Plan to wake serial killer Robert Pickton from coma: Quebec police

Serial killer Robert Pickton to remain in coma Following a 'major assault' inside a Que. prison, serial killer Robert Pickton remains in a medically induced coma.

A spokesman for Quebec's provincial police says British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton is in a medically induced coma after a prison attack and doctors planned to try to wake him soon.

Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu says the plan to wake Pickton in the next few days and see if he can survive on his own was current as of Wednesday, but he wasn't sure if it has since changed.

Police previously said Pickton was in a life-threatening condition after Sunday's attack at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution, about 480 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Correctional Service Canada said Pickton was the victim of a "major assault" and prison officers had not been involved.

Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2007 after being charged with the murders of 26 women.

Beaulieu previously said that a 51-year-old suspect was in custody after the attack on Pickton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2024.