Latest news with #MartinCharest
CTV News
22-07-2025
- CTV News
Inmate charged with first-degree murder in death of Robert Pickton
Watch 52-year-old Martin Charest has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly attacking and killing serial killer Robert Pickton in prison.
CTV News
21-07-2025
- CTV News
Inmate charged with first-degree murder in death of serial killer Robert Pickton
An artist's sketch shows accused serial killer Robert Pickton taking notes during the second day of his trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, B.C., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2006. (Jane Wolsack/The Canadian Press) MONTREAL — A federal inmate has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of serial killer Robert Pickton last year. Martin Charest, 52, was charged on July 3 for allegedly attacking Pickton at Quebec's Port-Cartier maximum security prison. Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, 12 days after he was assaulted, but no charges were laid at the time. An investigation report released earlier this month revealed Pickton was assaulted by a fellow inmate who broke a broom handle and thrust it into his face, and a separate report by an independent observer named Charest as the suspect. Pickton was convicted in 2007 on six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. Charest will appear in court on Thursday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2025.
CBC
21-07-2025
- CBC
Inmate charged with 1st-degree murder in death of serial killer Robert Pickton
A federal inmate has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of serial killer Robert Pickton last year. Martin Charest, 52, was charged on July 3 for allegedly attacking Pickton at Quebec's Port-Cartier maximum security prison. Pickton died in hospital on May 31, 2024, 12 days after he was assaulted, but no charges were laid at the time. An investigation report released earlier this month revealed Pickton was assaulted by a fellow inmate who broke a broom handle and thrust it into his face, and a separate report by an independent observer named Charest as the suspect. Pickton was convicted in 2007 on six counts of second-degree murder but was suspected of killing dozens more women at his pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. Charest will appear in court on Thursday.
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Serial killer who murdered '49' women met excruciating and gory end at hands of fellow inmate
Notorious Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who once bragged about murdering nearly 50 women, met an excruciating and gory end at the hands of a fellow inmate while behind bars. An investigation into the 2024 death of the 74-year-old murderer found he was bludgeoned and impaled with a broken broomstick. Pickton had been attacked in the common room of the Port-Cartier Institution, a maximum-security prison in Quebec, on May 19 last year. He died in hospital days later on May 31. He was serving a life sentence for six counts of second-degree murder over crime spree in the late 1990s and early 2000s, in which he fed female victims to animals on his Vancouver pig farm. The n ewly released investigation by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has shed disturbing light on the savage attack and the 'systemic failures' that may have allowed it to happen. Pickton was suddenly assaulted by another inmate at about 5:16pm while inmates were receiving medication inside the unit's common area, according to the report. The inmate was allegedly identified as Martin Charest. Guards quickly rushed in and stopped the attack but just two minutes later, Charest reportedly attacked again, this time with more force. 'The aggressor then grabbed a broomstick, broke the handle, and thrust it into the face of Mr. Pickton,' the CSC report states. The 74-year-old murderer died in a hospital on May 31 after being attacked in the common room of the Port-Cartier Institution, a maximum-security prison in Quebec, on May 19 (Accused serial killer Robert 'Willie' Pickton is shown in an artist drawing from a tape recording played in a New Westminster, B.C. court, February 5, 2007) Officers again intervened and allegedly subdued Charest before escorting him to a secure unit. Nonetheless, Pickton was left bloodied and severely injured. He was then airlifted to a nearby hospital and held in the ICU for nearly two weeks before succumbing to his injuries. No criminal charges have yet been filed in connection to his death. The report also exposed troubling security lapses, including the fact that inmates had open access to cleaning tools like brooms and mops, which could be used as deadly weapons. 'There were no functional locking cabinets… nor was there an inventory of these items at the time of the incident,' the report states. Officials say the issue has since been addressed. An independent observer tasked with overseeing the CSC's internal probe praised the investigators as 'meticulous' and 'professional.' But they also criticized the post-incident reporting as lacking though not enough to derail the investigation. Pickton became one of Canada's most notorious killers. He was a pig farmer from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, who lured vulnerable women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to his farm, where he raped, tortured, and butchered them. Many were Indigenous and living in poverty. Their remains, or whatever was left of their DNA, were later discovered scattered across the property. Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2007, with the maximum parole ineligibility period of 25 years, after being charged with the murders of 26 women. He was only found guilty of six of the charges with cops claiming it was due to the massive scope and cost of the initial trial, which enraged victims' families and sparked public outcry. He was found guilty of murdering Sereena Abotsway, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Mona Wilson and Brenda Ann Wolfe. A public inquiry later slammed police and government agencies for a 'colossal failure' in responding to the disappearance of marginalized women. 'The missing and murdered women were forsaken by society at large and then again by the police,' the inquiry concluded. 'The story… is a tragedy of epic proportions.' Police began searching the Pickton farm in the Vancouver suburb of Port Coquitlam more than 22 years ago in what would be a years-long investigation into the disappearances of dozens of sex workers and drug addicts from Vancouver's seediest streets. The remains or DNA of 33 women were found on the farm. Pickton once bragged to an undercover police officer that he killed a total of 49 women. During his trial, prosecution witness Andrew Bellwood said Pickton told him how he strangled his victims and fed their remains to his pigs. Health officials once issued a tainted meat advisory to neighbors who might have bought pork from Pickton's farm, concerned the meat might have contained human remains. Cynthia Cardinal, whose sister Georgina Papin was murdered by Pickton, said Pickton's death means she can finally move on from her sister's murder. 'This is gonna bring healing for, I won't say all families, I'll just say most of the families,' she said. 'I'm like wow, finally. I can actually move on and heal and I can put this behind me.' Vancouver police were criticized for not taking the cases seriously because many of the missing were sex workers or drug users. Canada's correctional service said it was conducting an investigation into the attack on Pickton. 'The investigation will examine all of the facts and circumstances surrounding the assault, including whether policies and protocols were followed,' the service said. 'We are mindful that this offender's case has had a devastating impact on communities in British Columbia and across the country, including indigenous peoples, victims and their families. Our thoughts are with them.'
