Jurors at the Robert William Pickton trial were told Tuesday to discount his confession because it was elicited through police lies and the accused was merely parroting back what he was fed.
Robert William Pickton is on trial for the deaths of six women who went missing from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
(Jane Wolsak/Canadian Press)
During his closing arguments at the B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, Pickton's defence lawyer Adrian Brooks said the manipulation caused Pickton to make statements that might be interpreted as confessions.
Pickton, a pig farmer in Port Coquitlam, B.C., is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Wolfe, Marnie Frey and Georgina Papin. He'll face another 20 murder charges at a later date.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Brooks held a large laminated poster up for the jury, listing on one side the things police said and on the other statements Pickton made which the Crown held as evidence of a confession.
For instance, Sgt. Bill Fordy told Pickton "we'll find a tooth here, bones here, fingernails here" and hours later in his cell Pickton told an undercover officer "we're going to find fingernails, bones, oh yeah," Brooks said.
Brooks then dealt with what may be the most compelling image in the trial.
The trial opened in January with the Crown telling the jury that Pickton admitted he had killed 49 women and wanted to make it an even 50.
Brooks explained that by saying police mentioned the number 50 to Pickton during his questioning at least five times, that the accused was being investigated for the disappearance of 50 women.
Police also told Pickton they wondered if he had killed 50 women and that if he did, he'd be the most successful serial killer on the continent, Brooks told the court.
Brook said a confession by definition contains reliable information but what Pickton told police contains nothing about the specifics of any of the deaths.
The defence will continue its closing arguments on Wednesday.
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