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Russell Williams play will sensationalize his crimes, says victim’s friend

A friend of a woman murdered by sex killer Russell Williams says an upcoming stage production based on his police interrogation will sensationalize his crimes.

Kirsten Walkom says the grief experienced by Williams’ victims and their loved ones is not meant for entertainment.

READ MORE: Toronto theatre company to develop play based on Russell Williams interrogation

The One Little Goat Theatre Company of Toronto plans to premiere “Smyth-Williams” in March.

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It will have an all-female cast that will alternate the roles of Ontario Provincial Police Detective Sergeant Jim Smyth and Williams through the performance.

The company says the play aims to raise awareness of sexual violence against women.

Former Canadian Col. Russell Williams is shown in a court-released image from his interrrogation by police captured on video and shown in a Belleville, Ont. courtroom. A Toronto-based theatre company is developing a play based on the intense police interrogation in which convicted sex killer Russell Williams confessed his crimes.
Former Canadian Col. Russell Williams is shown in a court-released image from his interrrogation by police captured on video and shown in a Belleville, Ont. courtroom. A Toronto-based theatre company is developing a play based on the intense police interrogation in which convicted sex killer Russell Williams confessed his crimes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

But Walkom says the play makes the victims’ families feel exploited and should be cancelled.

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Williams was sentenced to life in prison in October 2010 after pleading guilty to the murders of two women, 37-year-old Corporal Marie-France Comeau and 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd.

Williams was a colonel, and commander of CFB Trenton at the time.

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