401869 01: Robert William Pickton is shown in this undated image from a television screen. Pickton and his brother operated a drinking club frequented by bikers and prostitutes near their pig farm outside Vancouver, Canada. Pickton was arrested February 22, 2002 and charged with first-degree murder in connection with two of the 50 women who have disappeared from the Vancouver area in the past two decades.
OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:47 PM – Saturday, June 1, 2024
Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton has died after being assaulted in prison.
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According to authorities, Pickton, 74, passed away on Friday after being beaten in prison.
Pickton, who was being held at Port-Cartier Institution in the province of Quebec, died in a hospital after suffering injuries in an assault on May 19th that involved another prisoner, according to a statement from the Correctional Service of Canada. He was one of the most infamous serial killers in Canada, and news from his case was reported around the world.
According to statements made earlier this month by police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu, a 51-year-old prisoner was being held for the assault on Pickton.
After being accused of killing 26 women, Robert “Willie” Pickton was found guilty of six counts of second-degree murder in 2007 and given a life sentence with a maximum 25-year parole ineligibility period.
Over two decades ago, police initiated a search of the Pickton farm in the Port Coquitlam suburb of Vancouver. This was the start of an extensive investigation that lasted years, as detectives looked into the disappearances of numerous women who worked as prostitutes, were drug users, and lived on the outskirts of society.
Pickton once bragged to a police undercover agent that he had killed 49 women in all, even though 33 women’s remains or DNA were discovered on the farm.
Prosecution witness Andrew Bellwood testified during Pickton’s trial that he was informed by the man about how he strangled his victims and fed their remains to his pigs. A tainted meat advisory was once sent by health officials to nearby residents who might have purchased pork from Pickton’s farm, fearing the meat may have contained human remains.
Cynthia Cardinal, victim Georgina Papin’ sister, said the death of the serial killer means she can finally move on from her sister’s murder.
“This is going to bring healing; I won’t say all families; I’ll just say most of the families,” she said. “I’m like, wow, finally. I can actually move on and heal, and I can put this behind me.”
Canada’s correctional service said it was conducting an investigation into the attack on Pickton.
“The investigation will examine all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the assault, including whether policies and protocols were followed,” the service said in the statement. “We are mindful that this offender’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.”
Only six of Pickton’s victims have been confirmed, which are Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Papin, and Marnie Frey.
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