Pickton victim families press for inquiry

Calls for a public inquiry into how the investigation of B.C. serial murderer Robert William Pickton was handled continue to mount in the wake of details revealed for the first time.

On Wednesday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge stayed 20 remaining murder charges against Pickton and lifted most of the publication bans.

Pickton is serving a life sentence for the murder of six women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

Family members of some of his alleged victims say the evidence raises questions only an inquiry can answer.

'I think it should be done. I don't ever want to see this happen again.' Marilyn Kraft,stepmother of alleged Pickton victimCynthia Feliks

Trace amounts of DNA belonging to Cynthia Feliks, 43, was found on Pickton's Port Coquitlam pig farm.Feliks' stepmother, Marilyn Kraft, said she struggles daily with her loss.

"That's the only part of her there is," said Kraft. "So, I have nothing of her to bury, nothing to cremate, just the memories of her as a young girl."

The question for Kraft and other victim families is whether the deaths of their loved ones could have been prevented.

1997 incident

It was revealed for the first time publicly Wednesday that in 1997, a sex worker alleged she barely got away with her life after she'd been handcuffed and then repeatedly stabbed by Pickton at his farm.

Pickton was charged with attempted murder and forcible confinement in the incident, but the Crown stayed the charges, saying the alleged victim wasn't credible.

The revelations only heighten the need for a public inquiry, said Ernie Crey.The DNA of Crey's sister, Dawn, was also found on Pickton's farm.

"It's evident to me if he'd gone to trial back then he may very well have been jailed," said Crey. "Which means some of the women mighthave survived, like my sister because she didn't go missing until November 2000."

Police had Pickton's clothes from the night of the alleged 1997 attack. Years later, the clothes were tested and found to contain the DNA of two missing women.

"I'd like to see an inquiry into it, too," said Kraft. "I think it should be done. I don't ever want to see this happen again. There were a lot of mistakes made by the [Vancouver police], the RCMP. And I think they should be taken to task for it."

Last week, Vancouver Police DeputyChief Doug LePard apologized for the department's failure to catch Pickton sooner, admitting mistakes were made.

Police also revealed they believe there are at least 16 other missing women for whose deaths Pickton is responsible.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell said Thursday that a decision on whether to call a public inquiry into the Pickton investigation would be made by the provincial cabinet in the coming weeks.