Still no charges in death of notorious Canadian serial killer

A shoulder patch and epaulette of a corrections officer are seen at an institution in Abbotsford, B.C., Oct. 26, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

MONTREAL — Almost one year after serial killer Robert Pickton died following an assault by another inmate in a Quebec prison, there have been no charges against the alleged assailant and few answers about what happened.

Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, after being assaulted at the Port-Cartier maximum security prison 12 days prior. The 74-year-old was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

The Correctional Service of Canada first issued a release on May 20 last year about a “major assault” on an inmate, adding that “the assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions have been taken.” The agency later confirmed the injured inmate was Pickton, and that he had died.

Quebec provincial police identified the suspect as a 51-year-old inmate, but did not release a name.

Earlier this week, the force said its investigation remained open.

“Some expert reports are still ongoing. As this is an active file, we will not comment further,” the Sûreté du Québec wrote in an email. By phone, a spokesperson said the police file had not yet been handed over to the Quebec Crown prosecutor’s office, who will decide whether charges will be laid.

The spokesperson, Audrey-Anne Bilodeau, added that police sometimes take more time to investigate when a suspect is already behind bars because there is no risk to the public.

Correctional Service Canada said it expects to publish the results of investigations into the death “in the near future,” spokesman Kevin Antonucci wrote in an email. “Time was required to ensure that they were fully translated and vetted in accordance with the Privacy Act.”

Advocates for prisoners’ rights expressed concern about the lack of answers into what happened, and said the death raises questions about inmate security.

“We’re concerned about a number of deaths have occurred at the hands of other prisoners without any clear answers,” Catherine Latimer of the John Howard Society said in a phone interview.

Latimer cited a fatality report published earlier this year by Alberta Justice Donna Groves into the death of a 21-year-old inmate who was knifed to death inside his cell by another inmate at the Edmonton Institution in 2011.

The report raised a number of questions, including why the two inmates were allowed out of their cells at the same time, despite belonging to rival gangs and being under orders to not to be around other inmates.

Groves called for a public inquiry into the death, saying it’s the only way to get to the bottom of three guards’ actions that day, including concerns they were running a prison “fight club.”

Latimer said the report shows there is a serious problem with “incompatible or vulnerable prisoners” being exposed to others who want to kill them. “Pickton really raises that,” she said.

Pickton, she added, would likely have been considered “vulnerable” because the nature of his offences would have made him a potential target.

Tom Engel, the former president of the Canadian Prison Law Association, agreed that Pickton’s reputation would have meant he was at high risk of being assaulted by other inmates.

“The question has to be asked, well, how could this happen when when he’s at high risk,” he said in a phone interview, adding “that would normally point the finger at correctional staff.”

Engel said he wasn’t surprised that there have not yet been charges. He said investigations can be lengthy, in part because correctional staff and inmates can be reluctant to fully co-operate with police.

The announcement of Pickton’s death last year was met with public expressions of satisfaction and joy rather than concern. Families of victims used words such as “healing,” “overjoyed” and “justice” to describe the death of a man who preyed upon vulnerable women in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, many of them Indigenous.

But Engel believes the fate of prison inmates should be a concern.

“Members of the public who believe in human rights, who believe in the rule of law, who believe that the Criminal Code of Canada applies to everybody should care about this, because you can’t have this kind of lawlessness going on in a prison,” he said.

He also noted that the vast majority of inmates will eventually be released, and it’s in the interest of public safety to ensure they don’t come out angrier and more dangerous than before.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2025.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press