OTTAWA, (Reuters) – Canadian police said yesterday  they are looking at reopening cold cases of slain women after  having laid murder charges against the commanding officer of  the country’s largest military air base.

Col. Russell Williams was charged on Sunday with the murder  of two women, one of them a soldier at his air force base in  Trenton, Ontario. Williams, who is 46 years old and married, is  also charged with the sexual assault of two other women after  having broken into their homes. For now he has been relieved of  his duties.

Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kristine Rae said  investigators were still collecting evidence on the homicide  and assault cases.

“As the investigation progresses, they will be looking at  other cases that come to our attention and looking for  similarities, as we did with these cases,” she said.

News of the charges shocked the small communities in  eastern Ontario that are at the center of the police  investigation, as well as Canadian Forces Base Trenton, which  handles tactical air support flights for Canada’s combat  mission in Afghanistan and relief flights for Haiti.

A spokesman for the air base said Trenton would press  ahead with its military and relief operations regardless of the  news.