Children of missing women sue serial killer Robert Pickton

[SLM]

Children of missing women sue serial killer Robert Pickton

By Tyler Orton, QMI Agency

VANCOUVER -- The children of four women who disappeared from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside while Robert Pickton prowled the streets are suing the convicted serial killer, his siblings, the B.C. government and various Metro Vancouver police agencies.
The seven claimants filed suit in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday seeking compensation for psychological harm they say they endured in the wake of their mothers’ disappearances.
Lawyer Neil Chantler, whose firm is representing the families, said his clients wished they didn’t have to file suit.
“They were optimistic that after (Missing Women’s Commissioner Wally Oppal) released his report, the government would act swiftly in implementing his recommendations.”
Those recommendations, made public in November, included a compensation fund for the children of Pickton’s victims. The Port Coquitlam, B.C., pig farmer was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of six women.
Chantler added the families are seeking “fair compensation” from the courts.

DNA of the women at the centre of this civil case — Yvonne Boen, Sarah de Vries, Cynthia Feliks and Dianne Rosemary Rock — was discovered on Pickton’s farm.
Feliks’ daughter, Theresa Mongovius, stated in court documents her mother’s disappearance resulted in emotional and financial loss, eventually leading to her problems with depression, addiction and insomnia.
The case takes aim at the RCMP, as well as the Vancouver and New Westminster police departments, which the plaintiffs claim were grossly negligent in investigating Pickton.
The missing women’s children blame Vancouver police for not warning the public a serial killer could be roaming the streets, despite the fact two investigators told their superiors it was a possibility.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs also hold the Crown responsible for not prosecuting Pickton on an attempted murder charge stemming from a 1997 incident — five years before his arrest.
His siblings, David Pickton and Linda Wright, are also among the defendants. The case alleges the pair had an obligation to protect the safety of those who entered the farm they co-owned along with their brother.



Children of missing women sue serial killer Robert Pickton - Crime - Canoe.ca

 

[Nuggler]

Good luck to them !!

In following this investigation it appeared the cops were not too concerned about the fate of "street people", and it was stated more than once that "they've probably moved"

Turns out they did.

 

[WLDB]

Im not sure what they're trying to accomplish. He's in jail and he's never getting out. He has no money so they cant get some sort of financial pay off at the end. I can see going after the police and government though. Its remarkable how slow they were in catching him.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Here's the key. . .

The children of four women who disappeared from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside while Robert Pickton prowled the streets are suing the convicted serial killer, his siblings, the B.C. government and various Metro Vancouver police agencies.

The money is possibly in the siblings, certainly in the B.C. and Vancouver governments.

The rest is called "compulsory joinder." In civil procedure in the U.S. (and I presume it's the same in Britain and Canada) you are required to include all relevant parties in your suit.

 

[SLM]

Im not sure what they're trying to accomplish. He's in jail and he's never getting out. He has no money so they cant get some sort of financial pay off at the end. I can see going after the police and government though. Its remarkable how slow they were in catching him.

I think it has a lot to with the $10 million inquiry that basically netted them nothing more than another apology. Not suggesting that they are money hungry, at least no more so than the average person, but I've seen it noted more than once that had the money spent on the inquiry been spent in the area where the abductions occurred, a lot of these vulnerable people (and they remain vulnerable, even with Picton locked away, there is always the next guy after all) would have been a lot safer.

I mean, apologies ring false after a while when they are just words but little to no follow up action right?

 

[karrie]

Oppal's findings were that the police force systematically failed to investigate properly due to their biases regarding the victims.

And yes, I believe in order to sue for that, the families have to sue everyone involved.

And I don't begrudge them their pound of flesh, not one bit.

 

[WLDB]

The money is possibly in the siblings, certainly in the B.C. and Vancouver governments.

Were his siblings involved or did they even know what was going on? If they did shouldnt they also be in jail? If they werent involved and didnt know then why should they lose something? Being related to a murderer does not make one a bad guy or criminal.

I mean, apologies ring false after a while when they are just words but little to no follow up action right?

Agreed. By the time apologies come around those who were actually responsible are usually gone. If it doesnt come from the people who screwed up it doesnt mean much.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Were his siblings involved or did they even know what was going on? If they did shouldnt they also be in jail?

That's pretty much what the trial is for, to find that out.

The fact that the Crown didn't choose to prosecute them doesn't prove anything except that the Crown didn't choose to prosecute them.

If they werent involved and didnt know then why should they lose something? Being related to a murderer does not make one a bad guy or criminal.

If they weren't involved and didn't know, they won't lose something.

That's how the legal system works.

 

[SLM]

Were his siblings involved or did they even know what was going on? If they did shouldnt they also be in jail? If they werent involved and didnt know then why should they lose something? Being related to a murderer does not make one a bad guy or criminal.

There were so very many people who just looked the other way in that case it's absolutely disgusting.

You know there was a woman who actually got away in mid-attack from him, one handcuff slapped on her wrist, cut and bleeding, having given him a blow to the head. They were both taken to the same hospital, the handcuff key was found by police in his pocket. Police didn't pursue because she was an unreliable witness. He went on to kill more women.

His cleaning lady was suspicious of what was going on, but she didn't like talking to the police, so she said nothing.

Lots of people failed these women.