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Ron Willis

“ I can assure you and the public that this department is doing everything in its power to ensure that the guilty person or persons is apprehended. ”
— Willis talks about the Jigsaw investigation.[src]

Detective Ron Willis is a fictional character from the Saw franchise. He was a minor character in the Full Disclosure Report and The Scott Tibbs Documentary.

He was portrayed by Sven Davison.

Biography

Paul Stallberg's Death

Ron Willis was a homicide detective who worked for the Metropolitan Police Department. At some point in his career, Willis investigated a serial killer case. The first victim was a 46-year-old accountant named Paul Stallberg, who had been reported missing and was found in a vacant building three weeks later. As the police investigated the crime scene, they were shocked to see that Paul had become the victim of a deadly game. The back part of the basement where Paul was trapped was fenced-in and turned into a cage filled with razor wire. Upon examining the crime scene, the investigators found an audiotape that the killer had left for Paul. According to the tape, Paul was supposed to crawl through the razor wire to reach the exit door and save his life. However, the wounds he received while doing so were so severe that he ultimately died of blood loss. After his death, a jigsaw piece was cut from his back, leading to the killer being nicknamed Jigsaw. (Full Disclosure Report)

David Tapp's Disappearance

Several months after the beginning of the murders, Alison and Diana Gordon, the wife and daughter of the renowned oncologist Dr. Lawrence Gordon, were held hostage in their apartment by a hospital orderly named Zep Hindle. Gordon had been considered a prime suspect earlier after his penlight had been found at a previous crime scene. However, he provided the police with an alibi that was eventually confirmed by one of his medical students, Carla. Nonetheless, Detective David Tapp, the lead investigator on the case, was not entirely convinced of the doctor's innocence. When his partner, Detective Steven Sing, died in one of Jigsaw's traps shortly afterward, and Tapp was subsequently discharged from the police force, Tapp's distrust grew into a downright obsession. Convinced that Lawrence was the killer, Tapp rented a run-down flat across the street from the doctor's apartment and focused on observing him from then on. Therefore, Tapp witnessed how Zep Hindle held Gordon's family at gunpoint. Believing that Zep was the Jigsaw Killer, Tapp stormed into the apartment and opened fire on Zep, while Alison grabbed the chance to free her daughter and escaped with her. When the attacker fled, Tapp pursued him in his car. The men were later described to the responding officers.

Therefore, Tapp and Zep were ultimately identified. When Willis and his colleagues searched Tapp's apartment, they discovered that the former detective had become obsessed with his theory of Lawrence Gordon being the Jigsaw Killer. He had wallpapered his flat with countless newspaper articles about anything that had to do with Jigsaw. Besides several notebooks, the officers found an e-mail sent by Tapp to Adam Stanheight, a photographer. Tapp used the alias of "Bob" to hire Adam and suggested meeting each Friday. During these meetings, Tapp wanted to review Adam's progress and give him his weekly payment.

Upon searching Adam's apartment, the investigators discovered that Adam had gone missing the same night as Tapp, Zep, and Dr. Lawrence Gordon. As they examined the flat, they found several photos of the doctor and a destroyed mechanical ventriloquist puppet named Billy in the living room. Jigsaw had used a similar doll during one of his previous games. (Full Disclosure Report)

The Full Disclosure Report

One year later, Willis was interviewed for the Full Disclosure Report, a documentary focusing on Jigsaw's earliest crimes. During the interview, he spoke about Jigsaw's games and the investigation. Besides talking about his investigative work, Willis was also asked about the public resentment toward the police as they seemingly made no significant progress. However, he assured the audience that he and the department did their best to end the murders and apprehend the perpetrators. (Full Disclosure Report)

Eric Matthews' Abduction

Ultimately, Detective Eric Matthews discovered the killer's hideout at the Wilson Steel Plant. As he accompanied his colleagues to the location, they eventually arrested the Jigsaw Killer and identified him as civil engineer John Kramer. However, Kramer had already planned for the police to find him and forced Eric to play one of his deadly games to save the life of his son, Daniel Matthews. Eric accepted the challenge but was outsmarted and taken hostage by Kramer. As the men escaped the building in a hidden elevator, Eric's colleagues called for reinforcements.

Shortly afterward, Detective Willis arrived at the Wilson Steel Plant. After he and his colleagues secured the area, Detective Jenkins gave a press conference outside the building and confirmed the identification and escape of John Kramer. Additionally, he told the press that Kramer had taken Eric as his hostage while eluding custody. Therefore, Jenkins encouraged the audience to come to the police if they had any information about John Kramer and his whereabouts. Finally, he appealed to John to show mercy to Eric just like he had shown mercy to Daniel before. (The Scott Tibbs Documentary)

Personality

Ron Willis was a dedicated detective, eager to solve the Jigsaw case and end the killer's deadly games for good. At the same time, he was loyal to his department. As the investigation did not lead to significant results and the police subsequently experienced public resentment, Willis used the interview for the Full Disclosure Report to defend his and his colleagues' work on the case.

However, Willis was not necessarily opposed to bending the law if it served the purpose of dealing with criminals more effectively. When addressing public accusations of police brutality against his colleague, Eric Matthews, Willis openly supported the latter's actions by stating that they had to deal with the "dregs of society," and sometimes, stricter methods were necessary to apprehend the "bad guy." These statements indicate that Willis considered himself and his colleagues to be on the moral high ground.

Appearances and References