The Pig Farm Killer

Robert Pickton "The Pig Farm Killer"

1995-2001

Canada

Robert William Pickton, known as the "Pig Farm Killer," was a Canadian serial killer convicted in 2007 for the murders of six women. He was charged with the deaths of 26 women and confessed to killing 49, claiming he wanted to make it an even 50. His crimes, which primarily targeted marginalized women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, have left a lasting impact on Canadian society.

In February 2002, police arrested Pickton on a weapons charge, which led to a search of his property. This search uncovered personal items belonging to missing women and human remains, initiating the largest forensic investigation in Canadian history. DNA evidence linked Pickton to numerous missing women, and he was eventually charged with 26 counts of first-degree murder.

In 2007, Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 25 years—the maximum sentence under Canadian law at the time.

On May 19, 2024, Pickton was assaulted in prison by a fellow inmate and succumbed to his injuries on May 31, 2024, at the age of 74. His death brought a sense of closure to some victims' families, though many continue to seek justice and recognition for all the women affected by his actions.

The six women he was convicted of murdering are:

Sereena Abotsway, 29

Mona Lee Wilson, 26

Andrea Joesbury, 22

Brenda Ann Wolfe, 32

Georgina Faith Papin, 34

Marnie Lee Anne Frey, 24

Charges for the remaining 20 victims were stayed in 2010, though DNA evidence linked Pickton to several of them.

Some of the women whose DNA was found on Pickton's farm include:

Jacqueline Michelle McDonell, 22

Diane Rosemary Rock, 34

Heather Kathleen Bottomley, 27

Jennifer Lynn Furminger, 28

Helen Mae Hallmark, 20

Patricia Rose Johnson, 25

Heather Gabrielle Chinnock, 30

Tanya Holyk, 23

Sherry Leigh Irving, 24

Inga Monique Hall, 46

Tiffany Louise Drew, 27

Sarah Jean de Vries, 29

Cynthia "Cindy" Feliks, 43

Angela Rebecca Jardine, 27

Diana Melnick, 23

Debra Lynne Jones, 42

Wendy Crawford, 43

Kerry Lynn Koski, 38

Andrea Fay Borhaven, 25

Cara Louise Ellis, 25