Episode 27 Robert "Willie" Pickton Finale

In this final episode, Nicci Ruth dives into what led to the arrest and conviction of Robert Pickton—and what happened in the years that followed, including the chilling details that suggest the full truth may never be known.

Court documents
2006 BCSC 995 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII
2009 BCCA 299 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII
2009 BCCA 300 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII
2007 BCSC 30 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII
2005 BCSC 1463 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII
2007 BCSC 42 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII
2007 BCSC 1293 (CanLII) | R. v. Pickton | CanLII 

Book
On The Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women.
Documentary
The Pig Farm
Robert “Willie” Pickton — Prolific serial killer

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Hey everyone, welcome back to Valley of Secrets. I'm Nikki Ruth. If you're new here, welcome. I'm happy to have you here. Also, thanks for all my faithful listeners for your continued support, especially with the Robert Willie Picton series. Gosh, it has been a lot. When I started researching him, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And I am so done researching him, and I am so done talking about him. So today will be an extra long episode so I can end this series and move on. Again, the contents of this episode are disturbing, and it talks about abuse, substance use, and details of murders. So please listen with caution. This is part five of the Robert Willie Picton story. Willie Picton had formed a new, very close connection with a woman named Dina Taylor. Dina was an Ojibwe woman, originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario. But she had been living in Vancouver's downtown east side since she was very young. People who crossed paths with her described her as someone who kept her guard up. She was aggressive, unpredictable, and not someone who shared much about her past. There's still a lot we don't fully understand about Dinah's life. What is known is that she had a history tied to the street economy, including drug trafficking, and was well known to be involved in exploiting other women. Many people kept their distance from Dina. Outreach workers, especially those at places like the Wish Drop-in center, remember her as someone who rarely engaged unless she had a specific reason. And at some point, she began spending more and more time at the Willie Picton farm. At first, it was occasional nights, then longer stretches. She was given whatever she needed while she was there: clothes, money, and free drugs. And over time, she began bringing other women out there, just like others before her. By the end of 2000, something strange had happened. The number of reported missing women from Vancouver's downtown east side dropped. In fact, only one woman had officially been reported missing that year, and that was Tiffany Drew. After years of growing concern, it looked, at least on the surface, like things might finally be slowing down. Maybe whatever had been happening had stopped. So decisions were made. Resources were reassigned, and attention shifted. For a moment, there was a quiet belief that this crisis might be coming to an end. But it wasn't. Not even close. Because what no one realized at the time was that this wasn't the end of anything. It was just a pause. A moment where things went a little quieter before everything escalated again. In the year that followed, more women would disappear. One of those women was Sharon Nora Jane Abraham. Sharon was 39 years old and from the Segween First Nations in Manitoba. Years earlier, she had made the difficult decision to leave an abusive relationship and moved to Vancouver with her two young daughters, hoping to start over somewhere safer. People remembered her sense of humor, laughter, and friendliness. Life, though, was not easy. She later returned to Manitoba, where she had three more children, but lost custody of all of them. Eventually, Sharon returned to Vancouver, and in December of 2000, she vanished, but it would take three more years before she would ever be reported. Later, part of her DNA would be found on Willie Picton's farm. Not long after, Dawn Teresa Cray disappeared. Dawn was born on October 26, 1958, and was one of seven siblings from a Listolo First Nation family in Hope BC. Her early life was shaped by deep trauma. Her parents were residential school survivors, and her childhood was marked by instability and loss. After her father died of a heart attack in front of her when she was just five years old, her family was separated and Dawn entered the foster system. She became a mother at just 16 years old herself, but her son was later raised by her foster family. In the early 1990s, Dawn survived a horrific acid attack that left her with lifelong injuries and pain. Over time, she struggled with substance use and moved to the Roosevelt Hotel in the downtown East Side, doing survival sex work. She was well loved among her community and people looked out for her. But in December 2000, Don Cray disappeared. She was 42 years old. Her doctor had reported her missing on December 11th after she didn't show up for her methadone treatment. Her DNA would later be found inside a trailer on Willie Picton's farm. People in the community later spoke of rumors that Dinah Taylor had been seen with Dawn shortly before she went missing and may have convinced her to go see, quote unquote, Uncle Willie. The final disappearance that year was Deborah Lynn Jones. Deborah was born on December 31st, 1957. She was an identical twin and had two other sisters and a brother. She was known for her kindness and her creativity. Music was a big part of her life. She could play guitar, piano, and had a powerful singing voice that people compared to Janice Joplin. Deborah was last seen on Christmas Day and was reported missing on December 29th, just a couple days before her 43rd birthday. Evidence later linked her to the farm as well. Her blood was found on a black Eddie Bauer purse and on a broken crackpipe found at the foot of Willie Picton's bed. Keys attached to the purse were smeared with her blood and opened a Surrey hotel room that had been rented by her. Patricia Rose Johnson, otherwise known as Patty, was born on December 2nd, 1975 in Vancouver. She was beautiful with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She grew up in East Vancouver, known as someone who was full of life and always laughing. But by the age of 20, she struggled with addiction and was living in the Evergreen Hotel. She became a mother to two children, a son in 1994 and a daughter in 1995 with her partner Chris. She loved her kids deeply, even fighting to stay off drugs while she was pregnant so they didn't have to struggle when they were born. But when they were two and three years old, Patty couldn't care for them anymore, and they went to live with Chris for a year. But when he couldn't look after them either, they then went to live with his mother, who was an immigration lawyer. By all accounts, the kids grew up in a loving home, and Patty remained present in their lives as much as she could. Patty had become the first subject photographed in a series documenting woman in the downtown east side called Heroines by Lincoln Clarks, her personality shining through despite everything. When she missed her son's birthday on March 4th, her family knew something was wrong and reported her missing. They feared that she was a victim of Willie Picton, and they were right. Her blood was found on plywood in the slaughterhouse, and her DNA was on a vibrator and on packages for two other vibrators in Picton's bedroom and on a syringe outside the trailer. Although Project Amelia had been disbanded, a new task force called Project Even Handed had been started, led by highly experienced investigator Don Adam. A week after Patty went missing, Adam added three new members to his task force from the Vancouver Police Department, who were all experienced homicide investigators. They all knew that Willie was a suspect. They knew that he had surveillance on him, and they also knew about his past interviews, but they still felt that he wasn't responsible for the disappearances of these missing women, which was a big mistake. Seven more women would go missing in the next year. One of those women was Heather Kathleen Bottomley. Heather was born August 17, 1973, and grew up in New Westminster, in what many would describe as a stable, caring home. The kind of place where you'd expect a future full of opportunity. Her friends remember her as funny, someone with a quirky, playful sense of humor. She loved making people laugh, whether it was through a little skits at home or just being herself. She dreamed one day of being an actress. She also enjoyed sports, especially baseball. But like so many stories we've heard, things shifted in her teenage years. She left school in grade nine and became involved with a boyfriend who was already struggling with drug use. Not long after, Heather became a mother at just 17 years old and began using substances herself. Over time, she found herself living in Vancouver's downtown east side and later became pregnant again. According to her family, she had started talking about wanting something different for her life, wanting to get clean, to rebuild, and to find a way forward. There were conversations happening and plans to support her, but then the calls just stopped. Her family searched everywhere they could think of hospitals, treatment centers, but there was no sign of her. Heather Bottomley was last seen on April 17, 2001. She was just 27 years old. Her DNA would be found inside a bucket in the workshop freezer and on a broken black necklace in the slaughterhouse. Four bloodstains were found on fabric on the mattress, and her identification and notebook were found on a table next to the television in Picton's bedroom. That same year, Yvonne Marie Bowen also disappeared. Yvonne was born on November 30th, 1967 in Milford, Saskatchewan. Her father died when she was just four months old in a car accident, and her mother, a nurse, eventually remarried, had two other kids, but quickly divorced him as he was abusive. Yvonne herself got married at just 15 years old and had three sons before the age of 18. Her and her partner divorced in 1986, and Yvonne left her children with her mother so that she could travel across Western Canada, joining the carnival for about 10 years. Like so many others, Yvonne faced difficult circumstances that eventually led her to Vancouver, using hazardous drugs just a couple years before she went missing. In March 2001, she had promised one of her sons they would spend time together during spring break, but she never showed up. Her son kept calling, but there was no answer. Her DNA would later be found on the farm after the trial concluded. Heather Gabrielle Chinook was the fourth woman to go missing in 2000. Heather was born on November 10, 1970, in Denver, Colorado, but later moved to British Columbia after her mother remarried a Canadian. She spent time in the Kooteny region but never really felt settled. Over the years, she struggled with substance use, cocaine and heroin mostly. She married and had a son, but after her husband was incarcerated, she was no longer able to care for him. At the time she disappeared, Heather was living in Vancouver and had a distinctive piece of jewelry people remembered well: a wolf head ring that she wore often. Someone close to her later shared that she had spent time out at the farm, and at one point had said it was a fun place to go party. Then she vanished. Heather Chinook was 31 years old. Her DNA would be found inside the bucket in the workshop freezer, on overalls in Picton's bedroom closet, and on a silver bracelet and ring, also on a suede jacket in a box under a door, all in the workshop loft. Her distinctive wolf head ring, resembling one she had owned, was found in the pig pen. And as all of this was unfolding under a brand new task force nose, Project Even Handed had taken over the files from Project Amelia. But almost immediately, something didn't sit right. At first, the team, just seven members, were assigned to review existing files, not to actively investigate them as crimes, but to go through what had already been collected. They also began pulling records from smaller police units, cases that hadn't necessarily been connected before. And that's when the picture started to change. There weren't just a handful of missing women as they originally thought. There were far more, more than anyone had initially acknowledged. As the scope became clearer, the concern grew quickly. This wasn't random, this wasn't isolated. So those working those files, it was starting to look like something much more organized and deliberate. The lead investigator brought this forward to management right away. The message was clear. This needed to be taken seriously, and it needed to be investigated aggressively because by this point, many believed they weren't just looking at disappearances anymore, they were looking for a serial offender. So the approach shifted. Investigators began identifying potential suspects or persons of interest and organizing them into different categories based on risk. Priority one was individuals considered the most dangerous. People who had been charged with murder or attempted murder in the past, involving women connected to the downtown east side, as well as known violent sexual offenders. Priority two was the group including individuals with a history of violence against sexual workers, those who had been charged or linked to assaults, even if they hadn't committed the homicide. And priority three was those that were active in the downtown east side. So individuals whose names had come up in the reports of suspicious behavior, attempted abductions, or concerning interactions with women in the area. For the first time, there was actually structure and a sense of direction. June 2001, Andrea Josebery disappeared. She was born on November 6, 1978, in Victoria, BC. She was known for her energy. She loved sports and drama and had a bright, expressive personality. But her childhood was not easy. There was instability at home, including violence and mental health struggles within her family. Eventually, she and her siblings went to live with her grandparents. At 16, Andrea ran away. She ended up in the downtown east side where she became involved with an Afghan refugee named Mohammed, who was 20 years her senior. She gave birth to their baby girl, and Andrea stayed off drugs to breastfeed and care for her daughter. One night, social services came into the home while she was breastfeeding and took her daughter away from her arms, just like that. Friends believe that Mohammed was the one who reported her to social services. He had been her pimp and a known drug dealer in Vancouver. That loss took a toll on Andrea, and she turned to drugs again to deal with her pain. She started living at the Roosevelt Hotel after Mohammed was arrested. The same one that Don Cray had lived at and the same hotel that Dinah Taylor frequented, getting women to come to the Picton Farm. Andrea began trying to stabilize her life. She entered a methadone program and regularly visited the Wish Drop-in center, where staff remembered her for her warm smile. Her grandfather said that he last spoke to Andrea on June 2nd, stating that she was going to a party and that she was really excited. Then, Andrea missed a scheduled methadone appointment on June 5th. Her family knew something wasn't right, and her brother went looking for her, and when he couldn't find her, he reported her missing. Andrea Josebery was 23 years old. Later, her head, hands, and feet would be found in a bucket in the workshop freezer. Her DNA was also found on an earring and ring in the slaughterhouse, on a black nylon jacket and black leather boots in Picton's bedroom, and on the bathroom wall, and on a pillowcase in Picton's laundry room. And then there are stories that almost didn't get told. In her book on the farm, author Stevie Cameron shares accounts from women who say they escaped. These stories never made it into official case files, but they matter. In late August 2021, Katrina Murphy was visiting her husband in Kent Prison near Agassiz, B.C. Both Katrina and her husband were known bank robbers and had 19 heists to their name. Her husband had been locked up, but Katrina was out on bail awaiting trial. After visiting hours were over, Katrina started hitchhiking to get back to her home in Surrey, BC, which was about an hour drive. A van stopped to pick her up, and the passenger door opened up for her. The vehicle was filthy inside and out, and the smell was overwhelming, like rotting meat which made her gag. Katrina quickly began to feel uneasy while they drove off. The man turned to her and smiled his toothy grin and introduced himself as Willie. Katrina's unease worsened as Willie started making remarks about her looks and asking about her personal life. She wanted to escape, but then she realized the door handle was missing. She couldn't get out, and the windows had been painted black, so she couldn't see out and no one could see in. She knew she was in trouble. When he passed her intended stop, panic set in. Thinking quickly, she grabbed what she could from her purse, a pencil, and fought back. She managed to stab him in the neck, hurled across his lap, and forced his door open. She threw herself out of the moving vehicle, falling headfirst onto the gravel. When she got up, she ran to the nearest gas station while Willie stood there laughing at her. Police officer was called, and when he took Katrina's statement, he realized that she had a criminal record. He told her he was going to go after the van, but whether he did or not was never fully known, and Katrina was left there bloodied. Another woman referred to as Terry told a similar story. She accepted a ride with the promise of money and drugs, something many women were forced to rely on to survive. But during the drive, she became physically ill from the conditions in the truck. She begged to be let out, and after being struck, she was finally released. Like many others, she chose not to report it, shaped by past experiences and a lack of trust in the police. Behind the scenes, Project Even Handed began opening direct communication with families. A meeting was held with dozens of loved ones, people who had been waiting, searching, and often feeling ignored. And in that room, something changed. Families were finally given information. They were told where things stood, and they were promised ongoing communication. For many, it was the first time they felt heard. Serena Abbotsway was born on August 20th, 1971, to indigenous parents. Her story, like so many others, began with hardship far too early. She had experienced severe trauma as a child and spent much of her life in foster care. At the age of four, she found stability with a foster family, the Dreyers, who remembered her as loving, sweet, and expressive, someone who sang loudly and brought so much energy into a room. But she also lived with significant challenges, including fetal alcohol syndrome, which affected her learning and behavior. By 17, things became more complicated, and the Dreyers couldn't care for her anymore. So she cycled through different group homes, treatment programs, and eventually found herself in the downtown east side, addicted to drugs and doing survival sex work. Still, she stayed connected to the people who cared about her and went to church regularly. Serena had many medical issues, and one of them was the fact that she was asthmatic and she had inhalers. The last prescription was picked up on July 19th. She was seen that night dressed up and going to a party, and that was the last time anyone saw her. Later, her head, hands, and feet were found in a bucket in the workshop freezer. Her blood was found on a Solomon ski bag, which also contained two syringes with her DNA on it in Willie Picton's office. Her inhaler was also found inside the ski bag, and four others in the garbage outside Picton's trailer, along with some Revenue Canada documents with her name on it. Then came a turning point. On October 15, 2001, investigators made a public announcement. The missing woman cases would now be treated as homicides. It was a devastating confirmation, but also a critical shift. It meant the urgency had changed, the approach had changed, and without knowing it yet, Robert Willie Picton was running out of time because just within a few months, he would finally be arrested. On October 19, 2001, Diane Rosemary Rock went missing. Diane was born in Welland, Ontario, on September 2nd, 1967, to a very young mother and was later adopted by a family who loved her deeply. They described her as outgoing, full of energy, someone who could make people laugh, but also someone who had a strong, fiery personality. At 15, Diane became a mother herself. She left school early, but her adoptive family supported her, helping her build a life and a home on her own. By her early 20s, she had three children and had got married, but her marriage ended shortly thereafter. She worked hard to provide for her children, taking on roles in healthcare and at times exotic dancing to make ends meet. This is where she started using drugs. Later, she remarried and moved to British Columbia in 1992, hoping for a fresh start. And for a while, it worked. Diane had two more children and studied nursing part-time and worked supporting adults with disabilities. People who knew her during that time described her as compassionate, someone who fiercely advocated for those in her care. But in 2000, things began to unravel. After separating from her husband, she found herself struggling. Substance use became part of her everyday life, and over time she had lost stability. Her housing, her job, and eventually custody of her five children. By May 2001, Diane was living in the downtown east side doing sex work. That summer she reached out to her sister back in Ontario, shaken. She said she had been to a party on a farm in Port Coquitlam where girls got free drugs. But instead of leaving freely, she described being held there against her will for two to three days and sexually assaulted by many men. It was a terrifying account for Diane, but she refused to report the incident to the police. And then, just months later, she was gone. When her family realized something was wrong, one of her daughters, still a teenager, traveled alone to Vancouver to search for her, and she couldn't find her. Diamrock was last seen by her social worker on October 19, 2001. She was 34 years old. Her DNA was found on the walls of the workshop freezer, on a cigarette butt, a bench seat, and a step in the motorhome, as well as her hairs on a Hudson Bay blanket. Her purse was found in a debris pile in the old piggery, which contained a knotted, fluid-filled condom with Willie Picton's DNA. The following month, another woman vanished. The final woman, Mona Lee Wilson. Mona was born on January 13, 1975, in Kelowna, BC. She was from the O'Cheese First Nation in Alberta, one of seven siblings. As a child, she loved simple things: bright colors, animals, moments of joy. But her early life was marked by trauma. She experienced abuse at a young age and was moved through multiple homes: foster care, group homes, never truly having a stable place to land. For a time, she lived in the Fraser Valley where she found some peace helping care for animals on a small farm. People remember that version of Mona, the one who smiled easily and who found happiness in the smallest things. But the effects of her childhood stayed with her, and as a teenager, she began struggling with substance use and eventually returned to Vancouver's downtown east side. Mona was known in the community, especially at places like the Wish Drop-in center, where staff described her as kind, but also strong-willed and independent. She tried multiple times to get clean. She'd entered treatment programs, she'd made plans to reconnect with family. And at one point, she even told her sister she wanted to come live with her after being released from custody. But instead, she returned to the downtown east side. In the weeks before she disappeared, Mona was living in East Vancouver. People who saw her regularly said she was still navigating difficult circumstances, including an unhealthy relationship. Then, on November 23rd, 2001, she was last seen, and she was reported missing just seven days later. Mona Wilson was 26 years old. Later, her head, hands, and feet would be found in a bucket in the piggery. DNA belonging to her and Willie Picton would be found on a dildo attached to the 22 caliber revolver in his laundry room. Large bloodstains on a foam mattress, bed platform, and walls in the motorhome also belonged to her. It came from a man who was struggling to stay afloat. His name was Scott Chubb. Scott was going through a difficult time at this point. He had recently separated from his wife, was behind on child support, and was facing a mounting rent he couldn't keep up with. He needed money, and he needed money fast. And in that desperation, he reached out to someone he had met just weeks earlier during a domestic call at his house, a police officer named Wells. The two had exchanged contact information at the time. There had been a sense that Scott might be useful as a source someday, and now Scott was ready to cash in on that. He contacted Officer Wells and made an offer, information in exchange for money. At first, what he brought forward didn't stand out. It wasn't anything investigators hadn't already heard before. But then Scott mentioned something that changed everything. He asked the officer if they would be interested in information about illegal unregistered firearms, and not just anywhere, but at Robert Willie Picton's property. In that moment, the conversation shifted because this wasn't just another tip. This was something tangible and something that they could act on. And it would become the opening investigators have been waiting for. It all moved quickly from there. What started as a search for illegal firearms was about to uncover something far more disturbing. Police moved forward with a warrant to search the trailer on the farm belonging to Robert Willie Picton, and it was approved without delay. A team was quickly assembled, officers from the RC and P and members of Project Even Handed from the Vancouver Police Department. On the evening of February 5th, 2002, they gathered quietly nearby. Their instructions were clear. Focus on the firearms, disturb as little as possible. But everyone understood what this might really connect to. The missing woman from the downtown east side. When they moved in, it was fast, a battering ram and forced entry. Police, search warrant. Inside, Robert Picton was caught off guard. Within minutes, he was in handcuffs and placed in the back of a cruiser. And then the search began. It didn't take long before something felt off. One officer searching near the laundry area noticed a firearm placed on the shelf above the washing machine. A Silversmith and Wesson 22 revolver. It wasn't just the gun itself that stood out. It was how it had been altered. It had been wrapped in plastic with a curved plastic dildo over the barrel. It was loaded with five live bullets and one spent shell casing. The scene raised immediate concern. In Willie's bedroom, they found more disturbing things. Things that suggested control. Zap straps and two dildos were found in his nightstand. Kitchen knives were found in a box next to his nightstand. And then on the TV stand was a bunch of videotapes and a paper with Heather Bottomley's name on it. And then another name surfaced. Documents addressed to the trailer carrying the name Dinah Taylor, who we all know was living on the farm at that time. In the mechanical shop, police found women's purses and shoes and papers that stated Lynn Ellingson's name as well. Then came the moment that changed everything. In Willie's office, officers found a ski bag. Inside it was a pair of shoes and an inhaler. One of the investigators recognized the name on it immediately. Serena Abbotsway. She had been missing for months since July of 2001. When her inhaler was found inside that trailer, everything changed. The search for firearms was no longer the priority. Investigators knew they were standing in the middle of something much bigger, and they stopped the search immediately. They needed a new warrant, one that would allow them to search the entire property in connection to the missing woman. The next day, Willie Picton was charged on weapons-related offenses. But there wasn't enough yet to hold him for anything more, so he was released on bail with conditions. He was not allowed to return to the farm, but police were watching, listening, waiting. Meanwhile, the farm was sealed off, and what followed would become one of the largest and most complex investigations in Canadian history, even to this day. Teams returned to the property in full protective gear. Every inch of the trailer was processed carefully. Evidence was collected piece by piece, and what they began to uncover was overwhelming. Personal belongings, clothing, jewelry, items that connected back to women who had been missing for years. DNA evidence began linking multiple victims to the space, and it wasn't just confined to one area, it was everywhere. The search expanded beyond the trailer. The entire property, which was 14 acres, had to be examined. Buildings, machinery, vehicles, dirt piles, outbuildings, everything. Officers described the scene as staggering. Within days, the number of investigators grew from dozens to hundreds. A mobile command center was set up, and every item was cataloged, sealed, and tracked. This process would take months. At that point, no remains had yet been uncovered, but the scale of the evidence made it clear. This was no longer just an investigation, it was a massive crime scene. Outside the farm, word spread quickly and media began to gather. Helicopters circled overhead and crowds formed along the perimeter. Reporters, locals, and eventually families. Families who had been waiting and searching, hoping, now standing just beyond the fence, wanting to know if their loved one was there. For many, this was the moment everything became real. Authorities began reaching out to loved ones, letting them know there was finally a suspect, that progress was being made, but also that the truth might be far worse than anyone had imagined. And as investigators continued their work inside the property, collecting all the evidence and sending it away for testing, one thing was becoming painfully clear. This case was bigger, darker, and more devastating than anyone had prepared for, and investigators were already thinking ahead. They knew another arrest of Robert Willie Picton was coming, but this time it had to be done right. Every interaction with him needed to be intentional and controlled, handled by the right person. So they made a strategic decision. A female officer, Constable Dana Lillies, the only woman on the team, would approach him. The thinking was simple. She could build rapport with him and lower his guard. She had already gathered some insight into his family dynamics, including information that suggested he was heavily influenced by his younger brother David. It painted a picture of someone who could be guided or steered in conversation. On February 16, 2002, just eleven days after the farm was raided, she went to find him. At the time, Willie was out on bail and working at one of David's demolition sites in Port Coquitlam. She arrived in plain clothes, and her reason for being there was official, serving paperwork related to his firearms charges, but the real goal was conversation and connection. She approached him casually, asking how he was holding up with all the media attention, positioning herself not as an investigator, but as someone who understood the pressure he was under and someone willing to listen. And it worked. He began to talk. He slipped into a familiar version of himself, portraying his life as one marked by hardship and misunderstanding. At times he became emotional, even tearful. He spoke about his past, his family, moments from his childhood that he seemed to return to again and again. He complained about the media and how he was being treated. At one point he even compared the attention to what Princess Diana had experienced. Through it all, he denied any involvement in the missing woman. He admitted to spending time with women from the downtown east side, but framed it as helping them, said he expected nothing in return from them. He mentioned some of the women that had been around the farm and were still alive, as if that somehow explained everything. But behind the scenes, other conversations were happening. Just a few days later, on February 20th, one of his known associates, Gina Houston, would later testify about a conversation she had with him. She described him as emotional, overwhelmed by the investigation and then growing attention. According to her account, he spoke about feeling like there was no way out, even suggesting that ending his life may be his only option. During that same conversation, she brought up something that had happened months earlier, a phone call. She said she had heard what sounded like a struggle and voices, and then the line abruptly cut out. When she asked him about it later, he acknowledged that someone had been hurt, that he had tried to help but couldn't. Gina believed he was referring to Mona Wilson, a woman who had recently gone missing. According to her testimony, he indicated that Mona had died and that her remains were somewhere on the property. But even in that moment he denied responsibility. Instead, he shifted the blame. He pointed toward Dina Taylor, someone already known in the downtown East Side community, claiming she was responsible for several of the deaths and would take the fall for them. Dina had already been questioned by the police by this point, and she did not cooperate. And without enough evidence to hold her, she was released, though she remained on investigators' radar. On February 21st, police received DNA results that would change everything. The results linked Mona Wilson to a motorhome on Robert Willie Picton's property, and to the gun that had been found attached to the dildo, an item that also contained Willie Picton's DNA. That same afternoon, the Crown approved charges, and later that day, the interview team was notified and everything was now moving forward. On the afternoon of February 22nd, Robert Willie Picton was arrested at his work site. Willie was informed he was under arrest and told he was facing charges in connection with two murders, Mona Wilson and Serena Abbotsway, along with being investigated in relation to 48 additional missing women. As per court documents, Willie reacted with visible shock and confusion, repeatedly interrupting officers asking variations of what? Who are these people? And what's this all about? Struggling to comprehend the scope of what he was actually being accused of. Even during the drive to the Surrey RCMP detachment, he seemed disconnected from the gravity of the situation, repeatedly asking if he would still be able to go to work the next day. Despite being told multiple times by Sergeant Hunter that this would not be possible. During that same drive, police contacted his brother Dave Picton, informing him of the arrest and that Willie would need legal counsel. Once at the detachment around 3 p.m., Willie Picton was processed, his belongings taken, clothes changed, and photographs recorded, before being given access to a phone. His lawyer, Marilyn Sandford, had already reached out and the two spoke briefly before arranging to meet in person. After their roughly 45-minute meeting, Willie indicated he understood her advice and was satisfied. Notably, Sandford made it clear to police that her client did not wish to be interviewed or provide a statement. Despite this, plans for an interview were already in motion. The following morning, concerns arose that Willie Picton didn't fully understand the proceedings, requiring further explanation before continuing. He was ultimately remanded back into custody. Behind the scenes, investigators discussed the importance of ensuring he clearly understood both his rights to silence and the seriousness of the charges, agreeing that these concepts should be explained to him in very simple, direct terms. Later that morning, Willie's formal interview began and would stretch for nearly 12 hours. From the onset, officers emphasized that he was charged with two murders and under investigation for dozens more. Willie Picton responded with disbelief, laughing at the scale of the allegations and dismissing them as hogwash or even a possible setup. Throughout the interview, officers repeatedly explained his right to remain silent, often using analogies to make sure he understood that while others, like his lawyer or family, might advise him not to speak, the final decision was entirely his. The interview itself devolved over time. Initially, it focused on rapport building with officers asking about his life, family, and power. Past. Willie was mostly quiet and reserved, though he became emotional when discussing his mother. As the hours went on, the tone shifted. Investigators began presenting what they described as overwhelming forensic evidence, DNA, blood splatter, and witness statements, linking him to multiple victims. They told him repeatedly that conviction was inevitable, urging him to tell the truth. Woolley's responses fluctuated. At times he denied everything or claimed he didn't know what was happening. Other times he appeared resigned making statements like, I'm finished or I should be on death row. He also showed awareness of his legal position, occasionally stopping himself mid-sentence to say he shouldn't be talking without his lawyer present. Despite this, the questioning continued, often with officers refusing his request to return to a cell or take breaks, instead, pressing forward with long, assertive monologues about the evidence and the consequences that he was facing. As the interview progressed into the evening, Willie Picton became more engaged and at times almost confrontational. He began asking what he might gain from cooperating, even floating the idea of confessing in exchange for concessions, something police firmly rejected. Still, he hinted at deeper knowledge, speaking in vague, suggestive terms, and making comments like, You got me, or I'm nailed to the cross. While he stopped short of full confessions, his statements became increasingly incriminating. Meanwhile, his lawyer made multiple attempts throughout the day to contact him, and even attended the detachment in person, asking to see her client. Police declined to interrupt the interview, despite her repeated requests, and Willie was not informed of her presence until the very end of the process. When finally told he appeared indifferent and noncommittal, saying it really didn't matter whether he spoke with her, though arrangements were ultimately made for them to meet the next day. By the time the interview ended around 9.54 p.m., Willie Picton had endured hours of sustained questioning, shifting from confusion and denial to moments of resignation and implication. The entire process, marked by persistent police pressure, evolving tactics, and limited access to counsel would later become a central focus in examining how his statements were obtained and whether his rights had fully been respected. Once Willie was back in his cell, he began speaking more openly with his cellmate. Little did he know that it was a plant, an undercover officer placed to gather more information from Willie. When the cell plant mentioned he was facing serious charges himself, Willie responded by implying his situation was far worse, at one point gesturing five zero, suggesting the number fifty. When the officer reacted with disbelief, Willie quickly signaled for silence and pointed toward the camera, showing an awareness they could be monitored. As the conversation continued, he admitted in his own words that he had buried himself and that police had caught him. He went on to compare methods of disposing of bodies, responding to the officer's suggestion of the ocean by claiming he had found a better way, referencing a rendering plant. He acknowledged becoming careless toward the end, saying that being too sloppy is what led to his arrest. Then in a chilling moment he stated that he had intended to reach an even fifty victims, but didn't quite get there, admitting his number was 49. He spoke about wanting to complete the Big 5-0, suggesting that final goal contributed to his mistakes. Even then, he remained guarded in parts, hinting that investigators didn't have the full picture and that there were more victims than what was publicly known. By March 2002, investigators were deep into the search of the property. The farm was so large and complex that each search area had to be divided and assigned by a letter. The first site was Willie's trailer. And almost immediately the amount of blood found inside that trailer and the motorhome stood out. There was so much of it that investigators believed multiple women had to have been killed there. Blood belonging to Jacqueline McDonnell was found on the handcuffs. Heather Bottomley's blood was found on the mattress. And in the motorhome there was Diane Rock's blood, along with clumps of her hair. On April 2nd, 2002, Willie Picton was charged with three more counts of first degree murder, adding to the two he had already faced for Mona Wilson and Serena Abbotsway. The next search came in the garage or otherwise known as the workshop. Inside there were two chest freezers. On April 4th, an officer noticed a strong smell coming from one of them. When they opened it, they found frozen buckets. Inside one of those buckets was part of a human head, and there were also hands and feet. These remains were later identified as belonging to Andrea Josebry. It appeared that she had been shot in the back of the right side of the head, with a bullet exiting through her left eye socket. The bullet itself was never recovered. Another bucket was found similar to the first. Inside, another head, cut vertically along with hands and feet. This set was more decomposed. These remains belonged to Serena Abbotsway. She had also been shot, this time above the right ear with a bullet found lodged in the left side of her skull. Teeth and fingernails were also recovered from her bucket. Following this discovery, Willie Picknam was charged with first-degree murder of Andrea Josebury, bringing the total number of charges to six. In that same freezer, investigators also identified DNA belonging to at least seven other women. These included Heather Bottomley, Diana Melnick, Tania Marlowe Hollock, Stephanie Lane, Sherry Irving, Kara Ellis, and Diane Rock. Over at the slaughterhouse, investigators were confronted with another disturbing discovery. Two plastic garbage pails. One contained animal remains, the other contained human remains. Inside was another head, cut in half vertically along with hands and feet. These remains were identified as Mona Wilson. They were not frozen and were in an advanced state of decomposition. By this point it had been almost three months since she had disappeared. I can't imagine the smell. The way these remains had been cut stood out immediately to forensic experts. The same method, the same precision. It suggested the use of the same tool over and over again. And then something from years earlier came back into focus. In 1995, in the city of Mission BC, a man had discovered part of a human skull near a creek. At the time, it was believed to belong to a woman between the ages of 20 and 40. Despite extensive efforts, including DNA testing and international database searches, she was never identified and became known as Mission Jane Doe. Now years later, investigators began to see a connection. The skulls found on the farm, those of Serena, Andrea, and Mona, had all been cut in the same way, vertically, with what appeared to be a reciprocating saw. Each of them also showed evidence of gunshot wounds from a 22 caliber firearm. While there was no confirmed gunshot wound on Mission Jane Doe's skull, the method of cutting was strikingly similar. Investigators then turned their attention to the freezers across the property. In one of them, they found packages of ground pork. Given everything they had already discovered, these were immediately sent for testing. And the results were deeply disturbing and disgusting. Some of those packages contained human tissue. DNA testing later identified two women, Cindy Felix and Inga Hall, who had been missing for more than four years. Their DNA was also found on plastic liners within that freezer. This raised serious concerns. A public health advisory was eventually issued, asking anyone who may have had frozen pork from the farm to turn it over to police. Officials reassured the public that the risk was extremely low, especially if the meat had not been consumed raw. But by then the implications were already clear, and I remember this very clearly myself. Back at the farm, investigators continued their search. They moved to the ruins of the old piggery. At the far end, there was a cistern used for liquid waste. The smell was overwhelming. As I sifted through the contents, an investigator felt something solid. It was part of a human jaw, cut, with teeth still attached. Dental records later confirmed it belonged to Brenda Wolfe. Nearby, another discovery was made, a small bone shaped in a way that suggested it had been cut. It was identified as part of a leg bone belonging to Wendy Crawford, who had been missing for more than two years. By this point, there was no question. What investigators were uncovering on that farm was far beyond anything that they had expected. And they were still only just beginning. The discoveries were far from contained. They were scattered throughout multiple buildings, across ruins, and strewn across the farm. Investigators quickly realized the chilling truth. It wasn't just the structures, it was the entire property. All fourteen acres, much of it had been buried under years of accumulated junk, machinery, and debris. The farm had to be stripped down and cleared. Then it was divided into a grid and every square meticulously excavated. Every load of soil was screened, every inch examined. Specialized teams were brought in, heavy machinery, and some of the country's leading forensic experts. They had to process an overwhelming amount of material. In one of the major finds, after tearing down one of the structures around the pig pen, investigators unearthed a collection of small bones, 14 hand bones to be exact. They belonged to Georgina Papen, the same woman that had been missing for over three years, and who Lynn Ellingson had described seeing in the slaughterhouse that night. The scale of the investigation became staggering. Over 400,000 crime scene photos were taken, and more than 600,000 items were sent for DNA testing, putting forensic labs across Canada under immense stress. The result would take years. The excavation expanded to include forensic anthropologists and archaeologists. Because the property contained numerous bone pits, originally used for animal disposal, university students in forensic sciences were brought in to help sort through the debris along conveyor belts, hour after hour, bone by bone. The work was physically grueling and mentally exhausting, yet critical. Among the debris, a student noticed a partial bone, fragmented, with three brittle teeth. It came back as belonging to Marnie Frey. Nearby were two more bones, a heel and a rib, which belonged to the long mysterious Mission Jane Doe, finally linking her to the Willie Picton farm. By this point, the investigation had become the largest and most costly crime scene in Canadian history, with a search alone estimated at$40 to$50 million. The operation continued for over 18 months, officially concluding in November 2003. By May 2005, Robert Willie Picton was facing 27 first-degree murder charges, linked to DNA from 33 women discovered on the farm, including Mission Jane Doe. However, when the trial began in January 2007, only six of those 27 charges were actually brought to court. The decision was made due to the overwhelming cost and the sheer volume of evidence, making it impossible to prosecute all 27 cases at once. Prosecutors chose to focus on the six victims with the strongest evidence to ensure a conviction. The jury ultimately heard the cases of Mona Wilson, Serena Abbotsway, Andrea Jodebury, Brenda Wolfe, Georgina Papen, and Marnie Frey. The Crown outlined a disturbing pattern. Robert Willie Picton targeted vulnerable women for Vancouver's downtown east side, luring them with promises of higher pay and drugs. Once at the farm he gained their trust and restrained them. The Crown argued that he then killed them, sometimes using a firearm attached to a dildo. Bodies were dismembered in the slaughterhouse, some remains were fed to pigs, some sent to a rendering plant, and others were frozen. Willie Pickton did not testify during his trial. His defense painted him as a man of limited intelligence, slow to process information and below average mental capacity, that he could not have committed any of these offenses alone. Questions lingered about accomplices. Police confirmed some individuals moved between witness and suspect status depending on what evidence surfaced. Lynn Ellingston had been arrested initially after multiple sources said she witnessed a killing and refused to cooperate, but she was eventually cleared with no DNA linking her to the crimes. Defense attempted to discredit her, but she never wavered. Dinah Taylor did not cooperate and never testified. Her DNA appeared on several items on the property. A blanket with Serena Abbotswaite's DNA, Mona Wilson's rosary, Brenda Wolfe's lipstick, and items tied to Piggy's palace. Dina had stayed on the farm though and helped Willie Picton lure women there. Surveillance and wiretops revealed possible knowledge or involvement, but there was never any direct evidence to charge her. The defense also focused on Pat Casanova, who had long assisted Willie Picton with butchering pigs. Casanova was the third individual rested in connection with the murders, almost a year after the farm search began, following DNA evidence linking him to multiple areas on the property. Investigators found his DNA inside the slaughterhouse, mixed with that of victim Mona Wilson, on an orange rubber apron and in a freezer near human remains. At trial, Casanova explained that he had spent nearly two decades butchering pigs at the farm every weekend. He denied any involvement in the murders, claiming he never saw dead bodies or knowingly disposed of human remains. Police seized a bandsaw from Casanova's home containing human DNA, though it could not be traced to a specific individual. Casanova admitted he had initially misled the police. He acknowledged seeing sex workers on the farm and occasionally paying for them for sexual services, identifying Andrea Jolesberry as one of the women, but insisted he did not know that she was deceased. RC ⁇ P officers placed him under surveillance, wiretaps, and undercover monitoring, but ultimately the evidence was insufficient to charge him. Willie's younger brother David Picton remained a central figure and everybody suspected that he had something to do with it. RCMP testified that they believed David played a dominant role in Willie's life and maintained control over him. The defense highlighted David's criminal history, including sexual assault convictions, connections to the Hells Angels, and violent tendencies. Police searched the farmhouse where they believed Dave still lived in, and they found electric massager with DNA from an unidentified woman under his bed, whose DNA was also discovered in a freezer in the slaughterhouse and on a floor vent in Willie's mobile trailer. A bucket labeled quote unquote clout, similar to the one elsewhere on the property, was also found in David's bedroom. David's room also contained multiple dildos, black leather wrist restraints, and a bottle of massage oil. Also a tube of whipped cream and lubricant with stains resembling blood and animal hairs, though it was never determined whether the stains were human. Similar stains appeared elsewhere, including the kitchen counter and on a sheepskin and carpet in the shed, again with no confirmed origin. David's fingerprints were discovered on a cardboard above the freezer containing the remains of Serena and Andrea. I'm not sure if he was ever questioned. I mean I would imagine that he would have been, but David Picton was never charged or linked directly to these murders. He also never testified in the trial. There was also DNA evidence on the farm that was never solved. The bucket holding Andrea Josebury's remains contained DNA from two unknown men, and teeth from Andrea and Serena carried DNA from three other unidentified individuals. Additionally, a fingerprint on one of the freezers did not match Willie Picton and was not cross-referenced with anyone else. The rumors that someone else was involved in the killings besides Willie Picton would never come to light. The trial lasted almost a year with nearly 130 witnesses. After five days of deliberation, the jury asked, could Willie Picton be found guilty even if he did not act alone? And the answer was yes. Three days later, a verdict came. On December 9, 2007, Robert Picton was found guilty of second degree murder for six women, not first degree, because premeditation could not be fully proven. But those six convictions only told part of the story. He had originally been charged with 27 murders, and in 2010 the remaining charges were dropped as he was only sentenced to six concurrent life sentences, with no chance of parole for 25 years. Evidence recovered from the farm in Port Coquitlam had revealed the DNA or remains of at least 33 women. While in custody, Robert Picton even admitted to an undercover officer that he was responsible for 49 deaths. Investigators feared the number could even be higher with more than 60 women reported missing from Vancouver's downtown east side in the years leading up to his arrest. Years later, in 2024, he became eligible to apply for day parole at the age of 74, sparking public outrage. But before that day would come, on May 19, 2024, while incarcerated at Port Cartier Institution, Willie was beaten and stabbed in the face with a broom handle by fellow inmate Marchin Chyrie after reportedly boasting about his crimes. The attack left Willie Picton critically injured. He was airlifted to hospital, placed in a medically induced coma, and died twelve days later. For many, his death didn't bring clear closure, but only a mix of emotions and unanswered questions. Because the full truth, the full number of victims, and the full extent of the horrors that took place on that pig farm may never fully be known. As the death settled on the farm and the courts had spoken, the true weight of what had happened began to sink in. Thirty-three women, each with a story, a life, and loved ones, were taken far too soon. And I'm going to sit here and say each of their names. Nancy Clark, Diana Melnick, Tanya Hollick, Stephanie Lane, Kara Ellis, Andrea Borhaven, Helen Hallmark, Janet Henry, Sherry Irving, Cynthia Felix, Marnie Frey, Carrie Koskey, Inga Hall, Sarah DeVries, Angela Jardine, Jacqueline McDonald. Georgina Papen, Brenda Wool, Wendy Crawford, Jennifer Firminger, Tiffany Drew, Sharon Abraham, Don Cray, Deborah Jones, Patricia Johnson, Heather Bottomley, Yvonne Bowen, Heather Chinook, Andrea Josebery, Serena Abbotsway, Diane Rock, Mona Wilson, and Jane Doe. They were daughters, sisters, mothers, friends, and their absence left a void no trial or sentence could ever fill. The families of these women carried unimaginable grief for decades, facing not only the horror of the crimes, but also the frustration of a system that took years to catch up. Yet through it all, their courage never wavered. They spoke, they fought, and they kept the memory of their loved ones alive, refusing to let the world forget the women who were silenced. In a quiet act of remembrance at the farm, those who had sifted through the soil, lifted bones and documented the horrors, placed white roses and name cards in the final bone pit. A lone bagpiper played, each note a tribute, and each name a whisper to the wind. It was a small gesture of respect, but it carried the weight of sorrow, resilience, and the hope that the woman would never be forgotten. While justice for all these victims could never be fully realized, this series ends with a commitment to memory and dignity. To the women who were lost, and to the families who continue to carry them in their hearts, you are not forgotten. Your lives mattered, your stories matter still, and your courage in facing unspeakable tragedy stands as a testament to resilience in the face of darkness. This is more than a story of crime. It is a story of remembrance, of honoring lives that were stolen too soon, and ensuring that their name will live on always. Thank you so much for tuning in to part five of the Robert Willie Picton story. Join me in two weeks when I have a whole new story because we are done with Robert Willie Picton. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider leaving a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It really helps get the word out. And if you'd like to support the show, you can contribute a small monthly donation if you choose. The link is in my bio, on social media, or in the show notes. Every little bit does help and it is much appreciated. You can also find photos and additional content from this case on Instagram and Facebook at Valley of Secrets Podcast. And don't forget to follow me on whatever you're listening on. Stay safe, stay aware, stay curious.