Inmate charged with first-degree murder in death of B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton

An artist's sketch shows accused serial killer Robert Pickton taking notes during the second day of his trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, B.C., Jan. 31, 2006. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jane Wolsack

By The Canadian Press

Posted July 21, 2025 3:59 pm.

A federal inmate has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of serial killer Robert Pickton last year.

Martin Charest, 52, was charged on July 3 for allegedly attacking Pickton at Quebec’s Port-Cartier maximum security prison.

Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, 12 days after he was assaulted, but no charges were laid at the time.

An investigation report released earlier this month revealed Pickton was assaulted by a fellow inmate who broke a broom handle and thrust it into his face, and a separate report by an independent observer named Charest as the suspect.

Pickton was convicted in 2007 on six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Charest will appear in court on Thursday.

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