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Pig farmer may solve murder mystery
23/02/2002 20:44 - (SA)
Vancouver, Canada - Canadian authorities edged closer to resolving the mystery of the disappearance of some 50 women over two decades in western Canada after the arrest and indictment of a man on two murder counts.
Police have been combing the grounds of Robert William Pickton's
pig farm for more than two weeks, hoping to find bodies of
prostitutes who went missing from Vancouver's "red light" district.
Some 80 investigators are involved in "the detailed, inch by
inch search of the farm property (that) will continue for many
months", said Joint Task Force spokesperson Constable Catherine
Galliford.
The 52-year-old was charged on Friday with two counts of first
degree murder, a spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, adding that additional charges could soon follow. He is to
appear on Monday in court in the town of Port Coquitlam outside
Vancouver.
Drug addicts and prostitutes
"This is a case involving 50 missing women. There are a lot of
questions still unanswered. We will not rest until those answers
are found," she said, adding that there were still "hundreds of
potential suspects".
"This is one small piece of a very large puzzle."
Most of the women were drug addicts and prostitutes who
disappeared without trace. Some relatives complained the women's
professions led the police initially to investigate the
disappearances with something less than the utmost diligence.
But confronted with the real possibility that a serial killer
was in their midst, authorities stepped up the investigation last
year.
It was only two weeks ago, however, that real leads started
appearing in the case, when police, armed with a search warrant to
find illegal weapons, began their exhaustive search of the property
Pickton co-owns with his brother.
Not searching a needle in a haystack
DNA experts, as well as searchers brandishing mechanical
shovels, bulldozers and even tracking dogs are on the property for
what Galliford insisted was "not a search for a needle in a
haystack".
"It is a precise, methodical, highly integrated police
investigation involving real people who are missing."
Much of the investigation is focused on a trailer parked on the
property, where traces of DNA were discovered. Police have since
launched an appeal for anyone who has ever been at the farm to
provide a DNA sample, hoping to eliminate suspects.
Pickton was questioned by police nearly two weeks ago but was
not taken into custody as police did not think he was a suspect.
Expressing confidence that he, or the perpetrator of the crimes,
would be brought to justice, Galliford insisted "we said it before
and we will say it again; we have science, expertise and time on
our side". - Sapa-AFP
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