The brother of Jessica Lloyd, one of Col. Russell Williams’s murder victims, called him “pure evil that took her from us,” while her mother told a courtroom in Belleville, Ont., that her daughter’s death has left her “a broken woman.”Andy Lloyd said he and Jessica were not only siblings, but friends, and he had been looking forward to being an uncle to her children almost as much as being a father.”I’ve had to grieve under the public spotlight … strictly because of who Russell Williams was,” he said, adding he is a proud supporter of the Armed Forces but they should be led by a responsible individual.He said he has been on stress leave since she went missing and he fights depression, anxiety and is on multiple types of medication.”All I want is to go back to the way my life was before it was torn apart,’ he said. He called Williams “pure evil that took her from us…. Why that house? Why that night? Why her?”At that point, the public section of the courtroom erupted in applause for a few seconds, breaking the usual decorum.The emotional victim impact statements were heard Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court after a portion of Williams’s videotaped interview in which he confessed to the murders of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, was shown.Justice Robert F. Scott asked the media to use discretion in identifying those reading statements, which came on the third day of the hearing for the decorated former commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton.Williams, who hung his head for most of the court proceedings, looked up as the statements were being read, but only after he was prodded to do so by some of the victim’s family members and friends.Two people connected to the Comeau family were in court but did not read victim impact statements. The Crown is expected to read a statement on behalf of the family on Thursday.
Took her only daughter
Roxanne Lloyd, Jessica Lloyd’s mother, said Williams snatched her only daughter from her.She said can never hug her daughter and never tell her that she loves her.
Jessica’s father, who was a petty officer in the Armed Forces, died of cancer when she was 14. Roxanne Lloyd said her late husband would be horrified that a member of the Armed Forces did this to his daughter.”I miss her every day.”She said many dreams she had of her daughter have been destroyed, and she will never walk her down the aisle or hear that she’s expecting a baby. Williams has not only taken away her precious daughter, but dreams of her future grandchildren, Roxanne Lloyd said.
She said she has “been put through sheer agony” since that moment she heard Jessica was missing.”No mother should have to go through that,” she said. She asked how Williams could have done what he did, traumatizing and degrading her daughter.She has cried and grieved every day for Jessica and is still off work. She sees a counsellor and told the hearing she wonders why it happened and how someone could do such a thing to her funny, caring, thoughtful and loving daughter.”Why did he do this to me? Now I am a broken woman.”After thanking the Belleville police, the OPP, family members and everyone who helped search for Jessica, Roxanne Lloyd said she hates Williams, an emotion she has never felt before.
‘I would die for her’
“I would gladly take her place. I would die for her.”She said she was there to make sure Williams gets justice.In her statement, Jessica Lloyd’s aunt described the ordeal to the court as a “living nightmare.””Each time I see him, it’s like being kicked in the stomach. It actually makes me nauseous,” she said, referring to the shock of suddenly seeing Williams’s picture when she least expects it.He ended her niece’s life and then dumped her on the side of the road like a “bag of trash,” she said, stressing each word.
“I’m here today for Jessica. She deserves no less,” she stated angrily. “We love you, Jessica. We miss you every day and you will live in our hearts forever.”Another Lloyd aunt sobbed as she told the court their family “is scarred for life.””He has taken Jess from us forever and she is irreplaceable,” she said. “This been a living hell for months.… Not only are we traumatized from losing [her], we have the horrible mental images of what she was put through.”In her statement, Lloyd’s aunt, Debbie, said she saw Lloyd as a second daughter and recalled happy moments.
‘How hasn’t it?’
“Then our world fell apart .… We went through fearing the worst to living the worst” the day police called with news that they had someone in custody but that Lloyd was not alive, she said.”You want to know how this has impacted my life? How hasn’t it?””I look at Roxanne and my heart breaks. She can’t sleep … she wants her daughter back … she has a hard time functioning in the world now,” she said. “What gave him the right to take someone else’s child?” she said louder, stronger.In a strong voice, she called the murder “senseless,” “cruel” and “evil.” She said she misses Lloyd “walking through my door and saying ‘Hi, aunt Debbie.Court will resume at 10 a.m. Thursday with counsels’ submissions and the judge will then issue Williams’s sentence.Williams will also have the opportunity to speak Thursday. If he does, it will be the first time the court has heard him utter more than the word “guilty” since the hearing began Monday – Cbc
