20 Pickton murder charges not to be tried

Twenty outstanding murder charges against convicted serial killer Robert Pickton have been stayed, ending the prospect of any more trials.

CBC News Posted: Aug 04, 2010 7:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 5, 2010

An artist's sketch shows Robert Pickton in the prisoner's box on the first day of his trial in B.C. Supreme Court on Jan. 22, 2007. ((Felicity Don/Canadian Press))

Twenty outstanding murder charges against convicted serial killer Robert Pickton have been stayed by the Crown, ending the prospect of any more trials.

Pickton, a former Port Coquitlampig farmer now serving a life sentence in prison, was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder in December 2007 in the deaths of women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood.

Hewas originallycharged with killing26women, but the Crown decided first to pursue the six cases most likely to result in convictions.

Pickton, now 60,was convicted of murdering Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Marnie Frey and Brenda Wolfe.

The victims disappeared from the troubled Vancouver neighbourhood between 1978 and 2001, and traces of their remains were found on Pickton's farm, about 25 kilometres east of the city.

He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 25 years. Pickton appealed the convictions to the Supreme Court of Canada, which ruled unanimously in a decision released last week that he would not a get new trial.

The20 other women Robert Pickton was charged with slaying:

Cara Louise Ellis Known on the street as Nicky Trimble, Ellis was born April 13, 1971, and was last seen in January 1997.
Andrea Fay Borhaven Born Jan. 19, 1972, in Armstrong, B.C., Borhaven was reported missing to police on May 18, 1999, but was last seen in 1997.
Kerry Lynn Koski Born Aug. 14, 1959, Koski had three daughters. She was last seen Jan. 7, 1998.
Wendy Crawford Born April 21, 1956, Crawford had a son and a daughter. She was last seen in December 1999.
Debra Lynne Jones Born in 1957, she was last seen in December 2000.
Tiffany Louise Drew Born Jan. 31, 1975, Drew had three children. She was last seen March 2000.
Sarah de Vries Born May 12, 1969, to a troubled mother and adopted at 11 months. De Vries's journals and poetry have been widely published since she was last seen April 21, 1998. Her sister, Maggie de Vries, wrote about her sister in the award-winning book Missing Sarah.
Cynthia Feliks Born Dec. 12, 1954 in Detroit, Feliks was a mother and grandmother. She was last seen in December 1997.
Angela Rebecca Jardine Born June 23, 1971, Jardine wassaid to have the intellect of an 11-year-old child. She was last seen Nov. 10, 1998.
Diana Melnick Born Aug. 26, 1975, Melnick was last seen Dec. 27, 1995.
Jacqueline McDonell Born June 6, 1976, McDonell had a daughter. She was last seen Jan. 16, 1999.
Diane Rock Born Sept. 2, 1967, Rock had five children. She was last seen in October 2001.
Heather Kathleen Bottomley Born Aug. 17, 1976, Bottomley had two children. She was last seen April 2001.
Jennifer Furminger Born Oct. 22, 1971, Furminger grew up in St. Catharines, Ont. She had a son, and police say she was last seen in December 1999.
Helen Mae Hallmark Born June 24, 1966, Hallmark had a daughter. She was last seen June 15, 1997.
Patricia Johnson Born Dec. 2, 1975. Johnson had a son and a daughter, and was last seen March 2001.
Heather Gabrielle Chinnock Born Nov. 10, 1970 in Denver, Colo. She had two children. Last seen April 2001.
Tanya Marlo Holyk Born Dec. 8. 1975, Holyk had a son. She was last Oct. 29, 1996.
Sherry Leigh Irving Born March 19, 1973, Irving was last seen in April 1997.
Inga Monique Hall Born in 1952 in Germany, Hall had two daughters and two granddaughters. She was last seen in February 1998.

With files from The Canadian Press

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News

Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

20 Pickton murder charges not to be tried

Related Stories