‘A human rights violation’: Advocates, families oppose destruction of Robert Pickton evidence

Advocates and families of victims who were murdered by serial killer Robert Pickton are speaking out Monday about a push by the RCMP to destroy or return evidence seized in the investigation.

The group says it has sent a letter, which has been endorsed by more than 40 organizations and advocates across Canada, to the federal public safety minister, the commissioner of the RCMP, as well as British Columbia’s attorney general and its solicitor general, to call on “each to take immediate steps to preserve Pickton evidence.”

Sue Brown, the director of advocacy and a staff lawyer at Justice for Girls, said at a press conference Monday that they are calling upon those involved not just to “honour their commitments to justice, human rights and reconciliation, and to commit the necessary and adequate resources towards not only preserving the evidence obtained during the Pickton investigation, but to continue thoroughly investigating these cases of unsolved and incomplete, missing and murdered women’s cases and to bring all potential perpetrators to prosecution.”

Brown said more than 50 women who disappeared from the Downtown Eastside, some of whose remains were found on the Pickton farm, stand as a “stark example” of the ways that Indigenous and marginalized women and girls are failed in the justice system.

Pickton, who was a pig farmer, was found guilty in 2007 on six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of women who disappeared from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

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He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years.

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In 2010, after the Supreme Court upheld his sentence, 20 other first-degree murder charges were stayed because Pickton was already serving the maximum sentence.

“Today, despite multiple inquiries and investigations, this latest step by the RCMP to seek disposal of all exhibits a mere 20 years after the investigation on the farm began, sends the message that the missing and murdered women’s cases are closed, despite the majority of them being unsolved,” Brown said.

“Allowing those who disappear and murder women and girls to do so with impunity is a human rights violation.”

In a statement, the B.C. RCMP said it is making applications for the disposal of property held by police but all evidence is being preserved.
“To put it simply, the RCMP is not authorized to retain property indefinitely and is making application to the court for disposition of that property,” the statement read.

“Ultimately, this process is required by law and is for the intended purpose of returning property to the rightful owners, where applicable, or for the disposal of items not claimed. Throughout this process, we have been working closely with the victims’ families to return their loved ones’ belongings as well as local First Nations to ensure disposal is done in a culturally sensitive way. This consultation is ongoing and is not something that we can elaborate on at this time.”

The RCMP said all possible evidence has been captured and retained and would not affect any future prosecution.

“Ultimately, the disposition of property must be decided by the courts and we await that decision,” it said.

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