From: jcs
On January 28, 2010, at around midday, Andy Lloyd received a call from his mother stating that his 27-year-old sister, Jessica Lloyd, had failed to show up for work and was not responding to phone calls or text messages [01:42]. Andy immediately drove to her isolated home on Ontario’s Highway 37 and found that she was not there [01:56]. There were no signs of a break-in, although Jessica was known for leaving her doors unlocked [02:01]. All of her personal items, including her phone, passport, and driver’s license, were still inside the premises [02:04].
Initial Response and Search Efforts
Ottawa is known for its remarkably low crime rate and is widely recognized as the safest city in Canada [02:12]. Given the circumstances, the local authorities launched a missing person’s investigation immediately [02:17]. The search included an entire division from the Ottawa police force, over 2,000 members of the public, and even a specialist search and rescue unit from the Canadian Air Force [02:23].
The word spread extremely fast across the city with the help of the media [02:32].
Key Evidence and Suspect Identification
On the second day of Jessica’s disappearance, an anonymous member of the public came forward with vital information [02:35]. He stated that while driving home from work at approximately 3 AM the night before, he drove past Jessica’s house and noticed an SUV parked in a field a short distance away [02:40]. He remembered feeling that something “just seemed off” because it was parked in such an unusual area at a late hour, and he had never seen the vehicle there despite driving past thousands of times [02:51].
Police immediately canvassed the area and found tire tracks in the field and boot prints leading up to Jessica’s house [03:03]. These became the first two significant pieces of evidence, forming the foundation for the next stages of the investigation [03:11].
Police set up six roadblocks throughout the surrounding area, stopping every SUV that passed in the hope of finding a match to the tire tracks [03:17]. They reportedly stopped over 200 vehicles over the next four days with no success [03:25].
However, at approximately 7:30 PM on February 4th, their luck changed when the sports utility vehicle of Colonel Russell Williams was stopped [03:37]. He was polite and nonchalant about what he thought was a routine traffic procedure and was sent on his way after just 90 seconds [03:45]. Unbeknownst to him, he was immediately placed under police surveillance from that moment on, as his tires came up as a complete match to the tracks found in the field near Jessica Lloyd’s house [03:53].
Interrogation of Colonel Russell Williams
Two days later, on Sunday, February 7th, Colonel Russell Williams received a call from police headquarters in Ottawa, asking him to visit for questioning related to an ongoing investigative matter [04:03]. The Colonel didn’t inquire further and agreed to go immediately, telling his wife he would be back for dinner [04:14]. He arrived at headquarters shortly before 3 PM, where he was greeted by Detective Sergeant Jim Smith, a trained polygraph technician and senior investigator of the policing behavioral sciences unit [04:24].
During the interview, Detective Smith purposefully refrained from addressing Williams by his formal title, using his first name, “Russell,” to take him down from his “elevated platform” and strip away his confidence [05:05]. This tactic was intended to increase telling signs in body language and intonation when information was fabricated, and to decrease cognitive stamina, leading to a quicker “break” [05:15].
Smith explained that Jessica’s case was being treated as an “emergent situation” and that they were “fast forwarding things” [05:46]. He informed Williams about the various serious charges associated with such crimes, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual assault, break and enter with intent to commit sexual assault, and forcible confinement [09:17]. Williams was repeatedly reminded that he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time, but the detective subtly sat between Williams and the door, a subliminal message telling the subject that to leave, he would have to go through the detective [07:10].
When asked to recall his schedule, Williams often stated he couldn’t remember, particularly concerning the murder of Marie France Como [16:37]. The detective maintained a stoic gaze and no shift in body posture, offering no reassurance to Williams during moments of silence, which can be a form of psychological pressure [17:13].
The detective then confronted Williams with the key evidence:
- He presented a photocopy of the boot impression found at Jessica Lloyd’s house, stating that Williams’ vehicle drove up to the house and his boots walked to the back [21:52].
- He claimed that footwear impressions were “pretty much in the area of fingerprints” in terms of incriminating evidence [21:34]. (This was later clarified to be a fabricated claim designed to heighten psychological pressure, as footprints are not as indistinguishable as fingerprints [21:43].)
- The detective revealed that a search warrant was being executed at Williams’ residence in Tweed, and his vehicle had been seized [24:12]. He also falsely claimed that male DNA found on Marie France Como’s body (which was highly decomposed, making genetic analysis impossible with the technology at the time) would be matched to Williams before the evening was over [24:37].
- The detective emphasized that Williams’ “credibility is gone” if he doesn’t confess now, because soon the DNA, footwear, and tire impression experts would confirm the matches [25:31].
Under this intense pressure, Williams eventually began to break down. He expressed that he was struggling with how upset his life was right now [30:05]. The detective stressed the vast resources dedicated to the case, stating the investigation would cost no less than 10 million dollars and that any request from the major case manager was approved [30:10].
Finally, Williams started to cooperate, providing details about Jessica Lloyd’s location and the events leading to her death. He indicated Jessica’s body was near where she lived, and could be found easily without being buried [31:51]. He stated she had been there for over a week [32:55] and had lived for “almost 24 hours” [33:21]. He confessed that he saw her in her house on her treadmill on Wednesday night. He noticed she wasn’t there on Thursday, so he entered her house, looked around, and then left. When she returned home, he went back in through the back patio door while she was sleeping [34:13].