OTTAWA - Russell Williams was a small, lonely figure in the dock of a Belleville, Ont., courtroom, dwarfed by his own depravity as his sex crimes and perversions were read out in open court.
His October guilty plea to rapes, two murders and dozens of fetish thefts spared grieving families the ordeal of a full trial. When it was over, the stunned public prepared to move on.
The police have not.
"We have a duty upon ourselves to the victims of any crime to give the victims peace," said OPP Det. Insp. Chris Nicholas, lead detective in the Williams case.
Nicholas addressed the case one last time Wednesday as cops shift their investigation underground.
OPP - and Ottawa police, as well as other area law enforcement - will continue to probe cold cases, searching for any links to Williams.
Though cops wouldn't take questions on current investigations, Nicholas confirmed that Williams was caught thanks in part to a smart move by a Belleville police officer.
It was Jan. 28, a Thursday. Jessica Lloyd was enjoying her last hours of freedom, while Williams awaited her return metres from her Belleville home, in southeastern Ontario.
The officer noted an SUV parked in the corner of a field near Lloyd's house - hardly uncommon in rural areas, Nicholas said.
Williams - thinking the female cop was Lloyd, Nicholas said - watched as she knocked on the door of Lloyd's home. Finding it secure and empty, she turned her attention to the unoccupied Nissan Pathfinder.
Nothing was amiss, but she jotted down what would become a valuable description of the SUV. When she learned Lloyd had vanished, she immediately told her bosses.
"It helped us narrow down the search parameters of the vehicles," Nicholas said. Cops pared the list down from about 20 possibilities to three.
Just one week later, Williams' tire treads betrayed him at a Feb. 4 roadblock. He was arrested soon after.
"She did far beyond what most officers would have done and we commend her for it," Nicholas said.
Williams' actions that night - assaulting Lloyd in her home, bringing her to his Tweed cottage then delivering a coup de grace with a flashlight after promising her she'd live - have taken their toll on the cop.
"(She) obviously feels terrible," Nicholas said. "She's beside herself and we are supporting her. We think she did a great job."
The public knows enough about Williams, Nicholas said, explaining why cops will pursue their investigations away from the spotlight.
"It doesn't have a happy ending for anybody," Nicholas said. "Let's just let the story fade."
tony.spears@sunmedia.ca
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