Report details Quebec prison murder of serial killer Robert Pickton

An inquest report detailing the prison assault that led to the death of British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton says he was attacked by another inmate who broke a broom handle and stabbed him in the face.

The commission of inquiry’s report released Friday states that Pickton was assaulted while medication was being distributed in the unit where he was housed at the Port-Cartier Institution in Quebec on May 19, 2024.

The report states that prison guards quickly intervened and convinced the attacker to stop beating him, but minutes later he “grabbed a broom, broke the handle and stabbed it in” Pickton’s face.

The commission’s report states that Pickton was taken to hospital by ambulance and then flown to another facility in Quebec the next day, where he was admitted to intensive care due to his critical condition.

The report states that Pickton died on May 31, 2024. Investigators interviewed 35 staff members at the prison and another facility, finding that inmates had free access to cleaning tools, including mops and brooms, that were not stored in locked cabinets.

At the time of the incident, Pickton was 74 years old and had been serving a life sentence since 2007 for six counts of second-degree murder. 20 additional counts of first-degree murder led to a stay of proceedings against him in 2010.

He had been held in a maximum security facility since an assessment in 2018 and had been incarcerated at the Port-Cartier Institution since 2018 as well.

The report states that after Pickton’s death, the wrong family member was contacted about his death, and investigators were unable to determine whether he was aware that his designated next of kin had changed their contact information.

The committee made three recommendations, including that the prison take steps to reduce access to items that can be used or transformed for purposes that compromise the security of the facility. “A project is underway to secure the doors of the maintenance staff storage areas in the unit common rooms to better control access to cleaning equipment,” the report states.

The commission’s report notes that no criminal charges had been laid and that the Quebec Coroner’s Office had not submitted any documents to the Correctional Service of Canada at the time the report was written.

Another report, written by an independent observer appointed to ensure the integrity of the investigation, states that Pickton was “violently assaulted” by an inmate named Martin Charest.

The observer’s report notes that the commission “conducted a meticulous, highly professional and impartial investigation into a sensitive subject,” and commends the commission for completing this “difficult work within the timeframe set.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews