# The Absolutely F'd-Up, Weird-Ass, Sick and Horrible Case of Colonel Russell Williams **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 9, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225 "2010-02-09T02:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/41 "2010-02-11T21:18:57Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Exactly right. > > The truly amazing thing is that he was able to hide his sociopathic urges and acts so as to fool everyone for so long - I imagine high ranking military officers are subjected to far more invasive official scrutiny than almost anyone else. One may smile and smile, and yet be a villain . . . [INDENT][INDENT]William Shakespeare, _Hamlet_[/INDENT][/INDENT] A true sociopath, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/42 "2010-02-11T21:22:22Z")
Does Williams’ military rank affect the way in which he will be tried? Does the military have any jurisdiction, or will it be an ordinary, civil trial (in as much as anything about the allegations can be said to be ‘ordinary’)? ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/43 "2010-02-11T21:42:19Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Does Williams’ military rank affect the way in which he will be tried? Does the military have any jurisdiction, or will it be an ordinary, civil trial (in as much as anything about the allegations can be said to be ‘ordinary’)? I am pretty sure that this will be a civil case - the [alleged] crimes were not AFAIK committed on duty or on military property. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/44 "2010-02-11T21:52:49Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > **Astro** Your source saying he confessed is citing unnamed sources as reported in “the Toronto Globe and Mail”. There is no _Toronto Globe and Mail_ … [T]here is a national newspaper The Globe and Mail. An easy mistake though. For well over a hundred years, the Globe was a Toronto paper, and it is still based in that city. While it went national back in (IIRC) the 1980s, there are still many who regard it as “The Toronto Globe and Mail.” Incorrect, but understandable. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/45 "2010-02-11T21:54:39Z")
He’s being tried in the Ontario court. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/46 "2010-02-11T21:55:40Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > An easy mistake though. For well over a hundred years, the Globe was a Toronto paper, and it is still based in that city. While it went national back in (IIRC) the 1980s, there are still many who regard it as “The Toronto Globe and Mail.” Incorrect, but understandable. And well, let’s face it. The Globe is awfully Toronto-centric. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/47 "2010-02-11T21:57:51Z")
> [@Ellen\_Cherry](#): > > Not that it mitigates his alleged misdeeds, but it appears he is _a_ commander, rather than _the_ commander, of this base — a Wing Commander? Canadian Forces Air Command uses “wing” to denote a base. In British and American usage (and once in Canadian usage) it just meant a few squadrons, which might or might not have taken up a whole base. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/48 "2010-02-11T22:04:48Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And well, let’s face it. The Globe is awfully Toronto-centric. \I never noticed anything odd about it…\ 🙂 Actually, it always seemed much _less_ Toronto-centric than many of the other papers around here. Mind you, these other papers include the _Toronto Star_ (can’t we do somerthing about the plught these poor people are in?), the _Toronto Sun_ (Beer! Tits! Crime! Stereo ads! Our cops are tops!). The _National Post_ (We’re Christian!) is the other paper that aspires (or aspired) to national status. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/49 "2010-02-11T22:31:08Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > An easy mistake though. For well over a hundred years, the Globe was a Toronto paper, and it is still based in that city. While it went national back in (IIRC) the 1980s, there are still many who regard it as “The Toronto Globe and Mail.” Incorrect, but understandable. Yes, but if you’re quoting facts, you’d think you’d check your sources so you don’t end up doing what those Bangladeshi newspapers did last year and reprint an _Onion_ article as real news by mistake. The paper has never been known as the _Toronto Globe and Mail_ except by critics who make fun of it for being too Toronto-centric. However, it may have been a coding error and the website meant to say Toronto-based _Globe and Mail_. Either way, the paper/site has no report of a confession. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2010, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/50 "2010-02-11T23:04:40Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And well, let’s face it. The Globe is awfully Toronto-centric. I always get a kick out of the ads for Toronto businesses that are obviously aimed at Torontonians and that appear in the Alberta edition of my Globe (“Hey, according to this, there’s a one-day sidewalk sale at Yorkdale tomorrow.”). We don’t get the “Toronto” section of the Globe out here, but the news and op-eds often contain items and columns about concerns to Torontonians that mean little elsewhere. Entertainment reviews will often mention that a show is playing at the Canon or the Royal Alex; book reviews may mention that an author will be appearing at Indigo at the Eaton Centre. Lots of attention paid to the Leafs, Jays, Raptors, and Argos; comparatively little paid to the pro hockey and football teams in the rest of the country. Doesn’t bother me. It’s kind of interesting, in a way. I’ve read the Globe for years, and if there is little of local (to me) interest in it, I find that it is still a good read. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/51 "2010-02-12T02:59:43Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > The _National Post_ (We’re Christian!)… At the risk of perpetuating a hijack… I guess you’re forgetting the days when Izzy Asper, who was Jewish, ran the National Post. One day’s big news story would be treated in the headlines like this: Globe and Mail: Federal Budget Released Toronto Star: Budget Cuts Child Benefits; Single Moms and Kids to Suffer Toronto Sun: Budget Cuts Taxes; More Money in _Your_ Pocket National Post: Suicide Bomber in Jerusalem Kills 14 Israelis It wasn’t so much that Asper’s Post was pro-Israel as much as it buried news stories that were much more germane to the average Canadian than were stories about Israel. ---
**Author:** ![ThePylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ThePylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThePylon)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/52 "2010-02-12T13:31:41Z")
Okay … back on topic Bernardo angle? [http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/02/11/12845796.html](http://www.ottawasun.com/news/canada/2010/02/11/12845796.html) This is all just fucked up. I’m ex-Air Force, and a (then base) wing commander is GOD. All-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful. Folks in Trenton must (still) be reeling right now. He was an instructor whilst I was 32U - never had him, but many buds did… wild. But the Bernardo thing - wow… what if? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/53 "2010-02-12T14:39:49Z")
Wow, this whole story just gets weirder by the day. Next we’ll find out he’s dating Karla Hamoka! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/54 "2010-02-12T14:43:14Z")
This one just gets wierder and wierder. And it started plenty wierd. ---
**Author:** ![ThePylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ThePylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThePylon)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/55 "2010-02-12T15:01:20Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Next we’ll find out he’s dating Karla Hamoka! … and they were living together on a pig farm… ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/56 "2010-02-12T15:04:54Z")
I don’t find it all that weird; I think the sort of people with the type of drive to be a big kahuna are more likely to be psycho- or sociopathic, and also likely to be so arrogant as to believe they can get away with it. But for that craziness to extend to serial-killing is, thankfully, not common. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/57 "2010-02-12T15:27:49Z")
So people with a lot of drive and ambition are more likely to be sociopaths? I see. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/58 "2010-02-12T15:37:17Z")
Phew! That means I’m out of the psycho club… now, back to being a slothful underachiever. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/59 "2010-02-12T15:43:49Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > So people with a lot of drive and ambition are more likely to be sociopaths? > > I see. Not by definition, no, but those with excessive amounts of it might have some overactive bees in their bonnets, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225/60 "2010-02-12T15:49:21Z")
Personally, I think the Bernardo angle is tenuous at best, at least in terms of what’s been presented in the linked article. I partied with plenty of people in university ten years ago, and I’d probably be hard-pressed to remember more than a dozen of them at this stage. The fact that they were both in the economics program doesn’t mean much, either. There were ~200 of us with my major in my graduating class, and I don’t remember anyone. Hell, I had several smaller classes (like, under 15 students), and I can’t even remember even a single classmate’s name from those. Yeah, it’s totally plausible that they’d have crossed paths on campus and might even have been in the same room at the same time on more than one occasion, but they’re going to have to find something more solid that “they partied together” as a sign that they were Serial Killer BFFs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-absolutely-fd-up-weird-ass-sick-and-horrible-case-of-colonel-russell-williams/528225.md?page=4)