Update - Lloyd and Comeau murders

BELLEVILLE, ON, Feb. 10 /CNW/ - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) under the direction of Detective Inspector Chris Nicholas of the Criminal Investigation Branch is continuing their investigation into the murder of 38 year old Marie France COMEAU of Brighton and two separate home invasion sexual assaults that occurred in the Tweed area. The joint investigation between the OPP and Belleville Police Service into the murder of 27 year old Jessica Lloyd of Belleville is also ongoing.

On February 7, 2010 , 46 year old Russell WILLIAMS was charged with two counts of 1st Degree Murder, 2 counts of Forcible Confinement and 2 Counts of Break and Enter and Sexual Assault. WILLIAMS will appear in a Belleville court by a video remand on February 18, 2010 .

The investigation's priority at this time is to focus on the collection, preservation and examination of evidence in these four cases. Officers are continuing with the search of the Ottawa and Tweed residences of WILLIAMS for potential evidence. The post mortem examination on the body of Jessica LLOYD was conducted today, February 10, 2010 at the Office of the Chief Forensic Pathologist in Toronto . The results of the post mortem will not be released to protect the integrity of the investigation.

The OPP will also be working in partnership with other police services to examine unsolved cases of interest in other jurisdictions. This will be a methodical and detailed comparison that is anticipated to take some time to complete. The OPP will be utilizing the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System (ViCLAS) and employing Ontario's Major Case Management system to facilitate this process. Both of these tools, along with the traditional sharing of information between police services, enable the capture, storage, analysis and comparison of violent crimes.

"We have committed significant resources to this multi-jurisdictional investigation and want to remind everyone that we will be unable to discuss evidentiary or investigative matters to ensure the integrity of this complex investigation and the ensuing court process," stated OPP Deputy Commissioner Vince Hawkes .

If anyone has information, they are asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1112 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

    
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For further information: Ontario Provincial Police: Sgt. Kristine Rae, [phone]; Belleville Police Service: Sgt. Julie Forestell, [phone]