Robert Pickton: The Pig Farmer Killer
Written By: JEH
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Robert William “Willy” Pickton, is a Canadian serial killer dubbed as The Pig Farmer Killer for he fed the remains of his victims to his pigs. Pickton was convicted of the second-degree murders of 6 women and is accused of first-degree murders of at least 20 women. However, he confessed to committing a total of 49 murders. Pickton’s goal was to kill 50 women, which was stopped after his arrest in 2002.
The Piggy Palace
Not much is known about Pickton’s past due to Canadian publicity laws regarding ongoing criminal investigations. However, it is widely known that Pickton was born in 1949 in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. He and his siblings, David Francis Pickton and Linda Louise Wright, inherited the family pig farm, which had been around for three generations of pig farmers. But in 1994 and 1995, the Pickton siblings sold parts of the inherited land.
In 1996, Pickton and his brother began to have a change of heart and neglected their pig farm duties. Instead, they focused on creating the “Piggy Palace Good Times Society”, which aimed to organize events, including raves and wild parties. During the parties, Vancouver sex workers gathered, along with thousands of guests. In one of these parties, Pickton met his first victim, Wendy Lynn Eistetter.
Eistetter, a sex worker, was at the Piggy Palace party when Pickton handcuffed her and stabbed her multiple times. Fortunately, she managed to survive several lacerations and land a few stabs on her attacker. Pickton was charged with attempted murder, which was immediately dropped because investigators doubted the credibility of Eistetter’s statement.
Months later, Port Coquitlam officials sued the Picktons for violating zoning ordinances – neglecting the agriculture for which it had been zoned, and having “altered a large farm building on the land for the purpose of holding dances, concerts and other recreations”. Eventually, the Piggy Place permanently shut down.
Finding Answers in Unexpected Places
On February 5, 2002, executed a search warrant for illegal firearms at the property and arrested the Pickton brothers. However, officers found personal belongings of a missing woman on the farm. The police immediately obtained a second search warrant to continue searching the farm as part of the BC Missing Women Investigation, which investigates the disappearances of women dating back to September 1978. As the officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Vancouver Police Department searched the property, they found human remains, including skulls, hands, and feet. During their search, they also found a .22 revolver with a dildo attached to its barrel, .357 Magnum rounds, two pairs of faux fur-lined handcuffs, a pair of night-vision goggles, and photos of a garbage can.
As per reports, the investigations at the farm lasted until November 2003 and cost $70 million.
The Piggy Farm Murders
Pickton’s case is still under investigation, so his exact M.O. is not yet released. But according to available information, Pickton lured prostitutes to the farm, where he handcuffed, raped, strangled/shot, bled, and gutted his victims. Then, he ran them through a wood-chipper and fed the remains to his pigs.
On December 9, 2007, Pickton was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of six women:
• Count 1, Sereena Abotsway, age 29 when she disappeared in August 2001
• Count 2, Mona Lee Wilson, age 26 when she went to her doctor on Nov. 30, 2001, and was reported missing that night.
• Count 6, Andrea Joesbury, age 22 when last seen in June 2001 and was reported missing June 8, 2001.
• Count 7, Brenda Ann Wolfe, age 32 when last seen in February 1999 and was reported missing on April 25, 2000.
• Count 16, Marnie Lee Frey, last seen August 1997 and reported missing on December 29, 1997.
• Count 11, Georgina Faith Papin, last seen in January 1999 and reported missing in March 2001.
Pickton also stood accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of 20 other women until these charges were stayed on August 4, 2010.
• Count 3, Jacqueline Michelle McDonell, age 23 when she was last seen in January 1999.
• Count 4, Dianne Rosemary Rock, age 34 when last seen on October 19, 2001.
• Count 5, Heather Kathleen Bottomley, age 27 when she was last seen (and reported missing) on April 17, 2001.
• Count 8, Jennifer Lynn Furminger, last seen in 1999.
• Count 9, Helen Mae Hallmark, last seen August 1997.
• Count 10, Patricia Rose Johnson, last seen in March 2001.
• Count 12, Heather Chinnook, age 30 when last seen in April 2001.
• Count 13, Tanya Holyk, age 23 when last seen in October 1996.
• Count 14, Sherry Irving, age 24 when last seen in 1997.
• Count 15, Inga Monique Hall, age 46 when last seen in February 1998.
• Count 17, Tiffany Drew, last seen December 1999.
• Count 18, Sarah de Vries, last seen April 1998.
• Count 19, Cynthia Feliks, last seen in December 1997.
• Count 20, Angela Rebecca Jardine, last seen November 20, 1998
• Count 21, Diana Melnick, last seen in December 1995.
• Count 22, Jane Doe, charge lifted
• Count 23, Debra Lynne Jones, last seen in December 2000.
• Count 24, Wendy Crawford, last seen in December 1999.
• Count 25, Kerry Koski, last seen in January 1998.
• Count 26, Andrea Fay Borhaven, last seen in March 1997.
• Count 27, Cara Louise Ellis aka Nicky Trimble, age 25 when last seen in 1996.
Pickton is implicated in the murders of the following women, but charges have not yet been laid:
• Mary Ann Clark aka Nancy Greek, age 25, disappeared in August 1991 from downtown Victoria.
• Yvonne Marie Boen, age 33 when last seen on March 16, 2001.
• Dawn Teresa Crey, reported missing in December 2000.
• Two unidentified women.
While in custody, Pickton told an undercover officer, “I was gonna do one more, make it an even 50. That’s why I was sloppy, I wanted one more. Make… make the big five-O.”
Where is Robert Pickton Now?
At the time he was sentenced, life imprisonment was the longest sentence for murder under Canadian law. As of today, Pickton remains incarcerated after being sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Pickton in Popular Culture
Pickton’s gruesome crimes inspired many TV shows, movies, and songs, including:
• “Hooker Fortified Pork Products” by The Accüsed (Seattle punk band)
• “Pigfarm” by Mad Sin (German psychobilly band)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 2007 episode titled “Leapin’ Lizards”
• Killer Pickton (2005 movie)
• Criminal Minds episodes (Season 3, 4, and 9)
• Swastika, a book by Michael Slade
• On The Farm (2016 TV Movie)
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