Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton dies at the age of 74 after robbery in prison

“It is a difficult day for everyone who has lost a loved one because of his cruelty and heinous crimes,” said Canadian Prime Minister David Eby.

Robert Pickton – a serial killer who launched one of Canada’s largest murder investigations – has died. He was 74 years old.

Correctional Service Canada (CSC) announced on Friday, May 31, that Pickton, who was convicted of murdering six women and feeding their bodies to pigs on his farm, was attacked by another inmate at the Port-Cartier Institution on May 19. He later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

The CSC said Pickton was serving an “indeterminate sentence” at the prison that began on December 11, 2007, after he was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder.

The agency added that it was conducting an investigation and would “examine all facts and circumstances of the attack.”

The CSC also said it had been in contact with Pickton’s family and “registered victims” and was “aware” that his case had “devastating impacts on communities in British Columbia and across the country, including Indigenous peoples, victims and their families.”

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According to CNN, at least 65 women disappeared from the province of British Columbia between 1978 and 2001, before Pickerton’s arrest.

The bodies of 33 women – many of them Indigenous – were found on Pickerton’s pig farm in the nearby town of Port Coquitlam, according to the source. He later confessed to an undercover officer from his prison cell that he had killed 49 women.

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Following news of Pickton’s death, Canadian Prime Minister David Eby released a statement saying his condolences were with “the families of the victims.”

“For some, the death of this notorious serial killer may bring closure, but for others it will reopen old wounds. It is a difficult day for anyone who has lost a loved one because of his cruelty and heinous crimes,” Eby said.

Related: Inside the dramatic rescue of a woman who was locked in a container and ‘chained like a dog’ by a serial killer

“Robert Pickton exploited the most vulnerable in our society. These women were dismissed as less equal and less worthy because of who they were,” he continued. “We are determined to recognize the dignity of every human being to prevent this from ever happening again.”

“Have a good trip,” Eby concluded his statement.

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