A British Columbia pig farmer was charged with four additional murders on Wednesday, bringing to 15 the number of women Robert Pickton is suspected of killing.
Police said the charges would make up the largest serial murder case in Canadian history if Pickton is found guilty on all counts, Canadian media reported.
The four new victims are among the 63 women missing from Vancouver’s east side since 1978, many of them prostitutes. In at least one case, DNA evidence contributed to the new charges. Pickton (52) owns a pig farm that has been under investigation by police since new year, located about 30 kilometres from Vancouver. Pickton and his brother ran a local bar, called ”Piggy’s Palace”, which was frequented by bikers and prostitutes.
The trial is due to begin in November.
Until now, Canada’s worst serial murder case was Clifford Olson, found guilty of killing 11 children and teenagers in the 1980s. – Sapa-DPA