VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Canada's highest court has upheld the murder convictions of Robert Willie Pickton. The nine Supreme Court justices have unanimously rejected Pickton's bid for a new trial.
In 2007, Pickton was found guilty on six counts of second degree murder in the deaths of women from the Downtown Eastside. He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole for 25 years.
He appealed, arguing the trial judge made a mistake when he told the jury they could find Pickton guilty even if they didn't think he acted alone.
Lynn Frey is the stepmother of Marnie Frey, one of the six women Pickton was found guilty of murdering. She says she was in favour of a new trial. "And my heart goes out to the other families. They have no accountability, they have no justice. Do they get a death certificate? Do they get their loved ones' remains? Nothing is going to change for Pickton. He's still going to do 25 years."
Frey says it will be up to Marnie's daughter, Brittney, to decide what she wants to do with her mother's remains. She also wants a public inquiry into the missing women from the Downtown Eastside.
Ernie Crey's sister's DNA was found on the Pickton farm. He says he's glad the Supreme Court upheld the original verdict. "I do appreciate that some of the families wanted to see him go forward on a trial on all 26 counts. But in effect, what we have here is a conviction. This man is going to remain in jail where he belongs, very likely for the balance of his life."
News1130 legal analyst, Michael Shapray, says as far as Pickton's legal fight goes, this would be the end of his legal options. "The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of the land in Canada and he has exhausted all of his legal appeals. There is no way to review that decision, and this would be the end of the day for any legal steps that he may try and take to overturn his conviction."
The 20 outstanding murder charges Pickton is still facing will now likely be stayed. The Crown feels since he's already serving a life sentence with no chance for parole, any additional prosecution isn't necessary.
Meanwhile, Vancouver Police Deputy Chief Doug LePard says this case will always haunt him. He adds he supports the public inquiry but it is a call for the province to make. LePard stated how sorry he is for the families of the missing women. He also apologized by saying when faced with the worst, they should have done better.
The Joint Missing Women Task Force says it's still committed to investigating the cases of the missing women. A 51-person team is still at it. The Criminal Justice Branch hopes today provides some comfort and closure to all of those involved.