A notorious serial killer who lured dozens of women to his pig farm before killing them has been attacked in prison and is currently on life support.
Robert Pickton, 74, was being held in a segregated unit in a British Columbia, Canada, maximum security prison when he was attacked by another inmate on May 19 with a broken broom handle, the Vancouver Sun reported. As of Tuesday, he remains in a Quebec City hospital in critical condition and is not expected to recover.
Pickton and his brother grew up working on their parents’ pig farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, about 17 miles east of Vancouver. When their parents died, the brothers inherited the farm and sold off parts of it to build a facility to hold dance parties, which often included local sex workers and members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.
In 1997, Pickton was charged with the attempted murder of Wendy Lynn Eistetter, a sex worker who was stabbed several times. The charge was stayed because Eistetter was a drug user and couldn’t be counted on for her testimony.
In 2002, the brothers were arrested after police searched the farm for illegal firearms. Authorities returned with another search warrant based on things they had seen at the farm that pertained to an investigation into missing women, including personal items belonging to the women.
On February 22, 2002, Pickton was charged with first-degree murder for the deaths of Sereena Abotsway and Mona Wilson. Less than two months later, he was charged with the murders of Jacqueline McDonell, Dianne Rock, and Heather Bottomley. Shortly after that, he was charged for the murders of Andrea Joesbury and Brenda Wolfe.
In September of that year, he was charged with four more murders. In October, he received another four murder charges.
Years later, in May 2005, Pickton was charged with 12 more murders, bringing the total up to 27.
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During one of the excavations of Pickton’s property, government officials discovered evidence that suggested Pickton may have ground up some of his victims and mixed them with the pork he sold to customers. A consumer health warning was issued, according to the Globe and Mail.
On December 9, 2007, Pickton was found not guilty on six counts of first-degree murder. The jury instead found him guilty on six counts of second-degree murder. The charges against him for the other women were eventually stayed, since he would not be able to receive additional punishment under Canadian law.
He was sentenced to the maximum allowable punishment – life in prison with no eligibility for parole until after 25 years.
Cynthia Cardinal, whose sister was one of Pickton’s victims, told the Sun that the news of Pickton’s impending death gives her “a little bit of closure,” adding that she could feel her sister’s spirit and that “the devil is gone.”