‘Serial killer’ trial nears end

AFTER almost a year of testimony, lawyers for the Crown and the defence in the trial of accused serial killer Robert Pickton are beginning what is sure to be one of the most complex and crucial final arguments of their careers.

Pickton, aged 57, is charged with the murders of 26 women. The current trial is dealing with just six of those cases.

Pickton defence lawyer Peter Ritchie will try to remind jurors his client is a simple pig farmer, a bit too dim to get jokes, and living on a farm with all manner of friends and strangers coming and going, including some that had connections to the women Pickton is accused of killing.