A notorious serial killer accused of killing over 40 women and girls in Canada recently died behind bars. Robert Pickton reportedly was killed in a brutal prison beatdown, the Independent reported.
The 74-year-old convicted killer was initially hospitalized after sustaining injuries from an alleged attack by a fellow inmate last month at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution, nearly 300 miles northeast of Quebec City, CBC reported.
The notorious murderer was put in a medically induced coma and on life support in the days leading up to his death. A 51-year-old inmate was held in custody in connection with the attack on Pickton, police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu said, the New York Post reported.
The man was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2007.
Pickton was charged with the murders of 26 women in B.C. Georgina Papin, Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, and Marnie Frey were identified as confirmed victims after the investigation, CBC reported. He had admitted to feeding the remains of his victims to pigs, reported the New York Post.
Remains and DNA of 33 more women, many of whom were Indigenous, were found on Pickton's pig farm, where he allegedly also buried his victims. Pickton had once bragged to an undercover police officer that he had murdered 49 women.
A relative of one of the victims rejoiced at the news of his death. “This is gonna bring healing for, I won’t say all families, I’ll just say most of the families,” said Cynthia Cardinal, sister of victim Georgina Papin, reported the New York Post. "I’m like — wow, finally. I can actually move on and heal, and I can put this behind me,” she added.
After his conviction, an inquiry was launched to analyze how police handled the case. Missing Women Commission of Inquiry concluded that several factors like botched investigations, systemic bias, leadership issues, and fragmented police structures in the Metro Vancouver area caused delays in catching the criminal, CBC reported.
One of the biggest revelations to come from the inquiry was that warnings of a potential serial killer made by a Vancouver Police Department (VPD) geographic profiler were rejected by VPD leadership back in 1998.
This was exactly four years before Pickton was eventually arrested. The inquiry brought major changes in the provincial policing standards for missing person investigations.
The standards state that there must be a prerequisite consideration that "Aboriginal women and girls are at an increased risk of harm" and "disproportionately represented among missing and murdered women throughout Canada."
Pickton's name first appeared before the officials as a person of interest during the investigation of the disappearances of women from the Downtown Eastside in 1997. The officials showed up at his farm with a search warrant related to illegal firearms.
During their search, the officials stumbled upon the remains of multiple missing women. Back in February, Pickton became eligible for day parole which sparked an outrage all over the country, CBC reported.
The CSC (Correctional Service Canada) stated that the next of kin for Pickton and all the registered victims have been notified of the deaths.
"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," the CSC stated.
