WARNING: This story has harrowing details.
Families of Robert Pickton’s victims held a vigil at the site of their farm in Port Coquitlam, B. C. , Wednesday night, a day before the serial killer applied for daytime parole.
In 2007, Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of full parole for 25 years. The remains or DNA of 33 women were discovered on their pig farm in Port Coquitlam, about 25 kilometers to the east. from downtown Vancouver.
The serial killer will be eligible to apply for daytime probation (he will have to return to prison or the intervening space at night) on Feb. 22, according to the Canadian Parole Board.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Parole Board said there are no hearings scheduled in Pickton for Thursday.
“The offender’s daytime parole eligibility date is February 22, 2024, but that does not mean a hearing is automatically scheduled for that date,” the spokesperson wrote. “Offenders will have to request a daytime probation review. “
Families of those affected held a vigil at the site of Pickton Farm, which is now owned by B. C. Ministry of the Interior.
“It’s to honor the women who lost their lives here, as well as my daughter,” said Michele Pineault, the mother of Stephanie Lane, whose partial skeletal remains were discovered at Pickton Farm.
Lane is one of several Indigenous women suspected of being taken through Pickton to the Downtown Eastside. He reported her missing in 1997 through his mother, but her remains were not discovered until 2003 on the pig farm.
Pickton was never charged with her murder, Lane’s remains were returned to her circle of relatives in 2014. She is believed to be Pickton’s youngest victim, she was 20 years old when she went missing.
Pineault, who called the police reaction to Pickton’s killings, “said she was appalled that the serial killer could apply for daytime parole. “
“Pickton steps on this Tierra. No deserves to step outside of where he is,” he said. “It has to stay where it is until it dies. “
The vigil at Pickton Farm was also held amid ongoing considerations that the RCMP is seeking evidence from the Pickton case.
Lily Louis-Irving, who attended the vigil in honor of her aunt Sherry Irving, the ongoing programs have been stressful for the family.
“My dad emailed them to look into the matter further, because my aunt’s testimony has not yet been reviewed,” she said.
In 2020, the RCMP began filing programs with the court to obtain judicial authorizations to dispose of the evidence presented in the 2007 trial, and the programs continue to make their way through the courts this year.
In an interview with CBC News, the RCMP said it is not allowed to keep evidence indefinitely and is required by law to return assets to their rightful owners or dispose of them, if they go unclaimed.
BEFORE CHRIST. Attorney General Mike Farnworth said the government would do everything it can to keep families concerned on all pending applications.
“We know this is an incredibly sensitive factor for families,” she said. “We want to make sure that everything is done and that their considerations are taken into account in any resolution that is made on the matter. “
Assistance will be provided to anyone affected through these reports and through the missing and murdered indigenous peoples factor. Immediate and crisis emotional assistance will be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.
You can also access, through the Government of Canada, fitness facilities, such as fitness counseling, NetworkArray, and cultural facilities, as well as some travel expenses to meet with elders and classical healers. Family members looking for information about a missing or murdered person can access the Family Liaison and Information Units.
Journalist
Akshay Kulkarni is a journalist who has worked at CBC British Columbia since 2021. He is based in Vancouver and has covered and written about the pandemic and the poison drug crisis. He’s interested in data-driven stories. You can email him at akshay. kulkarni. @cbc. ca.
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