Portrait of a Monster: Inside the Twisted Mind of Robert Pickton
Robert William "Willie" Pickton was born in 1949 in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia to Leonard and Louise Pickton. The family owned a pig farm that had been in operation since 1928, passed down over generations. As a child, Robert assisted with the farm work – slaughtering pigs from a young age. Classmates would later recount he often showed up to school covered in blood ( Culbert, Vancouver Sun). Already accustomed to the viscera and gore of farm life, the violent seeds were planted early.
As an adult, Pickton took over the family farm after his parents died in the 1970s. Quickly, warning signs around him grew. He had been convicted of assault in 1982 for a late-night knife attack on a Vancouver prostitute at his trailer (CTV News). In 1997, he was arrested and charged with the attempted murder and confinement of another sex trade worker, Wendy Eistetter, whom he stabbed repeatedly inside a converted slaughterhouse on his farm.
Yet when those charges were mysteriously stayed by the Crown the next year, it was a critical missed opportunity (CBC). Already, police had multiple run-ins with Pickton related to violence against marginalized women, but did not connect the dots to something more sinister at play. Pickton would proceed to lure at least 60 more victims out to his farm over the next four years.
Inside the Tragic Tales of the Murdered and Missing
Pickton‘s victims followed a similar profile – marginalized women struggling with addiction and often resorting to survival sex work to fund their dependencies. Frequent drug use led to destabilized housing and chronic poverty (Deering et al., 2014). First Nations communities were heavily impacted, with over a third of women disappeared being of indigenous descent despite making up just 4% of Vancouver‘s population (Oppal Report).
They came from all walks of life with diverse dreams cut short. Victims like Georgina Papin, marked for her beautiful singing voice and loving family before disappearing in 1999 (GeorginaPapin.com). Marnie Frey, just 25 years old when she vanished days after giving birth to a daughter in 1997, family remembering her playful spirit and fierce devotion to those baby girls (Legacy of Hope). Other names like Helen Hallmark, Patricia Johnson, Jennifer Furminger – over 60 women who disappeared, their names etched on the "Missing Women‘s Memorial March" route taken annually through Vancouver‘s Downtown Eastside (MissingMemorialMarch.ca).
Behind each statistic, a tragic tale of a woman failed by social safety nets from their earliest days. Yet these systemic vulnerabilities should not mark anyone for the fate of becoming prey.
An Illicit Playground Called the "Piggy Palace"
In 1996, Pickton registered a non-profit society named the "Piggy Palace Good Times Society." Ostensibly for fundraising events, its real purpose became much more sinister. At raucous parties in the converted slaughterhouse on his pig farm, up to 2,000 guests gathered for booze, drugs and sex workers supplied by infamous biker gangs like the Hells Angels (Lenehan, The Province).
It became a dangerous playground where violence and exploitation against marginalized women was condoned. Attendees described Pickton walking around with a smile hosting parties, not realizing the warzone brewing behind the scenes as he took victims to other areas of his farm as his personal killing field. For years, this became the site of drug trafficking, gang initiations, dog fighting – and serial murder – all under the nose of an indifferent police force (Culbert, Vancouver Sun).
Botched Investigations Ignore Telltale Hints
1997
The first concrete chance to stop Pickton arrives when he‘s arrested for the attempted murder of Wendy Eistetter, whom he nearly stabbed to death inside the converted slaughterhouse. Found nearby is a syringe filled with what is believed to be an aphrodisiac. It suggests his intentions to lure and subdue women at the farm (CBC Radio).
1998 – 1999
Inexplicably, charges are stayed by the Crown. Informants tell police Pickton confessed he can easily dispose of bodies by feeding them to pigs. VPD refuses RCMP offer to search farm as "unnecessary interference” despite known criminal activity there (Oppal Report).
1999 – 2000
With 60+ women now missing from Downtown Eastside, VPD receives concrete tips: eyewitness accounts of Pickton with victim before she vanishes, Pickton seen handcuffing women, his talk about feeding prostitutes to pigs (Oppal Report).
Still no search warrant approval despite all signs pointing to Pickton’s farm. Botched policies and indifference toward marginalized victims enabling a serial killer.
Horrors Revealed: Catastrophic Police Failure
Not until 2002 do VPD finally search Pickton’s farm, finding IDs of missing women, heads cut in half, body parts stuffed inside. Women’s bloodied clothing, horror movie Collection (Culbert, Vancouver Sun).
Most damning – keys to Wendy Eistetter’s handcuffs from 1997 in Pickton’s pocket, his intentions clear.
Yet rather than handling evidence with care, police remove remains with excavator, losing DNA/evidence. Severed feet washing up from overloaded body bags leaking bodily fluids (Oppal Report). No appropriate protocols or sensitivity for handling remains.
By the end, investigators have compromised majority of crime scene areas and DNA evidence. Preventing families from getting full bodies for burial. Even RCMP admit "Made the biggest mistake in the history of Canadian law enforcement."
Pickton Convicted Despite Mountains of Evidence Destroyed
Finally arrested in 2002 then charged with 26 counts of homicide stretching back to 1978, Pickton’s trial begins in 2007. Families protest daily demanding justice that is 20 years delayed. During proceedings, Pickton displays no empathy, at times falling asleep as if bored (Pagliaro, The Globe and Mail).
He bragged to cellmates about committing 49 murders—his goal to reach 50. But due to extreme mishandling, the Crown stays 20 charges for lack of evidence. Pickton eventually convicted of 6 counts of 2nd degree murder carrying automatic life sentence. Cold comfort to families who never receive full remains.
While he destroyed so many lives, the aftermath is defined by one final act of violation to his victims’ dignity.
Behind Bars, No Remorse as Sick Mind Games Continue
Imprisoned at Kent Institution federal prison initially after his conviction, requests for day passes were rejected in light that he remained massive threat (The Canadian Press). After a prisoner attack with weapon in 2013, he was moved to Quebec‘s Port-Cartier Institution maximum security facility.
In 2016, a book titled "Pickton: In His Own Words" was published featuring apparently his writings and artwork from prison. It was pulled after public outcry as families blasted the attempt to profit off victims’ suffering (Peebles, Toronto Metro News).
When placed under website ban blocking access to violent and degrading content, Pickton sued to overturn it – suggesting his twisted appetites and torment was aimed to continue behind bars (The Canadian Press). Over 20 years since first known victim vanished in 1978, this modifiers displays not an ounce of reform or remorse for destroying so many lives.
Failures Enabling Violence: Lack of Empathy for Marginalized Communities
The pattern of systemic indifference and negligence enabling Pickton’s serial murders is undeniable when laid bare. Informants trying to report suspicious activity tied to dozens of missing women being shrugged off by Vancouver Police Department (Oppal Report). Botching his attempted murder case in 1997 – failing to search farm where later evidence showed premeditation to lure, trap and kill women there.
Dismissing tips from 1999-2000 about Pickton speaking of his grisly intentions directly to witnesses. Ignoring basic investigative protocol like obtaining a search warrant immediately with such compelling evidence (Oppal Report). Treating crime scenes devoid of empathy once remains were found – literally digging up evidence with excavators until DNA was destroyed.
At every level, institutional bias metastasized as lack of concern for marginalized victims created the perfect storm for a killer like Pickton to exploit. Families warn that every new generation of police officers hears apologies and promises to learn from these mistakes – yet still Vulnerable women who disappear fail to see their cases prioritized (Baker, CTV News Vancouver). Until empathy translates into action by authorities, predators will continue threatening society’s fringes.
Seeking Closure through Legal Accountability
With Pickton seemingly showing no remorse behind bars as he continues taunting families, several lawsuits have proceeded seeking some form of justice. Victims’ children and siblings pressed Vancouver police in 2022 about their negligent 1998 decision to stay charges against Pickton for nearly killing Wendy Eistetter (Hager, The Globe and Mail). Documents show police actually recommended approving charges, aware of violence against sex workers at Piggy‘s Palace parties.
Seeking accountability for decisions that allowed murders of their loved ones to proceed, their lawyer highlighted"the Vancouver police recommended approving those charges. But something happened in the Attorney General‘s office". After decades defending failure to catch Pickton sooner, police accountability is overdue.
Similarly, dozens of lawsuits filed since 2010 target RCMP handling of remains claiming emotional trauma and negligence (The Canadian Press). With no legal aid available and suits expected to take years to settle, it remains slow, painful progress for families already denied justice so long. Closure remains elusive as authorities evade consequences.
Monsters Caught Among Us: International Perspectives
The systemic indifference enabling Pickton has parallels globally. Long Island‘s Gilgo Beach serial killer(s) targeting sex workers for 15+ years without urgency to solve the case (Kolker, New York Magazine). UK police botching opportunities to catch Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe earlier as he terrorized northern England for 5 years – explicitly dismissing victim reports due to misogynistic stereotyping of sex workers deemed "unreliable" (Dudman, The Guardian).
In these cases and beyond, lack of empathy for marginalized victims lowers guards for predators to slip through the cracks. Sociologist Julia Laite argues that "the deaths and disappearances of sex workers are tolerated in a way that the deaths and disappearances of other groups of people are not…These people‘s lives are seen as less valuable so their disappearance is not seen as such a great loss." (Dudman, The Guardian).
Pickton fits this model – exploiting destitute women struggling with addictions and often forced into survival sex work. Police biases clouded risk assessments – allowing violence to flourish essentially unchecked. Until social attitudes transform to show equal concern for all victims of violence – empathy turning into action – then killers will lurk in these cultural blind spots.
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Honoring Victims Through Change
The tragic and painful legacy of the Piggy Palace murders cannot be undone. However, with Pickton showing zero prospects for rehabilitation or remorse – instead continuing attempts to torture victims‘ families further – long overdue accountability remains the only path to prevent future tragedies. Significant financial settlements for past police negligence offer one route for closure.
Equally, proactive change addressing systemic biases that minimize violence against marginalized groups would be the deepest tribute to Pickton’s victims. New training for police investigators to show sensitivity dealing with vulnerable missing persons cases and handling remains. Funding community support services and culturally sensitive liaisons to build trust with at-risk groups.
Until past indifference transforms into future compassion, predators will lurk waiting to exploit society’s cracks. For any hope for change, we cannot forget the names and stolen dreams of all 63 women who disappeared at the hands of Robert Pickton.