Camouflaged Killer: The Shocking Double Life of Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams

I had a hard time giving this book a star rating because there really wasn't much to like or love about it as the stars indicate. I gave it a four star because the writing was decently done but there is nothing to 'like' about this book. It is very graphic and very heartwrenching. Reading the chapers, Death of an Angel and A Soldier's Daughter had my heart pounding and my stomach churning. I actually had to take a break before I could finish reading them. While what Williams did to all his victims is unspeakable, what he did to Marie-France Comeau and Jessica Lloyd is absolutely sickening. Lloyd was held captive for nearly 24 hours by this disgusting pig. I can only imagine how terrified that young girl was, and for so awfully long while Williams strived and continued to play on her fear, raping her repeatedly and capturing it all on video. He then rewards her total compliance in her efforts to survive by snuffing out her young, beautiful life. I've watched clips of his confession on You Tube and it makes me despise the man even more that he seems to have no remorse for what he did. He sits in silence for long, long moments, sometimes minutes at a time, and he is not thinking about the horrible things he did to Comeau and Lloyd, or even that he wants to minimize the impact his crimes will have on is wife. He is instead thinking about being exposed for the pervert he is. Col. Russell Williams, in charge of Canada's largest air force base is about to be exposed as a perverse sicko who got off on taking pictures of himself in little girl's underwear. He is afraid only that the world is going to see photos he took of himself with panties dangling from his erection, masturbating on a young girl's bed surrounded with her stuffed animals, and wearing a young girl's panties stained with blood as a mask with the stain over his nose. I only hope this vile monster is suffering greatly, day after day, being confined in his little cell.

For those who want the facts on this case, this book is definitely the one to read, and the author did a great job putting it all down on paper, but as other reviewers said, this is not for the faint of heart. It is extremely graphic and equally heartwrenching. After reading what little is in this book about the case, and knowing there is much more that was not disclosed, I can only imagine the pain that the families left behind suffer. Particularly Lloyd's, because she was held for so long, and in knowing that she never put up a fight. I hope somehow they find peace. Nobody should have to suffer like that, not Lloyd or her family.

The opening chapters of this book are almost too intense. They are an account of Russell Williams’ escalating crimes, one after the other. Offense piles on offense, fetish on fetish. As he creeps from sinister panty raids to murder, you might feel yourself being violated just reading this. But I believed it was important to finish the book in order to get some understanding of how such aberrations develop in people.

The author of this book was a process=server who had occasion to deliver notice of a civil law suit to Williams after the Colonel had been imprisoned for the criminal aspect of his actions. So David Gibb was in a good position to assess and write about the sequence of Williams’ crimes and conviction. Unfortunately, the Canadian system of justice and Government allows numerous gag orders to persist, hindering journalists from gaining access to criminals after the fact. So Gibb wasn’t able to personally interview Williams. (However a tape of the police interrogation that led to Williams’ confession is considered a model of interview technique and is widely available, even having aired on several true crime TV shows.)

The author of “Camouflaged” was also stone-walled by most of Williams’ relatives and acquaintances. Neither Williams’ wife nor his school-days girlfriends were available to be interviewed. But some summaries of the extensive photo record Williams kept of his crimes, and the journals he wrote detailing his actions, were available. However, much of Gibb’s final analysis of Williams’ devolution from respected Air Force Colonel to sexual sadist is based on FBI profiling generalizations. Gibb extensively quotes Stone’s “Anatomy of Evil,” a book I personally hadn’t found to be too enlightening in its classification of criminal types.

Williams doesn’t easily fit into any of the FBI categories of types of sexual predators. But “Camouflaged” does at least offer some brief insights into how such extreme fetishes as his might develop, insights I hadn’t found in other books. Gibb also suggests how medication, mid-life crisis, and Williams’ inflating ego might have all contributed to his crossing the line from fantasy into practice. Finally, the author considers such issues as what role viewing pornography might play in such criminals behavior.

Overall, this is a valuable record of the etiology of a dangerous perversity. It can also serve as a cautionary tale – warning how little we might actually know about the people we think we know – and how little we might actually know even about ourselves and our own potential for evil.

It contains gruesome information of how the killer repeatedly raped and killed his victims. The details are accurate because the killer video and photo recorded them himself. I agreed with the author when he wrote in the introduction that the details were necessary to understand the real personality of the killer. The vivid details scared the wit out of me. They made me deeply sympathized with the victims too.

The shocking thing is nobody knew Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams was a rapist and a killer until he was arrested. He was hiding in plain sight. The book contains a deep psychological profile of him but it does not help us to find out why he became such a person. So far, nobody has been able to predict that. This profile shows the author, Mr. Gibb, has done a thorough research. His writing is easy to understand, coherent and to the point.

I also read another book on the same killer. That book is not as good as this one because it omits lots of details. Furthermore, its writing style is not this good.

I've already read another book on this subject which came out earlier this year. I noticed that Camouflaged Killer covered some things not in the other book, namely, a blow by blow account of what's in the video tapes which recorded him humiliating, torturing and killing the women, and an evaluation by a psychiatrist, who categorizes Col Williams' mental disorders. So it is more complete. Other than that, everything else has been shown on TV and also in newspapers.

I think adding those details about the torture/rape/murder is very disrespectful to the victims' families. If those things could not be metioned in the local news, why were they allowed to be published in a book? What kind of curiosity seekers would want to know those things? I skipped many sections because I felt grossed out.

Also a suggestion - very little has ever been written about Col Williams' wife. How could she not have noticed anything, especially when she shared the same computer where he recorded everything? It was interesting that in Camouflaged Killer, the psychiatrist at the end suggested that she must have shared some of his kinky interests. Also it was interesting that she accused the police of damaging her floors, when they had not. What's the matter with her?

I have read several books on this man's rampage and this is the best. Very, very detailed coverage of killings and life of Colonel Williams. You will be amazed by his audacity. It's truly a lesson on "serial killers not looking like ogers"; they are normal people to the outside world and sometimes highly successful. This man should be studied like a research animal.
I liked the ending where he tried to define this creature; but, could not put a label on him because he crossed over so many lines. And the Canadian court system...they coddle their criminals too much. Bet he is having a great time reminiscing about his rapes, peepings, killings, etc. And surely his wife knew something was amiss. Who goes jogging at midnight in all black clothes and takes a camera with them. Put 2 and 2 together people. Great job by police in his capture.

David A. Gibb's "Camouflaged Killer: The Shocking Double Life of Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams" is a solid and terrifying narrative of a serial rapist, murderer, Peeping Tom, and fetish burglar/home invader, a creep if there ever was one.

If Colonel Williams was an ordinary man, this story would be chilling enough. Instead, Colonel Russell Williams was the Commanding General of Canada's largest Air Force Base. Williams was a respected leader as well as a fully qualified pilot in Canada's most elite flying unit. He was the senior pilot on flights that included Canada's top leaders, the Prime Minister, even the Royal Family. A remarkable photo in the photo package is of Williams posing with Britain's Queen Elizabeth.

Gibb's narrative raises almost as many questions as it answers. What could have prompted Williams in his mid-40's to suddenly begin his duplicitous behavior and commit these heinous acts of crime? Was it job stress? Was it some black demon in his psyche that Williams could no longer contain?

Author Gibb probes for full answers to these questions. Williams himself seems unable to understand his own motives and state of mind. While Williams takes responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty, thus saving victims, victim families and the Government of Canada the stress and cost of a trial, many issues remain open and unresolved.

Williams was a consummate analyst and planner, a cunning strategist and sly tactician. His military background served him well. He got away in part with his creepy behavior for a long time because police investigations in different jurisdictions were stove-pipe operations with limited sharing and poor communication. It took citizen involvement by victims to enable police to finally put things together.

What turns a man of education, privilege and extraordinary career success into such a creep? Gibb's repeated attempts to interview Williams' wife and parents were refused. Their input might have shed some light but then again, maybe not. In the final analysis, Gibb cannot provide the answer.

This is an excellent book on the crime's committed by Russell William's. It is not for the "faint at heart" as it is very descriptive. The author has done excellent research. This is hard to put down. I highly recommend this true crime book!!!

An excellent book about a Col. in the Canadian Air Force who was not only a top notch flier and commander, but also an incredibly sick sexual predator. Covers his career, youth, details of his crimes, pursuit and capture, along with the trial and aftermath. A good read.

I saw this story on Lifetime movie net work. Crazy stuff !!! I have not read this one yet. I will when I can.

Russell Williams, the former commander of Canada's largest military airfield, was convicted in October of first-degree murder in the sex slayings of two Ontario women, Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 38, and Jessica Lloyd, 27. He also pleaded guilty to 82 fetish break-and-enters and thefts, as well as two sexual assaults. Williams methodically chronicled and catalogued his crimes, shooting videos and still photos of himself in the act and amassing a huge collection of undergarments stolen from women and girls. Dozens of gruesome photos were shown during his trial. He is currently serving a life sentence in Kingston Penitentiary and can apply for unsupervised release, including day parole, after serving 22 years of his sentence. The Canadian Forces stripped him of his rank of colonel after his conviction. Excerpted from David Gibb's "Camouflaged Killer: The Shocking Double Life of Canadian Air Force Colonel Russell Williams," Published by Berkley 2011 and distributed by Penguin Group (Canada), in bookstores Oct. 4. Also available in the U.K. as EVIL IN PLAY SIGHT [Y Books, Ireland].

This post blends excerpts from multiple chapters. WARNING: Some content is graphic and may offend readers. Discretion is advised.

Five serene minutes passed as the large shadowy figure towered motionless, looming over the bed of his chosen prey: a pretty young blonde. He admired her petite frame as she slept peacefully, clad only in a pink camisole and pajama bottoms, and was quickly aroused by his own vivid imagery of what was about to occur. His mind raced as his heart pumped furiously. He didn't understand his compulsion, his need to act out the fantasies that had enslaved him. He just knew that his deviant urges owned him. It was, plain and simple, something he had to do. He was merely a puppet to his perverse sexual desires. But his choice of victim was easier to explain. She had to be attractive, and she had to live alone. Males were not part of the equation; they were a risk he'd sooner avoid.

Contemplating his next move, as he had done countless times before, he imagined his tender victim's terrified response. He'd enjoy asserting his dominance over his vulnerable prey; her forced submission and eventual surrender to his goal. He struck her hard on the left side of her head, jolting her awake. The struggle began instantaneously.