2002-08-23  Argument over kids preceded shooting 

2002-08-22  Dundas man killed outside home

2002-08-22  Man shot in front of wife

2002-08-22  Hamilton, Ontario father gunned down by ex wife during custody dispute

2002-08-22  Dundas father of four gunned down at home

P.E.I. woman loses murder appeal,  May 23, 2007

2007-06-223  P.E.I. woman loses murder appeal

A former resident of Crapaud, P.E.I., has lost an appeal of her second-degree murder conviction in Ontario.

Ruth Anne Willis was found guilty in 2005 of killing her ex-husband, Russell Bailey.

Willis left her home in Crapaud in the summer of 2002 and travelled to Dundas, Ont. There, she showed up at Bailey's home and shot him eight times with a .22-calibre semi-automatic pistol.

Bailey and Willis had been in a child custody dispute.

She was convicted of second-degree murder in Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The conviction brought an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 to 25 years. Justice John Cavarzan sentenced Willis to a minimum of 13 years in prison.

Willis appealed both her conviction and her sentence.

The Ontario Court of Appeal rejected both those appeals, saying no error was made in either the jury's decision to convict Willis or the judge's sentence.

When is it okay to blame the victim in a case of domestic violence that leads to murder? When the victim is male.

Consider the case of Ruth Anne Willis and her ex-husband Russell Bailey. Willis and Bailey were divorced in 1996 and Willis was granted sole custody of their two daughters, and Bailey was granted visitation every other week and one evening per week. Ms. Willis later relocated her daughters in the Summer of 2001 over Bailey’s objections.

As divorce lawyer Larissa Fedak told the Dundas Star News, the family law process worked very well for Willis until recently when a dispute arose about where her youngest daughter would attend the Canadian equivalent of high school.

The daughter wanted to attend a private school near Bailey’s residence. Willis apparently was vehemently opposed to any sort of private education. After discussing with his daughter her desire to attend the private school, Bailey decided to file for sole custody of his younger daughter in order to allow her to attend the school. Apparently Willis believed that he was likely to succeed.

So on one of the weekends in which Bailey’s younger daughter was visiting him, Willis drove with her 15-month old baby to confront him. While Bailey was on the phone with a 911 operator, Willis put the baby down in its seat, picked up a semi-automatic gun, and shot Bailey 8 times, including once in the head while he was on the ground. Willis tried to continue shooting, but the gun failed to fire on the 9th shot.

Willis was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the first 13 years of her life sentence. She is considering appealing the sentence.

Anyway, what caught my eye was this assessment from Sally Palmer, professor emeritus of McMaster University’s social work program, who told the Dundas Star News,

The seeds for the murder are in the violent relationship that started long before the custody issue, and it’s really impossible for us to know whether one parent contributed more to this than the other. But they were both guilty of putting their own needs before those of their two daughters by engaging in mutual violence.

Color me skeptical, but I can’t imagine Palmer making the ludicrous claim above if Bailey had murdered Willis rather than vice versa. It’s amazing how there’s no excuse for interpersonal violence . . . except, of course, when there is.

Dundas shooting highlights emotion of custody battles, 2005-01-28

2005-01-28  Dundas shooting highlights emotion of custody battles

Divorce and custody arrangements have to be handled much differently, several observers say, to avoid the kind of conflict that led Ruth-Anne Willis, 39 <poor thing> to shoot her ex-husband Russell Bailey to death outside his Dundas home.

Ms. Willis was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 13 years, last week. She had been convicted by a jury of second degree murder a couple of months earlier. Her attack concluded a bitter custody dispute which had reached an all new level of tension.

Larissa Fedak, a Dundas resident and lawyer who handles both criminal and family law cases, followed the Willis case fairly closely. She said it was an unusual story, but reinforces the need for partners to seek counselling.
“The problem I see in family law cases is that in some cases the parents forget to love their kids more than they hate their ex-partner,” Ms. Fedak said.

“It’s hard to legislate mature responsible behavior. It’s hard to legislate and implement a method to help the parents focus on what’s best for their children, because the parents get so wrapped up in themselves and their personal hurt.” <BALONEY  see Equal Parenting How-To's>

Like Ms. Fedak, Brian Jenkins of the non-custodial parents support group Father’s are Capable Too, believes mediation and communication must take precedence over court dates.

“These types of things happen all the time, unfortunately, in divorces.

That’s typical,” Mr. Jenkins said. “But it’s not typical to shoot somebody.

The whole issue of custody and ownership creates unreasonable expectations. It’s a winner-take-all system, where emotion has really gotten to be a problem.”  He agreed with Ms. Fedak in finding the 13-year parole ineligibility acceptable.

Mr. Jenkins said mediation is preferable to a system where the lines of communication between parents and children are not open.

People get so upset about going back to court, they resort to getting a gun and shooting someone.

“I’m being denied access to my daughter. I need access to my daughter,” Ms.Willis could be heard yelling in the background of a 911 call.

It was her ex-husband, Russell Bailey, who made the call. He was speaking to operator Jennifer Moreton at exactly 11:57 a.m., Aug. 21, 2002, from the front lawn of his home at 63 Watson’s Lane.

“I have an ex-wife who’s really creating a disturbance,” he said.

“Your ex-wife and you are arguing?” Ms. Moreton responded.

“Oh, yep. She’s trying to break into the house.” 

Ms. Willis can be heard in the background saying: “I am not.”  The operator asks Mr. Bailey if his ex-wife is carrying any weapons, and if she’s been drinking.

“No,” he answered. “She just wants to see her daughter.”

“Does she have conditions not to?”

“No. It’s just that her daughter doesn’t want to see her.”

“What’s your name?”

“Russell.”

“Russell...what?”

“Yeah.”

With the sound of two gunshots, the line went dead. It was 11:59 a.m.

Ms. Willis had retrieved the gun from the Ruffin’s Pet Store truck, parked in her ex-husband’s Watson’s Lane driveway. She had not carried it to the door, moments earlier, when she began banging on the door and demanding to talk to 14-year-old Torri, the youngest of two daughters she shared with Mr. Bailey.

In her arms. Ms. Willis carried a 15-month old baby, fathered by her new husband Glen Willis of Crapaud, P.E.I.

Ms. Willis drove the truck, all the way from the tiny Atlantic town, when she learned Torri was about to be in enrolled in Oakville’s Appleby College - against her mother’s wishes.

While Mr. Bailey spoke to the 911 operator, assuring her Ms. Willis had no weapon, she strapped the infant into a car seat, picked up the semi-automatic pistol loaded with nine shells and approached her ex-husband.

She fired eight times, hitting Mr. Bailey five times in the chest, twice in the neck, and once in the head as he lay on the ground. On the ninth shot, the gun did not fire.

Const. Jeff Wood was assigned to clear 63 Watson’s Lane. He entered the home to be sure the shooter - or any other victims - were not inside.

“When I arrive in the basement, I found the children in a room,” Const. Wood said.

Torri, the 14-year-old daughter of Mr. Bailey and Ms. Willis hid in the basement with her two step-sisters and one step-brother, when her mother began banging on the door that morning.

“I had a lot of conversation with Torri Bailey,” Const. Wood said. “She gave me a lot of information about her mother.”

Torri gave the officer information about her mother’s truck, her licence plate and the address of her grandfather’s Milton home - where Ms. Willis was staying. Const. Wood relayed the details to the police dispatcher.

“She mentioned that her mother was mad. She was upset about some things... that (Torri) wasn’t returning to PEI,” Const. Wood said.

“I got the opinion that she was torn between the two, but she wanted to go to the private school. That she was looking forward to going, if she could.”

Russell and Ruth Anne were married in March 1982. They separated 10 years later. Their final divorce agreement was filed with the court in July 1996. She was granted sole custody of their two daughters, while Mr. Bailey was guaranteed access every second weekend and one evening each week. Spousal support was waived, as both parents were self-supporting. Mr. Bailey paid $1,100 a month in child support.

The divorce agreement included a Parenting Plan which stated: “They agree both parents must have access to children and be involved in their lives.” There also was a relocation clause which required Ms. Willis to give 60 days notice to her ex-husband if she moved the girls’ primary residence outside of Halton or Hamilton-Wentworth.

There was some confusion whether or not that notification actually took place. But Ms. Willis did successfully relocate her daughters to Crapaud, P.E.I. with her new husband, Glen, in the summer of 2001.

“Before graduating from Grade 8, Torri told her mother she wanted to return to Ontario and attend Appleby College,” Justice John Cavarzan said before announcing the sentence last week.

“Ruth Anne was adamantly opposed to private school education.”

Mr. Bailey’s father offered to send all his grandchildren to Appleby College. Torri’s older sister, who passed on Appleby due to her mother’s opposition, relocated to Ontario and prepared to enter university.

Ms. Willis travelled from P.E.I. to her father’s home in Milton, afraid Torri might not return to the small east coast town.

While here, Ms. Willis was notified of a custody hearing to take place on Aug. 22. Mr. Bailey applied for full custody, with his daughter’s support.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 21, Ms. Willis loaded her father’s gun and travelled to 63 Watson’s Lane. She entered the home and stole a phone, and purse belonging to Judith Bailey, Russell’s new wife.

Ms. Willis returned less than eight hours later to confront her ex-husband.

According to Crown attorney Joe Nadel: “She wanted to kill him to prevent him from having more influence on her daughter’s life. She hated this man.

“She knew her husband was going to get custody and she killed him to prevent him from getting custody.”

Larissa Fedak has been involved in several divorce and custody cases. She says the threat of violence is usually directed from a man to a woman, and usually the super-charged emotion subsides as time passes.

But in the Willis-Bailey case, she observed, the irrationality and hostility only seemed to increase as time passed.

“The parents hated each other more than they loved their kids and again this is unusual,” Ms. Fedak said.

Despite relocation being one of the most difficult areas of family law, she noted that Ms. Willis was able to move the two girls far away from their father - who shared very open custody agreement with is ex-wife.

“The larger the role in the children’s lives of the other parent, the harder it is to move.”

But Ms. Fedak pointed out that custody is never final. And as the girls got older, their wishes would be taken more seriously by the courts and a court would probably have looked favourably on Torri’s interest in leaving PEI and attending Appleby College.

“To me, this is not a choice between the two parents anymore,” Ms. Fedak said. “Both parents would have to let go, little by little as their kids got older.”

She explained the family law process worked effectively for Ms. Willis. She mitigated, litigated and negotiated. She was successful in applying family law to her case. But that changed.

“When she anticipated the family law would no longer assist, she took matters into her own hands. And guess what, Torri still went to Appleby College.”

But Sally Palmer, professor emeritus of McMaster University’s social work program, doesn’t think the custody fight caused murder.

“The seeds for the murder are in the violent relationship that started long before the custody issue, and it’s really impossible for us to know whether one parent contributed more to this than the other,” Ms. Palmer said.
“But they were both guilty of putting their own needs before those of their two daughters by engaging in mutual violence.”

The Bailey-Willis case is still far from over.

Jeff Manishen, Ms. Willis’ defence attorney, expects appeals of both the second degree murder conviction, and the 13-year parole ineligibility sentence.

The Crown is satisfied with the decision, though Mr. Nadel requested a 17-year wait for parole eligibility. Mr. Manishen requested a 10-year wait, and still feels he presented case law that supported that.

But Mr. Manishen figures there’s enough basis for a new trial for Ruth Anne Willis. And he believes that with the extra evidence, a jury might lower the conviction to manslaughter. The previous jury found her not guilty of first degree murder.

Hamilton, Ontario father <Russell Bailey> gunned down by ex wife during custody dispute

2002-08-22  Hamilton, Ontario father gunned down by ex wife during custody dispute 

"Dundas father of four gunned down at home" Victim's former wife is arrested

A Dundas father of four was gunned down at his front door yesterday after a bitter argument over child custody ended in gunfire.  Bailey Russell, 42, collapsed on the front steps of his Watson's Lane home after several shots were fired just before noon. The man's wife and four children, who were at home, were not injured.

Ruth-Anne Willis, 39, identified by Hamilton police as the victim's former wife, was arrested by Halton police about an hour later. The Prince Edward Island resident is to appear in a Hamilton courtroom this morning.  The slaying is Hamilton's sixth homicide this year.

Staff Sergeant Warren Korol of the police major crimes unit said last night Russell was pronounced dead at McMaster University Medical Centre. 

Police Superintendent Terry Sullivan said a woman who left the house in a red pickup truck bearing Prince Edward Island plates moments after the shooting was stopped and arrested by Halton police on Dundas Street about an hour after the incident. A handgun was seized and the vehicle was impounded.

Earlier, neighbors who had called police to report a loud dispute at the house found the man's present wife kneeling on the grass beside him screaming.  

"Wake me up!" she cried. "Wake me up! This has got to be a dream. My husband's dead."

The distraught woman was comforted by friends and neighbours and taken to McMaster University Medical Centre by ambulance.

A Halton officer spotted the wanted pickup truck going east on Dundas Street near Appleby Line at 1 p.m. Staff Sergeant Andrew Fletcher said the officer called in backup cruisers and the Halton tactical squad to stop the car and arrest the man and woman in it. Both were taken into Hamilton police custody.

Korol said the woman had stopped at a friend's home in Burlington and found no one home.   One of this person's neighbours realized she was upset and offered to drive her toward Oakville. He had no connection to the events in Dundas.  

A member of the suspect's family told The Spectator yesterday the woman had been married to the victim and they had two daughters. The couple separated 10 years ago.  He said the woman recently came from Prince Edward Island, where she lives with her current husband, and went to the Watson's Lane home to discuss custody of their younger daughter.

Four young children were in the home when the shooting occurred. It is believed they were in the basement when the shots were fired. Police and victims' services staff sent to the house kept the four youngsters out of sight in the back yard while detectives searched the area. Arrangements were made for grandparents and other relatives to take the children.

Sullivan could not say how long Willis had been in the Hamilton area.

He said police were already on their way to the home, in response to the reported domestic dispute -- a priority call -- when calls flooded into 911 to report shots being fired, a description of a truck leaving the scene and the fact there was man dead on the lawn.

The shooting shocked neighbours on the quiet, tree-lined street nestled at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment. The family bought the two-storey grey brick home with a basketball hoop beside the driveway in December. Few of them knew the family other than to wave or say hi at the local variety store.

Julia Donnelley, who lives west of the scene, and her brother Dan Hull, of Burlington, were in her back-yard watching kids in the swimming pool when the shots were fired.  "There were quite a few. It was repetitive, like one right after another over and over."

Other neighbours, who declined to give their names, said they were horrified the gunfire took place in front of the home, because many children play on the street.

"What if there had been a stray shot or a ricochet? Who knows who might have got hit," said one man who lives across the road. "There are often a lot of kids out at noon."

Donnelley, who moved into the area two years ago because she liked it, said neighbours feel like family.

She chose the area "for the security of good neighbours," she said.

"This is very sickening."

*Anyone with information about the shooting should contact Detective Dave Place at 905-546-3874. You can contact John Burman at jburman@hamiltonspectator.com or at 905-526-2469. You can contact Lori Fazari at lfazari@hamiltonspectator.com or at 905-526-3993.
 

Mystery surrounds Dundas shooting death <Russell Bailey>

2002-08-25  Mystery surrounds Dundas shooting death <Russell Bailey> 

HAMILTON - The reasons for Wednesday's front-porch shooting of Russell Bailey, a twice-married father of four, are still shrouded in uncertainty and speculation.

Police have charged his ex-wife, Ruth-Anne Willis, with first-degree murder, and say a simmering argument over access to their children boiled over in an angry confrontation that ended with Bailey shot dead on the concrete steps of his Dundas home.

Two days of interviews with neighbours, friends, police, and family, and an examination of the couple's divorce and custody battle documents in the Milton courthouse, leave almost as many questions as answers. There's little on the record that would suggest any reason either of them would resort to such extreme violence.

What is certain is that Willis appeared briefly before Justice of the peace Cathy Woron at Hamilton's John Sopinka courthouse yesterday and was remanded in custody. The 39-year-old pet food store owner looked calm, but tired, rubbing her eyes and then standing quietly in the prisoner's dock as her case was put over until Aug. 29.

But the calm may be deceiving. Prison officials dressed Willis in a special white jumpsuit issued to prisoners considered a suicide risk.

Ruth-Anne Willis grew up in Milton and wanted to be a police officer, a friend of Bailey's said. Instead, at 19, she married Russell George Bailey, a solidly-built young man from a well-to-do family with business interests that stretched through North America and as far afield as China.

Two children came to the couple in the first six years of their marriage and they lived in a number of homes in the Oakville-Burlington-Milton triangle.

Something went wrong and the couple separated in April, 1992. Five months later, Ruth-Anne filed for divorce.

The few court documents not yet archived offer only the slightest hint of rancour in their separation. It took a full four years before the divorce was finalized, suggesting a degree of legal jousting not reflected in the polite legal language of access and visitation rights.

The divorce files available show that, in the end, the couple arrived at what appears to be a very amicable agreement, providing Ruth-Anne with full custody of the children while granting Bailey ample access, including every other weekend, some weeknights, three complete weeks in the summer and alternating holidays. Child support ($1,100 a month) and a civilized dispute resolution process are included.

Both Ruth-Anne and Bailey re-married - he to a woman with two children of her own, and she to Glenn Willis, whose name she took after marrying him.

Bailey and his new wife had two more children together, the Willises at least one other child.

For a time, the two daughters of Ruth-Anne and Bailey appeared to enjoy the parenting of both their biological parents.

But something went wrong not too long ago and the matter ended up in court again.

What's available now is only Bailey's version of events, since Ruth-Anne didn't respond in court.

But in an affidavit sworn by Bailey almost exactly one year to the day before he was murdered, Bailey said he began having trouble seeing his daughters after Ruth-Anne re-married.

Ruth-Anne, Bailey swore, "has attempted to deny access on a number of occasions and intervention has been required by way of police assistance."

Last August, Bailey says he learned that Ruth-Anne was planning to move to Prince Edward Island with their two children and her new husband. And so, on Aug. 23, 2001, Bailey mounted the steps of the Milton courthouse to do battle with his ex-wife.

Ruth-Anne Willis didn't show that day, but Bailey still failed in his attempt to prevent her moving to Prince Edward Island with their two teenage children. He did win a partial victory: a court order granting him access to his daughters "according to the children's wishes."

In his court filings, Bailey insisted his children's wish was to stay with him.

It's unclear if they did; it's likely they moved with their mother to Prince Edward Island.

But something happened recently and it's alleged that Bailey was somehow denying Ruth-Anne access to her youngest daughter. She had apparently gone to Bailey's home on Wednesday to look for their 14-year-old daughter.

A fight ensued, a fight loud enough to get worried neighbours calling the police. Shots were heard and Bailey lay dying while his current wife wailed beside him. Willis was arrested in Burlington an hour after the shooting after police surrounded her red company truck on Dundas Street. They say they found a handgun inside the truck.

Hamilton Police spokesman Maggie McKittrick said the police believe they know the gun's origin, but would only say that it wasn't at Bailey's home before he was shot.

Torstar News Service Legal Notice:- Copyright 1996-2002. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited

Dundas man killed outside home

Ex-wife arrested after father of four shot in child-custody fight

2002-08-22  Dundas man killed outside home

HAMILTON — A Dundas father of four was gunned down at his front door yesterday after a bitter argument over child custody ended in gunfire.

Russell Bailey, 42, collapsed on the front steps of his Watson's Lane home after several shots were fired just before noon. The man's wife and four children, who were at home, were not injured.

Ruth-Anne Willis, 39, identified by Hamilton police as the victim's former wife, was arrested by Halton police about an hour later. The Prince Edward Island resident is to appear in a Hamilton courtroom this morning charged with first-degree murder.

The slaying is Hamilton's sixth homicide of the year.

Bailey was pronounced dead at McMaster University Medical Centre, police said.

Superintendent Terry Sullivan said a woman who left the house in a pickup truck moments after the shooting was stopped and arrested by police on Highway 5. A handgun was seized and the vehicle was impounded.

Earlier, neighbours who had called police to report a loud dispute at the house found the man's current wife kneeling on the grass beside him, screaming.

"Wake me up!" she cried. "Wake me up! This has got to be a dream. My husband's dead."

The distraught woman was comforted by friends and neighbours and taken to McMaster by ambulance.

A Halton officer spotted the wanted truck going east on Highway 5 near Appleby Line at 1 p.m. The officer called in backup cruisers and the tactical squad to stop the car and arrest the man and woman in it, said Staff Sergeant Andrew Fletcher. Both were taken into Hamilton police custody.

The man, who was not in the truck when it left the shooting scene, was detained for questioning.

A member of the suspect's family said the woman had been married to the victim and they had two daughters. They separated 10 years ago.

Four young children were in the home when the shooting occurred. It is believed they were in the basement when the shots were fired.

The shooting shocked neighbours of the quiet, tree-lined street nestled at the foot of the Niagara Escarpment.

Julia Donnelley, who lives near the scene, was in her backyard when the shots were fired.

"There were quite a few," she said. "It was repetitive, like one right after another over and over."

Russell Bailey, RIP August 2002

Russell Bailey of Dundas, ON gunned down by ex wife during custody dispute

Russell Bailey, Dundas, Google Search;
Russell Bailey, Dundas - Google Video

Ruth-Anne Willis, 39

More:  Testimonials:  Bailey, Russell , RIP;
Testimonials:  Lohstroh, Dr. Rick, RIP:   Mother Assisted Patricide