Serial Killer Accused of Murdering More than 20 Women Was 'Speared in the Head' in Prison

Corin Cesaric

28 May 2024 at 4:05 pm·2-min read

Robert Pickton, 74, was attacked by another inmate on May 19, the Correctional Service of Canada confirmed to PEOPLE

<p>Getty</p> Robert Pickton — Getty
Robert Pickton

A Canadian serial killer is now fighting for his life after being assaulted in a Quebec maximum-security institution where he was being held.

Robert Pickton, 74, was attacked by another inmate during a "major assault" on May 19, the Correctional Service of Canada confirmed to PEOPLE, but further details on the attack and his current condition were not shared.

However, a spokesperson for Sûreté du Québec (the police department in Quebec) told CBC News that Pickton is currently in a medically induced coma. CBS News reports he is in "life-threatening condition."

An unnamed source told The Province that Pickton was "speared in the head with a broken broom-like handle."

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Pickton was accused of killing 26 women, and in a 2007 trial, he was convicted of murdering six women, CBS News reports. The victims were Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Georgina Papin and Marnie Frey. The remains or DNA of 33 women were also found on his pig farm, CBC and CBS News report.

The sister of one of Pickton's victims spoke to CBC about the prison assault.

"I said, 'Good for him, he deserved it,'" Georgina Papin's sister, Tammy Lynn Papin, told the outlet.

Lorimer Shenher, a former lead Vancouver police detective, also spoke out about the assault.

“Obviously, Mr. Pickton has caused a lot of pain for many people," Shenher said, The Province reports. "Unfortunately, all an attack like this serves to do is further thwart the truth of this case from being told so that all the remaining perpetrators could be brought to justice. It’s been an open secret for more than 20 years that these murders were not committed solely by the hands of Robert Pickton.”

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