Mary Elizabeth Harriman speaks out for the first time—in court documents
Four months after her husband was charged with two murders and two sexual assaults—crimes that rocked not only the military, but the entire country—Col. Russell Williams’ wife has broken her silence. In a sworn affidavit filed in a Belleville, Ont., court, Mary Elizabeth Harriman says “the revelation of these charges has been devastating to me.” Williams, the former commander of CFB Trenton, was arrested in February and accused of killing two women and sexually assaulting two others, and in April, he was slapped with 82 more charges, most of them home invasions involving the theft of women’s underwear. Apart from the criminal charges, Williams is also facing a $2.45-million civil lawsuit filed by one of his alleged assault victims, who claims that he “fraudulently” transferred ownership of his Ottawa condo to his wife to avoid paying damages. In her affidavit, Harriman, an associate executive director at the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, insists there was “nothing untoward or suspicious about the transfer.” She continues: “As a result of the charges, my previously anticipated future and financial security had become jeopardized.”