Russell Williams divorce to stay muzzled
An Ottawa judge has ruled that divorce proceedings involving convicted killer Russell Williams — a former Canadian Forces colonel — and his estranged wife shall remain under a publication ban, at least for now.
Williams' wife last month applied to the court asking for sensitive records to be under a publication ban — particularly a domestic contract signed between the two shortly after he was arrested for two murders.
In support, she filed sensitive medical information which her lawyers said outlined the harm she might suffer, should any divorce proceedings be made public.
On Tuesday, Justice Jennifer MacKinnon ruled that until there is a divorce trial in open court (unlikely if Williams and his wife mutually agree to part ways), then the domestic contract should not be available to the public.
The judge also sealed sensitve portions of the woman's medical records that were put before the court.
The CBC, Ottawa Citizen and other media organizations had intervened, arguing the public had a right to know whether Williams tried to shield assets — including his military pension — by signing them over to his wife after getting caught by police.
Williams was arrested in February 2010 and pleaded guilty last fall to the sado-sexual murders of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, Ont., and Marie France Comeau of Brighton, Ont. He was also convicted for assaulting two women in Tweed, Ont., as well as for dozens of fetish raids and break-ins in eastern Ontario and Ottawa, where he shared a home with his wife.
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| An Ottawa judge has ruled that divorce proceedings involving convicted killer Russell Williams — a former Canadian Forces colonel — and his estranged wife shall remain under a publication ban, at least for now. |
An Ottawa judge has ruled that divorce proceedings involving convicted killer Russell Williams — a former Canadian Forces colonel — and his estranged wife shall remain under a publication ban, at least for now.
Williams' wife last month applied to the court asking for sensitive records to be under a publication ban — particularly a domestic contract signed between the two shortly after he was arrested for two murders.
In support, she filed sensitive medical information which her lawyers said outlined the harm she might suffer, should any divorce proceedings be made public.
On Tuesday, Justice Jennifer MacKinnon ruled that until there is a divorce trial in open court (unlikely if Williams and his wife mutually agree to part ways), then the domestic contract should not be available to the public.
The judge also sealed sensitve portions of the woman's medical records that were put before the court.
The CBC, Ottawa Citizen and other media organizations had intervened, arguing the public had a right to know whether Williams tried to shield assets — including his military pension — by signing them over to his wife after getting caught by police.
Williams was arrested in February 2010 and pleaded guilty last fall to the sado-sexual murders of Jessica Lloyd of Belleville, Ont., and Marie France Comeau of Brighton, Ont. He was also convicted for assaulting two women in Tweed, Ont., as well as for dozens of fetish raids and break-ins in eastern Ontario and Ottawa, where he shared a home with his wife.
