Notorious Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton – convicted of the murders of six people – has released a book on Amazon. The work, which is currently selling for $20 per copy, is entitled Pickton: In His Words.
It seems the prisoner managed to circumnavigate strict prison procedure in handwriting and then smuggling the book to the outside, where it could be typed up and published.
Pickton is currently serving a life sentence at the Kent Prison in Agassiz, British Columbia province. He was convicted of the second-degree murder of six people in 2007. The 66-year old was suspected by police to have been involved in many more cases originating in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
DNA remains or traces of some 33 women were discovered on a farm he kept near Port Coquitlam. Pickton reportedly confessed his deeds to an undercover policeman, claiming to have killed 49 women, only missing out on number 50 because he “got sloppy.”
It’s unclear how the inmate managed to pen the work – which covers 144 pages – from within the high-security jail in which he resides. Pickton apparently passed his manuscript to a cellmate, who then left the prison and then gave it to a friend, Michael Chilldres.
Chilldres – whose name appears as the author of the work – reportedly received the text and readied it for publication. The retired construction worker from the USA told reporters, “it’s his account” – an attempt from Pickton to “claim innocence.”
The book was published by Outskirts Press, on 29 January. In it, Pickton claims to have been the victim of a conspiracy, saying he was only a “fall guy” and that the remains found on his farm had only come from the cars he had salvaged.
British Columbia’s Solicitor General Mike Morris has called for Amazon to pull the book altogether. Seeking to prevent the prisoner from making any profit from the work, Morris also cited the “further harm” caused to those families affected by the crimes.
Pickton is the not the first convicted Canadian killer to release a book. Fellow serial killer Paul Bernardo also had a book on sale at Amazon, albeit briefly, in 2015.
