if they displayed the named source within the article.

If every person giving out information were named in print - we wouldn't have a need for print or other news, as no one would give a reporter the time of day! People have been maligned, harassed, threatened, etc. for less.

Journalistic integrity for major media outlets is paramount - and the majority of they time rely on inside and other sources for valuable information - on a confidentiality-basis, which in turn corroborates the additional information the journalist has. The courts, for the most part, have upheld the rights of journalists to retain and keep confidential the name of their source(s).
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(BBM)

I was not talking about civilian sources, but LE, as stated in my post. It's very hard for me to believe that any member of LE would anonymously divulge such sensitive information to a reporter as the accused making a full confession. It goes without saying that putting such info out into the public could be damaging to any forthcoming trial and no member of LE would take that risk, nor the risk to his/her own career.

Surely you can't be implying that everything we read in the media is corroborated and correct? Maybe it's true, maybe it's not. All I meant is exactly what I wrote - that I would be more likely to believe such claims if LE divulged this information at a press conference or if an official were named as the source. But until an LE source is eventually named, I don't think I can be blamed for being a bit skeptical.

As for "journalistic integrity" - no comment. ;)

All of this is JMO.
 
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