Blue and Grey

Robert Pickton
The Pig Farmer Killer

Who?
- Robert William Willie Pickton

- Born October 24, 1949

- Pig Farmer from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia

- Lived a troubled family life and was considered slow as a child

The Killings
- According to Pickton, the first time he killed was 1991

- Pickton supposedly killed 49 women, and was working towards an even 50

- Primarily preyed on prostitutes from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver

- Pickton was arrested for his murders in 2002

Modus Operandi
Pickton would drive from his house in Port Coquitlam in his red pickup truck to downtown Vancouver, where he'd cruise Downtown Eastside in search of an appropriate victim. Pickton preyed on prostitutes who typically sold their bodies to support their drug habit. Pickton would lure the victim into his truck and bring them to his house, where he would handcuff the victim and then proceed to torturing, raping, and murdering the prostitute in a room with plastic wrapping on the floor. Pickton gained notoriety when it was learned that he fed the remains of his victims to the pigs that he raised on the farm.

The Investigation
- Vancouver police were very slow on the case of the missing women

- Because there was no hard evidence on the whereabouts of the women, the police hesitated when the possibility of homicide came up

- Though the investigation was slow to pick up, Pickton was always a suspect due to past infractions, which included, attempted murder, assault, etc.

- Though Pickton was a suspect, he was one of over 100

- The case picked up media attention when popular show America's Most Wanted did a story on Vancouver's missing women

- A special task force was created after the original investigation lacked results

- Police searched the Pickton farm acting on warrants for illegal firearms, where they eventually found womans clothing, identifications, and other belongings

The Arrest
- Pickton was arrested on On February 5, 2002

- Charged with 27 counts of first and second degree murder

The Trial
- Pickton's trial began on January 30th, 2006

- Pickton's defense pleaded not guilty to 27 charges

- By the end of the trial (2010) Pickton had plead not guilty to 6 charges, but guilty on 6 charges while the rest of his charges were stayed

- Pickton was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years (The worst possible sentence available)

- The trial cost taxpayers over $100,000