Offender Record · OFF-2026-137
Robert "Willie Pickton (photo from the Radford University biography)
Robert William Pickton
Also known as Willie Pickton, Robert 'Willie' Pickton
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1949
Custody
Deceased
States
CA
Distinguishing featuresBalding with long hair behind ears; bearded in later years (per undated television images from his home and courtroom sketches).
Custody
Pickton was assaulted by another inmate on May 19, 2024, at Port-Cartier Institution in Quebec and died in hospital on May 31, 2024.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Where a record says named by police, no charge was ever filed: the record rests on a law enforcement agency's public identification of the deceased person, cited below. Not guilty by reason of insanity means the court found the act proven but the person not criminally responsible. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Robert William Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder in December 2007 in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He was charged with murdering 26 women, many of them sex workers from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Pickton operated a pig farm in Port Coquitlam where he lured victims and disposed of their remains. He confessed to an undercover officer that he had killed 49 women. He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years. Pickton died on May 31, 2024, from injuries sustained in a prison assault.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Feb 1992, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Assault
Burnaby Police · Provincial Court of British Columbia · Criminal Code of Canada · Arrested Feb 1992 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: CA$1,000 fine and 30 days probation
Victim reported being attacked in Pickton's trailer on the pig farm. Court record indicates conviction for assault with a $1,000 fine and probation.
SourcesRobert Pickton 1992 assault conviction
Offense date Mar 1997, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia
Attempted murder
Royal Canadian Mounted Police · Provincial Court of British Columbia · Criminal Code of Canada · Arrested Mar 1997 · Charges dismissed Charges dismissed · Sentence: None (charges dismissed)
Sex worker reported being handcuffed and stabbed multiple times by Pickton at his trailer. She escaped and stabbed him in return. Both received hospital treatment. A key to handcuffs on victim's wrist was found in Pickton's pocket. Charges were dismissed in January 1998 due to victim's drug addiction and credibility concerns.
SourcesRobert Pickton attempted murder 1997
Second-degree murder (6 counts: Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Marnie Frey, Brenda Wolfe)
Royal Canadian Mounted Police / Vancouver Police Department · Supreme Court of British Columbia · Criminal Code of Canada · Arrested Feb 22, 2002 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years
Pickton lured sex workers from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his pig farm in Port Coquitlam where he murdered them. He disposed of remains by feeding them to pigs and using flesh for soil. Evidence included .22 revolver with dildo attachment, .357 Magnum ammunition, night-vision goggles, handcuffs, syringes, and items belonging to victims. DNA and remains of 33 women were recovered from the farm.
SourcesRobert Pickton; Pickton found guilty on 6 counts of 2nd-degree murder; Pickton trial timeline; Remains and DNA found at Pickton farm; Radford University serial killer biography: Pickton, Robert 'Willie'
First-degree murder (20 counts) - charges stayed
Royal Canadian Mounted Police · Supreme Court of British Columbia · Criminal Code of Canada · Arrested Feb 22, 2002 · Charged (pending) Charged (pending) · Sentence: None (charges stayed)
Following conviction on six counts, Crown prosecutors stayed the remaining 20 charges in 2010, noting that additional convictions would not increase the sentence Pickton had already received.
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
6
Victims convicted
49
Victims confessed
26
Victims suspected
Active years
1995–2001
Stated motive
Sexual
Range from home
local
Confessed
Yes
Education
some high school
Marital history
Never married
Children
0
Died
2024-05-31 · homicide
Agencies
Law enforcement, prosecutors and corrections agencies the records show dealing with this person. An investigator working a case with a possible connection can start here.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police · BC
Arrested Pickton on weapons charges Feb 5, 2002; investigated missing women; charged with 26 murder counts
Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Vancouver Is Awesome
Correctional Service Canada - Port-Cartier Institution · QC
Maximum-security federal penitentiary where Pickton was held until death May 31, 2024
Source: Correctional Services of Canada, CBC News
Vancouver Police Department · BC
Investigated missing women cases; joint task force with RCMP
Source: Wikipedia, Vancouver Is Awesome
Burnaby Police Department · BC
Handled 1992 assault charge (convicted)
Source: The Globe and Mail
British Columbia Crown Counsel - Fraser Region · BC
Prosecuted murder trial; stayed 20 remaining charges Aug 4, 2010
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CA
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
1949 – 2002 · Operated family pig farm
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
1949 – 2002 · Pig farm in Port Coquitlam; lived in run-down trailer on family property
Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
Feb 2002 – Dec 2007 · Surrey Correctional Centre / Provincial facilities during trial and pre-sentencing
Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada
Dec 2007 – 2018 · Kent Institution (maximum-security federal prison)
Quebec, Canada
2018 – May 31, 2024 · Port-Cartier Institution (maximum-security federal prison); transferred from Kent Institution approximately six years before 2024
Timeline
Oct 24, 1949
Robert William Pickton born in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Feb 1992
Pickton convicted of assault after attacking woman in trailer on pig farm; sentenced to $1,000 fine and probation.
Mar 1997
Pickton arrested and charged with attempted murder after stabbing sex worker Wendy Lynn Eistetter at his trailer.
Jan 27, 1998
Attempted murder charges against Pickton dismissed due to witness credibility issues related to drug addiction.
Feb 22, 2002
Pickton arrested for illegal weapons possession after police search of farm; later charged with first-degree murder of two women.
Apr 02, 2002
Three additional murder charges added against Pickton for deaths of three more women.
Apr 09, 2002
Sixth murder charge laid against Pickton; seventh charge for additional victim added shortly after.
Jan 30, 2006
Pickton's trial begins in Supreme Court of British Columbia on charges of first-degree murder.
Dec 09, 2007
Jury finds Pickton guilty on six counts of second-degree murder (Abotsway, Wilson, Joesbury, Papin, Frey, Wolfe) after nine days of deliberation.
Dec 11, 2007
Pickton sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years.
Aug 04, 2010
Crown prosecutors stay remaining 20 murder charges against Pickton.
May 19, 2024
Pickton assaulted by another inmate at Port-Cartier Institution in Quebec; airlifted to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
May 31, 2024
Pickton dies in hospital from injuries sustained in prison assault; age 74.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other government record · Correctional Services of Canada ·
Death of an inmate from Port-Cartier Institution“On May 31, 2024, Robert Pickton, an inmate from Port-Cartier Institution, died in hospital following injuries resulting from an assault involving another inmate on May 19, 2024.”
News report · CBC News ·
Serial killer Robert Pickton dead“Robert Pickton has died of injuries sustained in an attack. The 74-year-old was in hospital after being the target of what Correctional Service Canada called a 'major assault' by a fellow inmate on May 19 at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution.”
News report · Global News ·
Remains and DNA found at Pickton farm“Investigators ultimately found the remains or DNA of 33 woman at Pickton's pig farm.”
News report · Wikipedia ·
Robert Pickton“Robert William Pickton (October 24, 1949 – May 31, 2024) was convicted on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years.”
News report · The Globe and Mail ·
Robert Pickton 1992 assault conviction“In 1992, Robert was convicted of assault after his victim claimed that he had attacked her in his trailer on the pig farm.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Pickton, Robert 'Willie'“Robert 'Willie' Pickton born October 24, 1949 in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia; arrested for illegal weapons possession 2/22/2002; convicted for 6 counts of 2nd degree murder 12/11/2007.”
News report · The Globe and Mail ·
Pickton trial mired by judge's ruling, Crown says“Lead crown prosecutor and RCMP officials leave B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Tuesday, December 11, 2007, following sentencing of Robert Pickton.”
News report · CBC News ·
Pickton found guilty on 6 counts of 2nd-degree murder“A B.C. Supreme Court jury on Sunday found Robert William Pickton guilty on six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of women who disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.”
News report · CBC News ·
Pickton trial timeline“Dec. 9, 2007: After nine full days of deliberations, the jury finds Pickton guilty on six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Georgina Faith Papin and Marnie Frey.”
News report · Vancouver Is Awesome ·
Pickton charged with 26 murders“Robert William 'Willy' Pickton was charged with murdering 26 women. He was convicted of six counts and sentenced to life in prison.”
News report · Serial Killer Calendar ·
Pickton arrested and charged“On Friday, February 22, 2002, Pickton was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Sereena Abotsway and Mona Wilson.”
News report · The Canadian Encyclopedia ·
Robert Pickton attempted murder 1997“Pickton was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault with a weapon, and forcible confinement. The charges were stayed and eventually dropped because the woman was not considered a competent witness due to drug addiction.”
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