Jury Convicts Robert Pickton of Six Counts of Second-Degree Murder, Rejecting First-Degree Charges
The women vanished from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and their remains were found on Pickton's farm. Two days later, he received the maximum parole wait.
Published
More than five years after police raided his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Robert Pickton was convicted of murder for the first time. On December 9, 2007, a jury in New Westminster found him guilty of six counts of second-degree murder.
The jury rejected the Crown's first-degree charges, finding that the killings had not been planned. The six women were Sereena Abotsway, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Mona Wilson and Brenda Wolfe, all from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Their remains were found on Pickton's farm, but he denied responsibility for their deaths. "It's a life sentence," said Michael Petrie, who led the Crown's case. Pickton, 58, still faced 20 more first-degree murder charges.
On December 11, Justice James Williams sentenced Pickton to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years, the maximum for second-degree murder. Pickton's lawyer had asked for parole eligibility after 10 to 20 years, but the judge rejected that, saying Pickton had shown no remorse.
Sources
- Canada serial killer given maximum sentence, JURIST
- Pickton Guilty of Second-Degree Murder, The Tyee
- Pig farmer guilty of killing 6, Philadelphia Daily News (inquirer.com)
Related News
- January 22, 2007: Jury Hears the Crown's Case Against Robert Pickton: An Alleged Admission to Killing 49 Women
- June 25, 2009: B.C. Court of Appeal Upholds Robert Pickton's Six Murder Convictions in a 2-1 Ruling That Opens a Supreme Court Appeal
- July 30, 2010: Supreme Court of Canada Upholds Robert Pickton's Six Murder Convictions, Ending His Bid for a New Trial
- December 17, 2012: B.C. Missing Women Inquiry Finds Police Investigations Into Pickton's Victims Were a 'Blatant Failure'
- May 31, 2024: Robert Pickton Dies of Injuries From an Attack by Another Inmate at a Quebec Prison
In the Archive
- Robert William Pickton
- ROBERT PICKTON QUESTIONED BY THE COQUITLAM RCMP, JANUARY 19, 2000
- 2002 THE PICKTON INTERROGATION PART FOUR
- 2002 THE PICKTON INTERROGATION PART THREE
- 2002 THE PICKTON INTERROGATION PART TWO
- 2002 THE PICKTON INTERROGATION PART ONE
- ROBERT PICKTON: THE PIG FARM
- INFAMOUS AND TERRIFYING HOUSES OF MURDER
- SERIAL KILLERS AND HIDING BODIES
- TWELVE ESCAPES THAT DID THE INVESTIGATION'S WORK
- THIS DAY IN SERIAL KILLER HISTORY
- SERIAL KILLER METHODS OF DISPOSAL