Courtney Cochrane, 29, says it's scary that the same person charged in a break-in at her parents house is also charged with two counts of murder. (Steve Fischer/CBC)Residents of Ottawa's Fallingbrook neighbourhood were unsettled to discover a series of break-ins involving women's undergarments have now been linked to Col. Russell Williams, the former air force base commander accused of killing two women.

Williams, who made a brief court appearance Thursday via video link, faces charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of air force flight attendant Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, who worked at CFB Trenton, and Jessica Lloyd, 27, of Belleville. He has also been charged with home-invasion sex attacks on two women last September in eastern Ontario.

On Thursday he was charged with 82 more offences, including 46 counts related to break-ins around Tweed, where Williams had a cottage.

Two of the charges related to incidents in Belleville, and 34 charges were in connection with break-ins at 25 homes in Ottawa's Fallingbrook neighbourhood, where Williams lived until last year.

Fallingbrook residents were on edge after a series of break-ins dating back to 2007.

Rob Waller, who still lives in the neighbourhood, said that twice in the last two years he saw evidence that someone had tried to break into his home.

"I noticed that this window was cracked and then you can see there someone has jammed a knife or something," Waller said.

Police came to his home and told him and his wife they were taking the break-ins very seriously. Waller, who also has two daughters, said it was very concerning to hear from police about the nature of the crimes.

Break-ins 'peculiar in nature': police

On Oct. 31, 2008, Ottawa police issued a statement to the public to be vigilant after two break-ins that month.

Williams was charged earlier with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jessica Lloyd, 27, and Cpl. Marie-France Comeau, 37, as well as with sexual assaults during two home invasions. (Alex Tavshunsky/CBC)

"It should be noted that the only items taken in the two Break & Enters were women's undergarment[s]," the statement read. "Due to the peculiar nature of these incidents, the Ottawa Police wishes to remind the public to be vigilant and ensure that they secure their home at all times."

Ottawa police spokeswoman Kathy Larouche said the break-ins were "extremely peculiar in nature" and similar in pattern. She said as a result of the charges laid against Williams on Thursday, police consider those two break-in cases to be closed.

The last of the Ottawa break-in charges relates to an Oct. 23, 2009, break-in at Courtney Cochrane's parents' home in the neighbourhood. At the time, the 29-year-old Cochrane was visiting intermittently to feed her parents' pets while they were away. She found a ladder set up beside the house a few days before someone broke in through the side door, suggesting the burglar had been scouting the place out.

Cochrane said she's unnerved by the fact that the same man charged in the break-in has also been accused of killing two women around her age.

"Had he noticed me? Was it my mother? The police were thinking it was me that he had noticed," she said. "What if I was here? … It's scary what could possibly have happened."

Initially, Cochrane said, she thought it might have been a random incident. But after lingerie was taken from a neighbouring home, she began to think the burglar was targeting homes with young women in them.

Williams was arrested Feb. 7 while still in command of the Trenton base. He has been remanded in custody until June 24.

With files from the CBC's Steve Fischer, Evan Dyer and Chad Pawson