Canadian Serial Killer Who Murdered 26 People Dies After Prison Assault

Serving Life Sentence Since 2007
Fellow Inmate Attacks Head with Broom Handle

Robert William Pickton (74), one of Canada's worst serial killers who murdered at least 26 women, died after being attacked by another inmate while serving his sentence.

On the 31st of last month (local time), the Associated Press cited a statement from Canadian correctional authorities reporting that Pickton was attacked on the 19th of last month at a maximum-security facility in Quebec and died while receiving hospital treatment. Earlier, local police announced that a 51-year-old inmate who attacked Pickton was under arrest and investigation. This inmate was reportedly previously confined to solitary confinement for assaulting other prisoners. Pickton was struck on the head with a broken broom handle, was in critical condition when transferred to the hospital, but ultimately died.

The late image of Canadian serial killer Robert William Pickton, who died due to assault by a fellow inmate [Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

Pickton was accused of murdering at least 26 women from the late 1990s until his arrest in 2002. In 2007, Pickton was convicted in six of these cases and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was revealed that he lured sex workers and drug-addicted women to his pig farm located in the Port Coquitlam area, a suburb of Vancouver, where he murdered them.

The full extent of his gruesome killing spree has not been completely uncovered. When dozens of women went missing in the Vancouver area at the time, police launched an investigation and detected the DNA of 33 women during a search of his farm. Pickton reportedly confessed to an undercover police officer posing as a fellow inmate that the number of women he killed was not 26 but 49. He also said he wanted to kill one more to reach 50. Furthermore, based on testimony from an acquaintance of Pickton during the trial that the victims' bodies were disposed of on the pig farm, local health authorities once issued a meat contamination warning in the surrounding area due to concerns about the slaughter and sale of pigs from Pickton's farm.

Canadian correctional authorities, who have launched an investigation into the circumstances of Pickton's assault, stated, "We recognize that this incident has deeply shocked Indigenous peoples, victims, their families, and the province of British Columbia as well as the entire country," and "We extend our condolences to them." A family member of one of the victims said, "Many bereaved families will find peace of mind with Pickton's death," adding, "We are glad that healing can finally begin."