Chris's Crime Forum

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. -- Serial murderer Robert (Willie) Pickton has been convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of six Vancouver women.

Pickton had faced charges of first-degree murder in the deaths, but the jury chose to convict him on the lesser charges Sunday after nine days of deliberations.

A second trial on 20 charges is expected later.

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Families cheer as Pickton given maximum sentence; judge calls crime despicable

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - The families of Robert Pickton cheered as a judge gave the serial killer the maximum sentence under Canadian law.

Justice James Williams gave Pickton a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years. Pickton was convicted Sunday of six counts of second-degree murder, but his sentence is the same as it would have been if he'd been convicted of first-degree.

Williams said what happened to the women was "senseless and despicable."

Earlier in the day, reporters and family members of Robert Pickton's victims dissolved into tears and the Crown prosecutor choked up as he read victim-impact statements.

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My heart goes out to the families of these poor women.I am watching The Verdict and they are so emotional,it made me tear up.Well one trial down another to go.Thank goodness Willie will never be free again.

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. -- The Crown and defence in Robert (Willie) Pickton's case have until early next week to decide whether to appeal the former Port Coquitlam pig farmer's six second-degree murder convictions.

Pickton, 58, was charged with first-degree murder but the jury found him guilty on Dec. 9 of the lesser offence of second-degree murder.

Both sides have 30 days to decide whether to appeal.

Defence lawyer Peter Ritchie said the matter was still under consideration and he would be "advising further next week."

B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said he expects the defence will appeal. He said no decision has been made by the Crown yet.

"I don't see us appealing unless the criminal justice branch decides there are some issues regarding admissibility ... because there were a number of rulings that went against the Crown," said Oppal, a former appeal court judge.

One of the biggest blows to the Crown was the severance of Pickton's 26 murder charges into two trials: one on six counts and a second on 20 counts.

While pondering an appeal, Oppal said the Crown would also consider that Pickton was sentenced to life with no chance of parole for 25 years. "I would not expect him ever to be released."

If the verdict is appealed, that would delay any decision about whether Pickton's second trial will be held.

Oppal did not think that decision would be made "in the immediate future," noting evidence needs to be reassessed and Pickton's prosecutors need to recover from the long first trial.

"One thing we'd have to consider is the human factor involved here -- just the tremendous stress there is on the families, on the victims, on the Crown," he said. "We would want the relatives and victims to know that any decision would not be based upon money."

Some of the hundreds of people who signed an online petition lobbying for the second trial feared the hefty price tag for another long proceeding would be a factor in the decision.

Oppal, who has the final say on a second trial, said he was aware of the petition. He added people have also written to him with opinions about a second trial.

"We have to make the decision based on a clinical weighing of the evidence and the public interest," he said.

The petition was started Jan. 1 and has been signed online by more than 500 people.

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Pickton faces 6 more charges
Serial killer Robert Pickton should be charged with killing six more women who disappeared from B.C., RCMP said yesterday.

"We're in the process of sending a report to Crown counsel for their consideration," said RCMP Cpl. Annie Linteau. "We're recommending six more charges related to Robert Pickton and the Port Coquitlam property."

Linteau said that all six victims appear on police's official list of 63 missing women.

Pickton, 60, has never been charged in connection with the death of these six women, who went missing between January 1997 and March 2001.

The women are: Yvonne Boen, 33, who went missing in 2001; Dawn Crey, 42, who went missing in 2000; Sharon Abraham, 35, who went missing in 2000; Stephanie Lane, 20, who went missing in 1997; Jacqueline Murdock, 26, who went missing in 1997; and Nancy Clark, 25, who went missing in 1991.

Clark was last seen in Victoria. The other five, who were all mothers, went missing from Vancouver's drug-infested Downtown Eastside.

In December 2007, the B.C. pig farmer was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Marnie Frey, Georgina Papin, Sereena Abotsway, Brenda Wolfe and Mona Wilson. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

http://www.canada.com/news/Pickton+face ... story.html