B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton will soon become eligible for day parole, prompting the families and friends of his victims to hold a candlelight vigil on Wednesday at Pickton’s farm where the murders took place.
Pickton was charged with murdering 26 women and would later claim his murder tally to be 49. In 2007, he was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole for 25 years, however, he will be eligible for day parole on Thursday, and full parole in 2027.
Pickton often preyed on women who were prostitutes, drug abusers or homeless, inviting them to stay at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, where they would later be raped, tortured and killed.
News of his day-parole eligibility sparked outrage from the victim’s families and friends, who announced that they would be holding a candlelight vigil at the site of the Port Coquitlam farm.
“It’s been very difficult,” said Lorelei Williams, a cousin of victim Tanya Holyk, in an interview with CityNews.
Holyk’s DNA was discovered on the property.
“It’s sickening. I can’t believe it’s already coming up. I can’t believe so much time has passed. I still can’t believe that no one else has gone to jail for this, as well,” said Holyk.
“I already don’t trust the justice system, and this just makes me not trust it even more because the fact that a person like this could be let out of jail, or who would apply. I really don’t believe that he’ll be given day parole, but the fact he can apply, it’s disgusting. Our system isn’t a justice system at all.”
Pickton was never charged for the murder of Holyk, despite her remains being found on his property, something that has left her family in disbelief for years.
Holyk’s case was no exception, 19 other investigations against Pickton were stayed because the Crown had secured six convictions.
“That’s not justice for my family,” said Williams. “I want justice for my family. Why can he not be charged with my cousin’s murder? Her DNA was found on that farm.”
“I just think about Tanya and how old she would have been today and what life would be like if she were here and if she were around. What keeps me going is the fact that what I’m going through right now is nothing compared to what my cousin went through.
“That’s what keeps me going. I will keep doing this for Tanya. I will keep fighting for her because I can.”
According to the Toronto Sun, the RCMP asked permission to destroy around 14,000 pieces of evidence related to investigations against Pickton last December.
The victim’s families spoke out about the news and demanded answers for this during a press conference last month.
“Why in this case are they trying to erase the evidence?” said Sarah Jean de Vries, the daughter of a woman whose remains were discovered on Pickton’s farm after she went missing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in 1998.
Lorelei Williams told CityNews that she was never made aware of the evidence disposal.
“They never informed my family. This has been so traumatizing for me,” she said.
