Every Town - Pig Farmer Killer - Robert Pickton - British Columbia, Canada

Episode Date: September 30, 2022

Ask any Canadian, particularly those in British Columbia, and they will tell you that  a man named Robert Pickton is one of – if not the most – prolific and heartless serial killers that ever existed in their countries history. His story is the stuff of nightmares and if you havnlt heard of him yet, the details of this episode will blow you away.--------------------------------------------💀Get your name in the credits of our thriller movie! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/anangryboy/a-scary-movie-from-the-creator-of-scary-mysteries--------------------------------------------💀 Exclusive Video Content & Access https://www.patreon.com/scarymysteries 🥇 Watch This Episode on Youtube!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlrnlGlWgnw&ab_channel=ScaryMysteriesSOCIAL👁 Videos not found on Youtube check us out on TikTok @andrewfitzgerald💀 Instagram @andrew.fitzg💥 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarymysteriesofficialPODCAST🎧 Scary Mysteries Podcast for more content from ushttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579 Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, it's Andrew. So look, there's just a couple of days left to come and get involved in the exclusive online world premiere of our feature film and Angry Boy. So if you enjoy this podcast, then I promise you, you're going to love watching this thriller revenge story that I wrote and directed. It's a freaky indie movie, and if you want to join me and a bunch of other cool people, then come and get on board before it's too late. There's tons of cool rewards and merch from the film to get your hands on. on as well, exclusive deleted scenes, and you can even get your name in the credits if you want.

These opportunities are only available through our Kickstarter campaign, and like I said, it's going to end Wednesday morning, so you're going to get on board now. So head over to Kickstarter, type in an Angry Boy, which is the name of our film, and get on board with us. Thanks so much. Hope you enjoy the episode. Every town has a dark side. Ask any Canadian, particularly those in British clueless. Columbia, and they'll tell you that a man named Robert Picton is one of, if not the most prolific

and heartless serial killers that's ever existed in their country's history. His story is the stuff of nightmares, and if you haven't heard of him, the details of this episode will blow you away. Robert unabashedly confessed of victimizing helpless women, mostly sex trade workers, and was convicted in 2007 for the second-degree murders of six women. But the so-called, the so-called called Pig Farmer Killer, confessed to 49 murders in total, and said that you wanted one more victim just to make it an even 50. Thank you guys for tuning into this week's episode of Everytown. Today I'm taking you to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, and Canada, where we focus our spotlight on a dark and twisted story straight out of a horror movie where we get to know a Robert Picton.

The pig farmer who killed 49 people. On October 26, 1949, Leonard and Louise Picton had another child they named Robert, William, or Willie, who was the middle sibling in the family. The Pictons came from a family of pig farmers based in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, 17 miles east of Vancouver in Canada. The eldest daughter, Linda Louise, was sent to Vancouver, live with their relatives, because, as Leonard and Luis thought it wasn't appropriate to raise a female child on a pig farm. So, Robert and his younger brother David Francis were then trained to work hard on the farm at a young age and learned to cope with the strict work habits and demands of their mother. Luis forced the boys to work long hours raising pigs and didn't mind if Robert and David

observed hygiene or not. In fact, she didn't care about them going to school in unwashed or soiled clothing that reeked of manure, which earned the boys the tag Stinky Piggy from their classmates. Despite this, Robert became closer to his mother than his abusive father. At the age of 14 and 1963, Robert then dropped out of school and found a job as a butcher's apprentice, but seven years after that, he ended his apprenticeship to work full-time at the family farm. The Picton Patriarch died in 1978, and their mother followed shortly after in 79. The Picton siblings inherited the farm from their deceased parents, but Linda and David weren't interested. So Robert then took the responsibility of running the farm single-handedly,

while he lived in a remote area of the property and a trailer because their house was given to David. Robert surrounded himself with a group of friends and employees living and working on the farm, all of whom had an unsavory reputation. In 1994-95, they then sold parts of their inherited land, earning a total of $5.16 million. Little did anyone from Port Coquitland know that the Picton Farm and House would be the dumping ground of decapitated bodies and evidence of Robert Pickton's legendary crimes.

The Picton Farm was described as a creepy-looking place, while Robert was locally considered a quiet guy, but whose occasional bizarre behavior would draw attention despite no evidence of substance abuse. The Picton siblings started to neglect farming obligations. Instead, often hosted raves and wild parties at a converted building at a pig farm called the Piggy Palace. In 1996, they also founded a non-profit charity organization called the Piggy Palace Good Time Society. The function of which was to organize, coordinate, manage, and operate special events, functions, dances, shows, and exhibitions on behalf of service organizations, sports organizations, and other worthy groups. Neighbors complained of rowdiness, drug use, drunkenness, and noise.

The parties were attended by as many as 1,700 people, including bikers and prostitutes from the downtown east side. The neighborhood, known for its high rates of poverty, homelessness, open drug use, and prostitution. Then in March of 97, Robert was charged with the attempted murder of a sex worker, Wendy Lynn Esteter, whom he had stabbed several times during an altercation at the farm. Wendy told police that Robert had handcuffed her, but that she managed to escape after severing several lacerations. She told them she had disarmed him and stabbed him with his own weapon. Mr. Pickton sought treatment at Eagle Ridge Hospital while Miss Estetter recovered the nearest emergency room. Robert then was arrested in charge, but the case was dropped when Wendy didn't show up to court and her credibility questioned. Had Robert been convicted, a whole lot of lives would have been saved because he was just getting started.

He was released on a $2,000 bond, and the charge was released. dismissed in January of 98. But then came another blow after a New Year's Eve party in 1998 when the Picton siblings were sued for violating zoning laws and legally forbidden from holding any more parties. The Piggy Palis Good Time Society was disbanded soon after that in January of 2000 for failing to provide mandatory financial statements. In 1999, Canadian police received a tip that Robert kept human flesh in freezers on his property. And though a warrant was secured, no search was ever carried out. After the short period of time involving the rowdy parties hosted by Robert and David, it had been noticed that many of the women who visited the farm

eventually went missing. On February 5, 2002, a search warrant was then executed for the police to investigate the property for illegal firearms. The Picton brothers were arrested, and a second warrant was issued after authorities found personal belongings of a missing woman at the farm. This search was part of the BC missing women investigation, which looked into the disappearances of women, many from Vancouver's downtown East Side, dating back to September of 1978. Also known as the Low Track, was the poorest neighborhood in all of Canada and was riddle with drug trafficking and prostitution. It also had the highest rate of HIV infection in North America. The woman whose possessions were found at the farm

was one of those girls who disappeared with the task force was investigating. As they searched the grounds, they found human remains, such as skulls cut in half that were stuffed with human hands and feet, DNA from 33 men and women, bloody clothing belonging to a victim, and a jawbone and teeth belonging to another one.

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 containing the remains of a victim. Robert claimed that the dildo, which had the DNA of both him and a victim on it, was used as a makeshift suppressor. And that gun also contained a spent cartridge. On February 22, 2002, Robert was then arrested in charge with two counts of first-degree murder, and the deaths of Serena Botswe and Mona Wilson.

There were three more additional charges for the murders of Jacqueline McDonnell, Diane Rock, and Heather Bottomley filed on April 2nd. A week after, Robert received a sixth charge for the killing of Andrea Jonesbury, and the seventh followed shortly for Brenda Wolf's murder. Five months later, four more charges were added for a total of 11. As if this wasn't enough, four more charges were laid totaling to 15 and making it now the largest investigation of any serial killer in Canadian history. But more was coming, as Mr. Picton was suspected of killing more women, and so he faced 12 more charges on May 26, 2005. Meanwhile, a year after Robert's first-degree murder charges, excavations at his farm continued through November of 2003 and cost the investigation at the investigation.

total of $70 million, as per the provincial government's estimate. Forensic experts had difficulty analyzing the severely decomposed bodies or the remains have been eaten by insects and pigs on the farm. Then, the government made a stomach churning announcement in May of 2004. Robert Pickton may have mixed ground human bodies with the ground pork and actually sold that to the public, prompting a health advisor. to warn the people. Others claimed that he fed the dead bodies directly to the pigs. On January 30, 2006, the trial of Robert Picton finally began

at New Westminster, and as expected, he pleaded not guilty to the 27 charges of first-degree murder in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. One charge was dropped by Justice James Williams for lack of evidence on March 2nd, and five months later, the 26 charges were split. into a group of six counts that included the cases of Marnie Lee Frey, Georgina Faith Pappen, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Andrea Jonesberry, Serena Abbott'sway, and Mona Lee Wilson, which proceeded first. The remaining 20 counts could have been heard in a separate trial, but they were stayed in August 2010. The publication ban prohibited the public from gaining full access to the details about court decisions,

but the judge explained that the simultaneous trial of 26 counts could burden the jury for two years and may actually result in mistrial. Moreover, the separate counts had material different evidence from the rest. So the jury trial for the six counts finally started on January 2nd, 2007. The publication ban was lifted, and Canadians finally heard the details, especially with the gross objects found at the Picton farm. The things discovered there, which I mentioned earlier, were presented to the court on February 20th. In addition, police also discovered in Robert's trailer, a syringe with three millimeters of blue liquid inside, and a Spanish fly aphrodisiac.

The most damning evidence found was a videotape of Robert's friend Scott Chubb, actually telling the former that injecting windshield washer fluid into a female heroin addict was a sure way to kill her. Another tape showed an associate named Andrew Bellward, claiming Mr. Pickton mentioned killing sex workers by handcuffing and strangling them, then bleeding and gutting them before feeding them to the pigs. Then the picture of a garbage can containing human remains was identified as Mona Wilson's. So the judgment day for Robert came on December 9, 2007 when the jury, after hurtling legal issues returned a verdict that Robert wasn't guilty. on all six counts of first degree, but was guilty on six counts of second-degree murder. That carried with it a punishment of a life sentence with no possibility for parole

for a period between 10 and 25 years which the trial judge would set. On December 11th of 07, after reading 18 victim impact statements, Justice Williams sentenced Robert to Life without parole for 25 years, which, in Canada, was the maximum punishment for second-degree murder. Judge Williams, when passing the sentence, said, Mr. Picton's conduct was murderous and repeatedly so. I cannot know the details, but I know this. What happened to the victims was senseless and despicable.

Robert has tried to appeal, and for some time it looked like that actually might happen. The RCMP and Vancouver Police had suffered some criticism for their way of handling this case, such as the two agencies withholding information from one another. The RCMP have been called arrogant in Canadian media and said not to work well in tandem with other investigative agencies. The Vancouver police had also been criticized for not taking action sooner and not taking the disappearances of so many women seriously. Ultimately, though, picked in sentence, stood,

and the 20 other convictions will likely not be tried. Because of the sheer size of the case, it's actually still ongoing. It's not entirely known to everyone how he killed his victims and what he could have done before killing them. According to a witness on tape, Picton had claimed that he brought his victims, who were prostitutes, to the farm, handcuffed, raped, and then killed them by strangulation, led and gutted them and ran them through a wood chipper and then fed the remains to the pigs. Another claim was that the victims were ground up and the resulting mint mixed with the ground pork from the farm was given to the Picton's friends and family.

It was stated in a biography channel documentary about the case that Robert would lure his victims to his farm using a simple ruse such as pretending to buy sexual favors. During sex, he would then become violent, accuse the victims of something, such as stealing from him, in order to build up his rage. It was then that he would restrain them and kill them by strangling or shooting them and then butcher up their bodies.

It was decided during a hearing on August 4th, 2010, that Robert should be committed to a federal penitentiary from a provincial pretrial institution. In June of 2018, it was allegedly transferred from Kent Institution in British Columbia to another penitentiary in Port Cardier, Quebec. He was convicted of six second-degree murder. charges, but Robert confessed to having a total of 49 victims in his book of murder. While in custody, Mr. Pickton told an undercover officer posing as a fellow inmate that he wanted to kill one more in order to bring his victim count up to an even 50.

A video recording of the statement was later used as evidence at his trial, and he finds the number 49 odd, so if he isn't convicted, Robert William Pickton said, I was going to do one more. Make it an even 50. That's why I was sloppy. I wanted one more. Make the big 50. So that's it, guys, for this week's episode of Everytown.

Thanks for tuning in. Remember to come back next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories. Because who knows? Maybe your town will be next.