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KEY PERSONS IN THE PICKTON TRIAL

By Carolynne Burkholder and Catherine Rolfsen

Robert William Pickton
Until his arrest in 2002, Robert “Willie” Pickton, 57, ran a pig-butchering business on his family’s Port Coquitlam farm. Pickton currently stands trial for the murders of 6 women: Sereena Abotsway, Angela Joesbury, Mona Wilson, Georgina Papin, Marnie Frey and Brenda Wolfe. After the present proceedings, Pickton will stand trial for the murders of 20 additional women. The 26 women, who range in age from early 20s to mid-40s, went missing between 1995 and 2001. Pickton pled innocent to all charges of first-degree murder on January 30, 2006. In February 2002, a massive forensics investigation began on Pickton’s farm. The remains of the six victims have been found on the farm, but Pickton’s defence maintains he was not involved in their murders.If convicted, Pickton will be the most prolific serial killer in Canada, surpassing Clifford Olson.

Justice James Williams
Justice James Williams is the presiding trial judge in the trial of Robert Pickton. He was assigned to the trial in May 2005 to replace Associate Chief Justice Patrick Dohm who could not oversee the trial due to scheduling conflicts. Williams, a graduate of UBC’s law program, was called to the bar in 1984. In 1990 he was made a partner with the Vancouver firm Smart & Williams where he worked in criminal defence litigation and prosecution. Williams was appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in October 2002 to replace Justice D.L. Clancy.

Peter Ritchie
Peter Ritchie is the Lead Counsel representing Robert Pickton. He has been a lawyer in private practice since 1972. He has worked as Crown counsel, defence counsel, and in civil litigation at all court levels in Canada. He has held executive positions on the Canadian Bar Association and B.C. Trial Lawyers Association. Ritchie also is a guest lecturer at UBC. Ritchie has been on defence counsel in some of B.C.’s most infamous court cases, including the trial of Gillian Guess, a juror who had an affair with the accused during the trial. Guess was found guilty of obstructing justice in 1995.

Michael Petrie
Michael Petrie is the Lead Counsel?representing the Crown. Petrie graduated from UBC law school in 1978. He has worked as a government prosecutor since 1979 and was appointed a queen’s counsel in 2006.

Dave Pickton
Dave Pickton is the brother of Robert Pickton. A Vancouver police officer testified in March 2007 that Dave Pickton is still under investigation in the missing women case, but is not a suspect in the murders.

Don Adam
Inspector Don Adam is the RCMP officer in charge of the missing women case. As a staff sergeant, Adam questioned Pickton in the 11-hour police interview which jury saw in January.

Tim Sleigh
A forensic identification specialist, sergeant Tim Sleigh was in charge of collecting and preserving DNA evidence at the Pickton farm. It was to become the largest forensic investigation in Canada, a task Sleigh said “overwhelmed” him.

Sereena Abotsway
Sereena Abotsway was born on Aug. 20, 1971 with fetal alcohol syndrome. Both her parents died young, and she lived with foster parents Bert and Anna Draayers until the age of 17 before entering a group home. There, she began doing drugs, and worked for years as a sex worker on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Abotsway participated in community marches for the missing women before she went missing in 2001.

Marnie Frey
Marnie Frey was born on August 30, 1973 in Campbell River, where she is remembered as a generous, playful child. At age 18, she gave birth to a daughter, Brittney, who was raised by Frey’s stepmother. After becoming addicted to drugs, she moved to Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and turned to sex work. She maintained contact with her family until her disappearance in 1997.

Angela Joesbury
Angela Joesbury was born on November 6, 1978 in Victoria. She moved to Vancouver in her teens, became addicted to drugs and started working as a sex worker. At the time of her disappearance in 2001, Joesbury was on methadone to try to get off drugs and regain custody of her daughter.

Georgina Papin
Georgina Papin, a member of the Enoch Cree First Nation, was born on March 11, 1964 to a family of nine children. Papin went through dozens of foster homes and institutions before the age of 18. Her native heritage was very important to Papin. She had seven children, the last of which was born in 1998. Papin was last seen in 1999.

Mona Wilson
Mona Wilson, a member of the O’Chiese First Nation, was born on January 13, 1975. Abused as a child, she was placed in foster home with the Garley family from the ages of eight to 14. By 16, she was living on Vancouver’s east end. She turned to heroin and sex work, and went missing in 2001.

Brenda Wolfe
Brenda Wolfe was born on October 20, 1968. She worked as a waitress and bouncer at the Balmoral Hotel pub on the Downtown Eastside and is remembered as tough yet gentle by friends in the community. Police say she was last seen in 1999.

Sources: Canadian Press, B.C. Ministry of Attorney
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