Serial killer Robert Pickton in life-threatening condition after prison attack
Convicted Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton is in life-threatening condition after being attacked in a Quebec prison.
He is reportedly undergoing surgery after being airlifted to a hospital.
No other details about his injuries were released, but the Vancouver Sun reported Tuesday he was “speared in the head with a broken broom-like handle.”
Pickton, 74, was convicted in 2007 of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for at least 25 years. He had been charged in the murders of 26 women.
Remains and DNA from at least 33 women were discovered at Pickton’s pig farm in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, before his conviction. He once claimed to have killed 49 women, many of whom were sex workers, drug addicts or otherwise from vulnerable communities.
It took police more than 20 years to zero in on Pickton while investigating the disappearances of dozens of women, leading to criticism of the long investigation.
The assault occurred sometime Sunday afternoon at the maximum security Port-Cartier Institution, about 300 miles northeast of Quebec City, Correctional Service Canada confirmed on Tuesday.
The Sûreté du Québec, the provincial police, said a suspect, a 51-year-old fellow inmate, was in custody for the assault and had been moved to solitary confinement. The attacker’s identity was not released.
The alleged assailant has a history of attacking other inmates, according to the Vancouver Sun.
A source told the newspaper Pickton was taken to Hospital of the Child Jesus in Quebec City.
“We are not able to disclose any additional details, including medical information,” the correctional service said in a statement. “The safety and security of institutions is paramount and an investigation into what occurred is currently underway.”
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