Decorated pilot who flew the Queen pleads guilty to double murder and sexual assault
Life in prison: Russell Williams has admitted killing two women and sexually assaulting two more
A highly decorated military pilot who flew the Queen, Prince Philip and other heads of state has pleaded guilty to murder and sexual assault, a court in Ontario has heard.
Colonel Russell Williams admitted that he had killed two women, sexually assaulted two more, and was guilty of 82 breaking and entering charges.
He now faces an automatic sentence of life in prison with no possibility for parole for at least 25 years.
The 47-year-old was commander of Canada's largest and highest-profile air force base, Trenton, until he was charged earlier this year.
Williams was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, but moved over to Canada when he was young.
He excelled in the military, was described as a ‘shining bright star’ and won many notable awards, including a South-West Asia Service Medal with bar and a Canadian Forces Decoration.
Williams began his 23-year career in 1987 when he enrolled in the Canadian Forces after graduating from the University of Toronto with an economics and political science degree.
He received his flying wings in 1990, was promoted to captain in 1992, to major in 1999, and to lieutenant-colonel in 2004.
The Prime Minister of Canada, the Governor General of Canada, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, and many other dignitaries across Canada and overseas were flown by Williams.
In February he was charged with the first-degree murder of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Marie Comeau, a 38-year-old corporal under his command found dead in her home last November. Both women had been asphyxiated.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prime Minister of Canada and many other dignitaries across Canada and overseas were flown by Williams
Roxanne Lloyd, mother of murder victim Jessica Lloyd, carried a picture of her daughter into the court room before Colonel Williams pleaded guilty
Williams was charged with forcible confinement, breaking and entering and sexual assault after two other women were attacked during separate home invasions in the Tweed, Ontario, area in September 2009.
The married man, whose wife runs a heart and stroke foundation in Canada, is still collecting his salary, which is thought to be about £90,000.
However, should he be convicted, he would be dishonourably discharged from the Canadian Forces and be required to pay back any salary received since being charged.
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