Gone was the poised self-assurance, displaced by a tired, blank stare.

He spoke just seven words: His name - David Russell Williams - and a mumbled “Thank you, Your Honor,” when his two-minute court appearance wrapped up. But as Colonel Russell Williams gazed into the video camera, clad in an orange prison-issue jumpsuit, stubble on his chin, the packed courtroom was agog.

Commander of Canada's sprawling 8 Wing/CFB Trenton military base until he was charged last week with two counts of first-degree murder and two of sexual assault, Col. Williams addressed the court from the Quinte detention center in Napanee, Ontario. His case was put over until March 25.

Among the spectators was Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Tony O’Keeffe, director of cadets at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Outside court, Col. O’Keeffe said he would be monitoring the criminal proceedings as “the eyes and ears” of the military, and that he would travel to Quinte later in the day to meet Col. Williams, “in a professional capacity to disclose to him his rights and explain exactly what’s happening to him as this case unfolds … he’s being officially relieved of command at 8 Wing/Trenton.”

Col. O’Keeffe added that after knowing Col. Williams for nine years, he could not find words to convey his shock at the events.