Doctors plan to wake serial killer Robert Pickton from coma in the next few days: report

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A spokesperson for Quebec’s provincial police says doctors are planning to wake serial killer Robert Pickton in the next few days.

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Pickton, 74, is a medically induced coma after being attacked by another prisoner in Quebec’s maximum Port-Cartier Institution. Pickton was placed on life support following the incident, where he was reportedly speared in the head with broken broom-like handle.

Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu told The Canadian Press that the plan is to wake Pickton in the next few days and see if he can survive on his own.

Pickton was convicted for the murders of six women in December 2007, receiving a life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Beaulieu said that a 51-year-old suspect is in custody after the attack.

What was Pickton charged with?

Pickton was convicted by a jury of murdering six women — Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Georgina Papin and Marnie Frey — at his 2007 B.C. Supreme Court trial.

He was also charged in connection with 20 other murders, with DNA evidence linking additional missing women to his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C., but the charges were stayed because Pickton was already serving the maximum sentence.

He has been linked to possibly murdering up to 49 women and feeding their remains to his pigs.

When did he become eligible for day parole?

Pickton became eligible for day parole in February, leading to widespread outrage and a vigil at the site of the former pig farm.

Michele Pineault, whose daughter Stephanie Lane’s DNA was found on the Pickton farm, told CTV in February that Pitckton “should not walk on this earth.”

“He doesn’t deserve to take one step out of where he is. He needs to stay where he is until he dies,” she said.

“Today, one of Canada’s most notorious serial killers, Robert Pickton, has become eligible for parole,” Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, posted on X.

“Monsters like this should never be released from prison,” he added. “Common sense Conservatives believe that mass murderers should face consecutive sentences so they only come out of jail in a box.”

Pickton will be eligible for a full parole beginning in 2027, 25 years after his original arrest date on Feb. 22, 2002.

Could parole be granted?

Despite Pickton’s eligibility for day parole, legal experts emphasize that securing it will be unlikely due to the severity of his crimes.

“I don’t think they’re going to make a decision very lightly, and certainly not without considering the very deep impact that this crime or these crimes have had on the community and victims’ families,” Sarah Leamon, a criminal lawyer in Vancouver, told CTV.

In a statement, B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth emphasized that authorities would make every effort to involve families in any decisions related to Pickton’s parole applications.

“We know that this is an incredibly sensitive issue for the families,” he said. “We want to make sure that everything is done properly and that their concerns need to be taken into account on any decision that’s made on this.”

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