TORONTO (AP) — Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who committed a string of killings near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, luring his female victims to a pig farm, has died after being assaulted in prison, authorities said Friday. He was 74.
Correctional Service Canada said in a statement that Pickton, an inmate at Port-Cartier prison in Quebec, died in hospital from injuries sustained during an assault involving other inmates on May 19. Pickton was one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers and his case attracted international attention.
Police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu said earlier this month that a 51-year-old inmate was in custody for allegedly assaulting Pickton.
Robert “Willie” Pickton was charged with the murders of 26 women and convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison with a maximum non-parole period of 25 years.
Police began searching Pickton Farm in the Vancouver suburb of Port Coquitlam more than 22 years ago as part of a years-long investigation into the disappearances of dozens of women, marginalized sex workers and drug addicts from Vancouver’s seediest neighborhoods.
The remains or DNA of 33 women were found at the farm, although Pickton had once bragged to an undercover police officer that he had murdered a total of 49 women.
During the trial, prosecution witness Andrew Bellwood said Pickton had told him how he had strangled his victims and fed their bodies to pigs. Health officials had previously issued a tainted meat warning to nearby residents who may have bought pork from Pickton’s farm, concerned that the meat might contain human remains.
Cynthia Cardinal, whose sister Georgina Papin was murdered by Mr Pickton, said Mr Pickton’s death means she can finally move on from her sister’s murder.
“This will bring healing to most, if not all, families,” she said. “I’m like, wow, finally, I can move on, I can heal, I can put this behind me.”
Vancouver police were criticized for not taking the cases seriously because many of the missing were sex workers or drug users.
Correctional Service Canada said it is investigating the attack on Pickton.
“The investigation will examine all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the assault, including whether policies and procedures were followed,” police said in a statement. “We recognize that this perpetrator’s case has had a devastating impact on communities across British Columbia and the country, including Indigenous people, the victims and their families, and our hearts go out to them.”
The six victims identified as Pickton’s were: Selina Abbotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesberry, Brenda Ann Wolf, Papin and Marnie Frey.
“Earlier today, we learned of the death of an inmate at Port-Cartier prison,” Public Security Minister Dominic Leblanc said in a statement. “At this time, our hearts go out to the family of the victim of this individual’s heinous crime.”
At the time of Picton’s sentencing, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice James Williams said the case was “a rare case that properly justifies the maximum non-parole period that the court can grant.”
