Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who took female victims to his pig farm during a crime spree near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has died after being attacked in prison, authorities said Friday. He was 74.
The Correctional Service of Canada said in a statement that Pickton, an inmate at the Port-Cartier Institute in Quebec province, died in hospital after injuries sustained in the May 19 attack involving another inmate.
He was one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers and his case made international headlines.
A 51-year-old inmate was in custody for the attack on Pickton, police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu said earlier this month.
Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who took female victims to his pig farm during a crime spree near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has died after being attacked in prison
Pickton is shown notes during his trial nearly twenty years ago. He was eventually convicted of six murder charges in 2007
Robert “Willie” Pickton was convicted of six counts of manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison, with a maximum parole period of 25 years, in 2007 after being charged with the murders of 26 women.
Police began searching the Pickton ranch in the Vancouver suburb of Port Coquitlam more than 22 years ago in what would become a yearslong investigation into the disappearance of dozens of women from Vancouver’s seediest streets, sex workers and drug addicts living on the edge of society were left behind. .
The remains or DNA of 33 women were found on the farm. Pickton once bragged to an undercover police officer that he had killed a total of 49 women.
During his trial, prosecutor Andrew Bellwood said Pickton told him how he strangled his victims and fed their remains to his pigs.
Health officials once issued a contaminated meat advisory to neighbors who might have purchased pork from Pickton’s farm because they were concerned the meat might contain human remains.
Pickton and his brother operated a drinking club frequented by bikers and prostitutes near their pig farm outside Vancouver
Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigators move debris at a pig farm on February 19, 2002 in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Cynthia Cardinal, whose sister Georgina Papin was killed by Pickton, said Pickton’s death means she can finally move on from her sister’s murder.
“This will bring healing to, I’m not saying all families, I’m just saying most families,” she said. “I’m like – wow, finally. I can actually move on and heal and I can put this behind me.”
Vancouver police have been criticized for not taking the cases seriously, as many of the missing were sex workers or drug users.
The Canadian Correctional Service said it was conducting an investigation into the attack on Pickton.
“The investigation will examine all facts and circumstances surrounding the attack, including whether policies and protocols were followed,” the agency said in the statement.
“We are aware that this perpetrator’s case has had a devastating impact on communities in British Columbia and across the country, including Indigenous peoples, victims and their families. Our thoughts are with them.’
Dozens of women Pickton, now 74, is suspected of murdering during his decades of murderous violence
Forensic investigators gather evidence at Canada’s largest crime scene, at mass murderer Robert Pickton’s pig farm, in the early 2000s
There were six confirmed victims of Pickton: Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Papin and Marnie Frey.
“Earlier today, I was notified of the death of an inmate at the Port-Cartier Institute,” Public Safety Secretary Dominic LeBlanc said in a statement.
“At this time, my thoughts are with the families of the victims of this individual’s heinous crimes.”
At the time of Pickton’s sentencing, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice James Williams said it was a “rare case that properly justifies the maximum period of parole ineligibility available to the court.”
