"How Did All This Come About?"

Canadians can expect to hear and read more than they care to about the shameful exploits of a man who literally had everything and regardless was unable to restrain himself from dangerously violent behaviour that escalated steadily from stark violations of trust, to theft through home invasions, the torture of women, rape, and finally murder. As a high-ranked Canadian forces officer, Colonel Russell Williams, a disgrace to his post as commander of the largest air force base in Canada, whose viciously dishonourable actions has blemished the armed forces this man's twisted life amazes.

For somewhere, at some time, this man must have betrayed in some way the fact that his state of mind was dangerously unbalanced. And quite obviously no one in the chain of command was alerted to this. He was given the privilege as an air force pilot of great dependability and professional skills, of piloting the aircraft that flew the Prime Minister, the Queen, and other elite luminaries to various destinations. Presenting as a man of rigid discipline, courtesy and professionalism, he led a true double life.

He was married, and was said to be devoted to his wife. Yet his downward spiral into sexual predator and finally double murderer resulting from his inherent psychopathy resulted in horrendous events and too many victims to count, from the bereaved families of the murdered women, to the women whom he tormented and raped, to those whose homes he stealthily entered for the purpose of collecting coveted items of intimate apparel which he kept as trophies. And no one the wiser. Not his wife of many years, nor those with whom he worked.

When, finally, peculiar evidence pointed irrevocably to this man whose unassailable reputation and position otherwise proclaimed him untouchable, he confessed to his horrible crimes. He revealed to a police detective who interrogated him all the details of his recent past in victimizing women, and even staking out the homes of teen-age girls as future prospects, close to where he lived. He expressed his concern, at the time, not about his victims, but the future financial welfare of his wife.

A second concern he expressed was how the detection of his dreadful assaults against society would impact on the military in the public perception. The public appears to understand that someone of his ilk, difficult to imagine as it is, could appear anywhere in society. With the knowledge that psychopaths become skilled in throwing off any suspicion of themselves, presenting as normal, reliable individuals, ensuring that their dark inner turmoil remain well hidden.

Through his incarceration period he became familiar with the evidence stacked against him. His recorded confession as a rapist-murderer was admissible in any court of law. His fetish burglaries which led to his eventual invasion of two homes close to where he and his wife had a cottage and the rape and torture of the women who lived there, developed further his attraction to sadistic exploitation of his dreadful sexual urges. He will be sentenced shortly for his crimes.

In the meanwhile, he has been collecting his regular monthly salary cheques, and stands also to qualify for superannuation that has accrued to him through his working career. He arranged with his wife to transfer ownership of their mutually-owned properties, to protect her financially in light of a $2.5-million civil lawsuit brought against both of them by one of his rape-torture victims. His wife denies any untoward conduct in the matter. But this arrangement of protecting his wife is consistent with his original concern.

He has pleaded guilty to all charges brought against him, in acknowledgement of his obvious guilt. Sparing in some measure, the military of which he was once such an integral part. To the extent that an even brighter future as a potential General in the Canadian armed forces was once contemplated by his superiors. His guilty plea thus perhaps offloading additional opprobrium through his admission of ownership of all charges held against him as a thief, a sexual pervert-predator, rapist-tormentor and murderer.

The man is beyond redemption. He has committed the most egregiously dreadful acts of violence against vulnerable women that it is possible to imagine. He was wrapped in the invulnerability of his position and his reputation as a stalwart officer. His victims await the opportunity to make their statements, detailing their pain and their irreparable loss. "I basically want to let him know how his actions have affected our daily life. We want him to know just how much he has hurt people", explained the brother of murder victim Jessica Lloyd.

Aren't normal, decent people seeking justice just so innocent of guile? Innocent too of a clear understanding of what motivates a psychopath to his psychotic path of destruction. Clearly unable to imagine that any human being could be devoid of a sense of personal guilt, of feeling compassion, of any kind of emotion that does not impact on him in a pleasurable-though-destructive manner. It hardly matters that Col. Williams will listen to the pleas for understanding of the pain and suffering he caused.

He may hear, but he will feel nothing. Other than a grisly satisfaction that he destroyed several lives. Although there is a certain peculiar compunction expressed, not any kind of sympathy for those destroyed lives, but a concern for the future financial security of his spouse.