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A (0:00)
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C (1:04)
Included with Prime Apple Podcasts, Patreon and Supercast. The podcast often has disturbing content and coarse language. It's not for everyone. Please take care when listening Hi there, it's Christy. Thank you so much for joining me for Part four of this series. A quick message before we start Long time listeners know that I already covered this case more than eight years ago in my first year of podcasting, when it was just a hobby. It's a lot more than that now, and I've learned a lot more since then. And in the last few years, when the news broke that Robert Pickton had been murdered and why, I decided to revisit my original series, rewrite it and add his final update to replace the original. Well, I pulled on one thread, then found myself digging through all the evidence again to find answers to questions I didn't really know to ask last time. This final chapter has turned out to be one very long episode, so I've had to split it in two. It's now a five part series. I'm so sorry. I always do this. I just don't want to rush it or cut corners or get sloppy. Thanks for your patience and for hanging in. You won't have to wait so long for part five. An additional content warning graphic and disturbing details. I'll also let you know when we get to the part with details of animal abuse. For those who want to fast forward. Where we left off. It was early 2000 and it had been three years since Wendy escaped the farm after surviving a brutal knife fight with Robert Pickton. Despite her credible account, the Crown decided she was not fit to testify at trial and dropped all the charges. Robert Pickton slipped through the cracks. That was 1997. The next year saw a noticeable spike in women vanishing. Bill Hiscox, a former employee, reported multiple times to the Vancouver police and the RCMP that Robert Willie Picton talked openly about disposing of bodies in the piggery. But senior officers dismissed the information as hearsay. In 99, Ross Caldwell, associate of Robert Pickton, reported to the RCMP that Lyn Ellingson had told him she was staying on the farm and walked in on Willie killing a woman in the barn. Willie told him directly that he could dispose of bodies on the farm without a trace. He also heard that Willie was taking human remains to a depot. The police did not apply for a search warrant, even after surveillance caught the pig farmer delivering barrels to West Coast Reduction twice and lost him twice. Those barrels were never inspected. By the end of 99, Robert and his brother had repeatedly ducked the police's attempts at an interview. In early 2000, that interview finally happened, but it was unplanned and poorly handled. Once again, the investigation was stalled at a critical moment, allowing Robert Pickton to continue targeting vulnerable women for another two years. By this point, Robert Pickton had picked up a new female friend, Dina Taylor, who went by Dinah, according to court records. An Ojibwe woman In her late 20s, Dinah Taylor originally came from Thunder Bay, Ontario, but she'd reportedly been living in the downtown Eastside since she was a teenager. She was extremely thin with shoulder length curly hair and engaged in hazardous use of heroin and cocaine, according to a later article in the province. She was also described as bold, aggressive and reluctant to discuss her past, generally uncooperative. There's always been a lot of mystery around Dinah Taylor. What is known is that she had quite the rap sheet, mostly for drug trafficking, and she was a known pimp on the downtown east side. People tried to stay out of her way. Staff at local outreach centres like the Wish Drop In Centre reported at the time that Dinah never wanted to engage with them. She only went in when she had clients waiting for dates and needed to find a sex worker to drag out. Dinah Taylor reportedly began staying on the Picton farm for a night here and there, and then for weeks. He gave her clothes, money, drugs and whatever else she wanted. And at some point, she began procuring sex workers to bring back to the farm, just like Gina Houston had been doing. And the women continued going missing. One of them was Sharon Abraham, who was 39 years old. Sharon was of Seguin First Nation in Manitoba, according to a 2024 APTN news article. In 1989, at 24 years old, Sharon left an abusive relationship and moved into a transition house in Vancouver, trying to build a safer life for herself and her two young daughters. A friend who met her there and later shared an apartment with her remembered Sharon as a happy, confident mother. Sharon ended up back in Manitoba. She gave birth to three more children but lost custody of them all. Her son would later tell APTN News that she was a very loving mum and all she wanted was to have all her kids together, but the system made her jump through hoops to get them back. She was crushed and ended up back in Vancouver. Sharon Abraham disappeared in 2000, age 39. Her DNA, a fingernail would later be found on the Picton farm. Next to go missing was 42 year old Dawn Kray, one of nine children from a Starlow First Nation family. Dawn's parents were residential school survivors and her early life was marked by profound loss. As a young child, she witnessed her father die of a heart attack. Her mother began engaging in hazardous use of alcohol and dawn and her siblings were largely separated and put into the foster system in Chilliwack, about an hour and a half drive from Vancouver. At 16, dawn gave birth to a son and her foster family later took over his care. She began experimenting with drug use in her teens and by her early 20s she had substance use disorder and significant mental health challenges. Dawn Kray lived with her brother Ernie Kray for a time before moving into a hotel with an elderly man who she reportedly attacked in an attempt to have herself committed to a psychiatric facility so she could finally get some help. Despite multiple attempts at treatment, dawn continued to struggle and eventually moved to the downtown Eastside where she would live for about 20 years. In the early 1990s, dawn survived a brutal acid attack by two women, leaving her with severe scarring and chronic pain. Her substance use escalated afterward, she stayed closely connected to several of her siblings and was a regular at the Wish Drop in Centre. Dawn Cray vanished from the Downtown Eastside in 2000. Her DNA would be found on a woman's undergarment in Robert Pickton's mobile trailer. Dinah Taylor, Picton's latest best friend, would admit she had seen Dawn Cray in the time immediately before she'd been reported missing. And in fact, rumours among the sex worker community were that Dinah had persuaded dawn to go back with her to the Picton farm. The last to vanish in the year 2000 was Deborah Jones. Not a lot is publicly known about Deborah's background except that she was a mother and an identical twin. She was close with her four brothers and sisters. Deborah was described as friendly and had an amazing musical talent that included guitar, piano and a singing voice similar to Janis Joplin. Deborah Jones was last seen in December of 2000, age 43. Her blood would be found on a purse and a broken crack pipe found at the foot of Robert Picton's bed. In her book on the Farm, author Stevie Cameron includes personal accounts of two women who alleged they escaped from Robert Pickton in 2001. The women never officially reported it to the police for various reasons, so their stories didn't appear in the case files or the later inquiry. One is a 35 year old woman referred to as Katrina who was out on bail, awaiting trial and going to visit her husband in prison. Katrina and her husband were long time criminals and had robbed at least 19 banks. She had a ride to Kent Institution about an hour and 20 minutes drive from Port Coquitlam, but she had to hitchhike home after the visit. A van stopped to pick her up and the driver said, hi, I'm Willy. He had a toothy grin. He was bald on top with matted hair at the back. Willy told Katrina he was going to Port Coquitlam and agreed to make a short detour and drop her off in Surrey. The van was absolutely filthy. Katrina couldn't even make out what colour it was and it smelled disgusting inside too. It's known that Robert Pickton had access to several old vehicles on the farm, including a van. As they drove down the Trans Canada Highway, Willy offered Katrina a cannabis joint. She lit it up and handed it to him, but he shook his head. Remember, Robert Pickton never took drugs himself. He only kept them to control and manipulate. He said a few strange things that made her feel uncomfortable and then she noticed her door was missing the handle. She was literally trapped. When he drove past her stop, she became frantic and searched her bag for something to use as a weapon. She noticed he exited the highway and was heading towards an industrial park. When he went to turn a corner, she stabbed a pencil into the side of his neck and tried to gouge his eye. She then threw herself across his lap and pushed open the driver's door, landing headfirst on the gravel. All she could hear was him laughing as she jumped up and ran for her life. Katrina made it to a gas station and reported it to the RCMP who left her standing there saying they were going after the van. A few weeks later, Katrina was convicted of armed robbery and returned to prison. She never actually reported what happened, and she didn't find out if the RCMP officer actually did follow after the van. In 2001, another woman disappeared. Patricia Johnson, known to her family as Patty, was 24 years old. Patty Johnson grew up in east Vancouver with her mother and half sister, where she was described as bubbly, always laughing. She left home at 16 and began experimenting with drugs. In her late teens, Patty entered a long term relationship and became a mother to two children she adored. She had their names tattooed on each of her shoulders. After the relationship ended, the children remained in their father's care, but Paddy called or visited whenever she could and never missed birthdays or holidays. Later, Patti became involved with a partner who introduced her to heroin. They entered rehab together, but while he managed to stop using, Paddy was not able to. She ended up living on Vancouver's downtown Eastside, surviving on welfare. Still, people who knew her spoke of her dignity, warmth and determination to recover. It was there that Patti met photographer Lincoln Clarks. He asked if he could take her photo and she agreed. She became the first woman photographed for his Heroines series, which documented women living in the downtown Eastside. Clarkes later described Patti as bright, outgoing and upbeat. Someone who talked about her children all the time. In early March 2001, Patti stopped calling when she missed her son's birthday. Her family knew something was wrong. She was 24 years old. Patty's mother would tell author Stevie Cameron that the police had told her Patty had gone to Montreal. Patty Johnson's blood would be found on plywood in the slaughterhouse at the Picton farm. Her DNA would be found on sex toys found in Robert Pickton's bedroom and on a syringe outside his mobile trailer home. That same year, Yvonne Marie Boone disappeared. Yvonne was born in Saskatchewan and her father died when she was a baby. Her mother remarried and had two more children. Yvonne was said to be popular at school, tall, with curly blonde hair. But she had a strong rebellious streak. She dropped out in early high school. At age 15, she married a man who was 25. Over the next three years, Yvonne gave birth to three boys, but then she and her husband separated. Yvonne got a job with a travelling carnival and and left her children with her mother to work. At some point, Yvonne started using drugs and ended up living in Vancouver's downtown Eastside. She promised her son Troy that they would spend spring break of 2001 together. But she failed to show up. He would later tell a Canadian press journalist that he called her back repeatedly, but she didn't answer. Yvonne Marie Boone was 34 years old. Her DNA would later be found on the Picton farm. The other woman who alleged she escaped from Robert Picton in 2001 was referred to as Terry. She lived on the downtown east side and had substance use disorder. She would later tell author Stevie Cameron that one night a pickup truck stopped next to her. It was Willie Picton and he had a couple of other women in the truck. He asked Terry if she wanted to join them. The promise of free drugs and $100 cash was too good to pass up, so Terry agreed to go to the farm. Her memories of the encounter were vivid. She recalled being overcome with the stench of animals inside his truck and because she had asthma, it sparked a full asthma attack. Terry screamed at Willy to stop and let her out of the truck so loudly that he did stop and belted her across the face. Then he let her out. Terry had negative experiences with the police before after a previous attack with someone else and decided this wasn't enough to report. Heather Bottomley came from a loving, ordinary home in a nice neighbourhood in the greater Vancouver area. Her friends described her as funny, with a quirky sense of humour. She was petite, with thick curly hair, known for her alfin looks. According to the later inquiry, Heather loved playing baseball and putting on funny skits for her family. She was known for her great sense of humour. In Grade 9, she dropped out of school and met a boyfriend who was a drug user. Heather gave birth to a baby when she was 17 and began using drugs herself. She ended up living in the downtown Eastside. She became pregnant with her second child and her uncle would tell author Stevie Cameron that she spoke about wanting to stop using drugs and that the family had been discussing how to help her. But then she stopped calling them back. They looked for her in local hospitals and recovery centres. Heather Bottomley had vanished aged 25. Her DNA was one of several that would be found in a bucket in one of the freezers on the Picton farm. Heather Chinnock was originally from Colorado, but her mother married a Canadian and they moved to the Kootenays in British Columbia. Heather wasn't settled there and kept taking off and sometime along the way she started using drugs and alcohol. She got married and had a son, but she wasn't able to care for him. After her husband was incarcerated for second degree murder, Heather was convicted herself of soliciting two times in the Vancouver area. She was known to wear a distinctive wolf head ring. At the time she disappeared, Heather Chenock Was living with a boyfriend. But he would later tell the press that she visited the Picton farm often and enjoyed it there, thinking of it as a refuge. And then she just disappeared. Aged 31. Heather Chinnock's wolf head ring would be found in the pig pen at the Picton farm. Her DNA was also found in that bucket in one of the freezers. Foreigna Josbury was 23 years old. She grew up on Vancouver island, where she was said to love sports and drama. Her childhood was marked by her parents, alcohol use and mental illness. She witnessed her father physically assaulting her mother many times to the point where he served a four year prison sentence for it. Andrea and her siblings ended up living with her maternal grandparents. But she ran away from home when she was 16 and ended up living on the downtown eastside with her drug dealer and pimp who was 20 years older than her. She gave birth to a baby with that man, but the baby was taken by social services. Her mother would say that her drug use escalated after that. Andrea began a methadone program and was known to visit wish drop in centre every night, where she was known for her bright smile. Robert Willie Picton's two friends were still active getting women for him from the downtown east side. Gina Houston would later testify that Dinah Taylor showed up to the farm with a woman who she introduced as Andrea and the three women used drugs together. Andrea's family were notified that she had missed a methadone appointment. Her brother looked for her on the downtown eastside, then reported her missing. Andrea Josbury was 23 years old. By now, the community was again reeling with shock. Clearly, the reports that suggested the number of missing women had begun to decline had created a false sense that the threat had passed. Women were still going missing at an alarming rate. Meanwhile, project evenhanded, the joint task force between the Vancouver PD and the RCMP had expanded slightly. As they dug deeper into the files, they discovered that far more women had gone missing from the downtown eastside than anyone had initially acknowledged. The VPD was forced to take the issue of the missing women seriously. Project evenhanded officially opened the lines of communication with the victims families. They held a meeting with 50 family members and for the first time told them exactly where they were up to with the investigation and that they intended to keep the communication up. Most of the family members left the meeting feeling reassured, or at least like they'd finally been heard. The next day, October 15th of 2001, the police publicly announced that they would be treating the missing women cases as homicide cases. This was a huge moment for everyone involved. Robert Pickton didn't know it yet, but his time was running out. In just four months, he would be arrested. Proceeds from this series are being donated to the Wish Drop in Centre society supporting street based sex workers on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside since 1984. You never think it's going to be.