Warning: this reporting contains information that some readers might find disturbing.

Robert Pickton was a Canadian serial killer who was charged with murdering 26 women on his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, BC,  in 2001. He was convicted on six charges and sentenced to life in prison. Robert claimed to have killed up to 49 women. His case was the largest serial killer investigation in Canadian history, and this case cast a spotlight the often ignored issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Today many wonder what would make an individual want to commit such a horrific crime as murder. The idea of the killer just being born a murderer is questionable. Nobody is born a criminal: society creates that murderer. In Robert Pickton’s case he lacked parental guidance which contributed to his evolution into a remorseless killer.

One key influence in Pickton’s unfortunate upbringing was his own mother, Louise Pickton. Pickton’s father, Leonard Pickton was out of the picture, which made it difficult for Robert’s mother, Louise Pickton, to raise the family. The Pickton family consisted of immensely despicable people and there are many stories and rumors that seem to uphold that.

According to the Vancouver Sun, Pickton remembers a time as a child when his pet calf was killed by family members. He recalled thinking, “I’ll just sneak around back there and have a look. . . . Anyways, there’s my calf upside down, cleaned out. . . . butchered.” Pickton was horrified and angry with his family for doing such a thing to his companion.

The Pickton’s were not only untrustworthy and dangerous,  but they were also nauseatingly filthy. Louise made the boys work long hours on the farm, which led them to be grubby. Louise had to force the boys to bathe after working for so long on the farm. However, Pickton had a reputation at school for always wearing dirty clothes and he often smelled like manure, dead animals.

There were numerous rumors that as a kid Robert hid in the carcasses of pigs when he didn’t want to be found. It is believed by psychologists that Robert found comfort and familiarity in hiding in these places. According to an article on Health Psychology Consultants, the smell that came from him was a sort of comfort and protection to keep others away. Humans tend to stick with what is familiar with them, no matter how bad it might be. Pickton was familiar with dead carcasses, and living in an environment where death is normal, eventually led to  tragic consequences for his victims. Later consultants and psychologist concluded that Robert was psychopathic.

Robert wasn’t the only criminal in the family as it seems. In 1967, Robert’s brother, Dave Pickton, had just got his drivers license and went out driving in his father’s truck. While driving, Dave lost control and the truck abruptly rammed into a 14-year-old boy named Tim Barret. Dave rushed home to tell his mother what happened. In a panic Louise Pickton hurried to where Barrett’s body lay. Louise pushed his body to the edge of the road into a muddy pond.

The next day Tim Barrett’s body was found by police,  and the boy was pronounced dead. Since Barrett had been found in murky water, his autopsy read that his death resulted  from drowning.

Robert Pickton’s murders began in the early 1990s. Pickton worked on his remote farm near Vancouver, British Columbia, during this time. Robert began to form a society for a non-profit charity, called the Piggy Palace Good Times Society. These events were just raves held in the farm slaughterhouse, not an actual charity group. These parties drew in around 2,000 people, and many of these people were bikers and prostitutes.

At this time women working as prostitutes in Downtown Eastside of Vancouver experienced frequent acts of violence. Most were subjected to beatings and kidnappings. Robert’s victims were unfortunately the sex workers near the Eastside since he became familiar with the area through his visits to a rendering plant. This caused the Vancouver police department to speculate and link a majority of the disappearances of these women to Robert.

According to an article in  The Canadian Encyclopedia, there were countless disappearances of women sex workers throughout the 1990s. 26 out of 60 of the disappearances have since been linked to Robert Pickton. Many of the missing women were Indigenous while a majority of Pickton’s victims were Indigenous as well. However, none of the other disappearances were linked to Pickton at the time due to lack of evidence.

The importance of these women being Indigenous is that they belonged to one of the most marginalized communities in Canadian society. When the case reached the media and the information linking their disappearances to Pinkton became evident in 2012, it angered the public. Indigenous women dealt with many struggles and issues such as poverty and racism. These elements made the Vancouver Police Department take the case less seriously at the time. Many believe that police neglect contributed to an unchecked Pickton.

Pickton had infatuations and disturbing fantasies about what he would do with his victims, and these sadly became reality. Robert desired sexually abusing his victims, such as handcuffing them to surfaces and sexually abusing them before he killed them.

Robert Pickton was arrested and convicted with 6 counts of second degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2007. The remains of 33 women were found on his farm, and Pickton confessed to a cell mate to killing a total of 49 women.

Robert Pickton died on May 31, 2024, at the age of 74 in Quebec City, Canada. He was attacked and stabbed by another inmate, and later died in the hospital. Condolences and remorse were sent for the victims and their families after the information of his death hit the media. Since Pickton was only convicted for 6 of the murders he committed, many of the victims’ families were infuriated that their cases were not heard in court and that their families did not get the justice they deserve.