Murder charges pile up for pig farmer
Suspected in disappearances of 60 women
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- A pig farmer, who if convicted could become Canada's most notorious serial killer, was charged Wednesday with 12 new counts of first-degree murder.
The new charges come on top of the 15 charges Robert Pickton already faces in the disappearance of more than 60 women, mainly prostitutes who vanished from the seedy Downtown Eastside neighborhood of Vancouver.
The remains of at least 31 women were found at Pickton's farm about 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the heart of Vancouver. The 55-year-old single man lived with his brother and sister on the farm left to them by their parents.
Lorraine Crey, the sister of Dawn Crey, whose DNA was identified among the remains of the women, was upset that a charge was not filed for her death. Apparently there was not yet enough evidence.
"It was like a punch in the gut," Crey said outside the courtroom.
The trial is expected to begin in the fall with a lengthy examination of evidence before the case goes to jury, a scenario not likely to happen until January.
Pickton has been in custody since his February 7, 2002 arrest in a Vancouver suburb. Police arrested him after descending on the farm and other family property and discovered the remains.
A charge for the death of Marnie Frey, who disappeared from Downtown Eastside eight years ago, was one of the 12 new counts laid against Pickton on Wednesday. Lynne Frey, who was told three years ago that her daughter's remains had been found on the farm, said the charge didn't bring closure.
"But I feel a relief that somebody's actually listening to us," she said. "I won't have any closure until I finally bring Marnie home."
Frey said that when her daughter's remains are returned to her she will drive them through Downtown Eastside before returning them home to Campbell River on Vancouver Island.
Dozens of investigators, aided by forensic anthropologists, took apart every building on the pig farm and sifted through hundreds of tons of dirt looking for evidence. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Vancouver police's Missing Women Task Force have processed more than 100,000 DNA swabs and thousands of pieces of forensic evidence since the investigation began.
The half-year preliminary hearing in the Pickton case was covered by one of the most stringent publication bans in Canadian history, including postings of information about the evidence on the Internet, so that the potential jury pool would not be tainted.
On Wednesday Pickton's lawyer Peter Ritchie demanded that the ban be extended. Justice Geoffrey Barrow of the Supreme Court of British Columbia was expected to rule on the proposed ban extension later in the day.
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