The Pickton File
Written by Stevie Cameron
Stevie Cameron turns her renowned analytical eye from the "crooks in suits" of her previous books to the case of Vancouver's missing women and the man who has been charged with killing 27 of them, who if convicted will have the horrific distinction of being the worst serial killer in Canadian history.
It's a
shocking story that may not be over anytime soon. When the police moved in on
Pickton's famous residence, the "pig farm" of Port Coquitlam, in February 2002,
the entire 14-acre area was declared a crime scene -- the largest one in
Canadian history. Well over 150 investigators and forensics experts were
required, including 102 anthropology students from across the country called in
to sift through the entire farm, one shovelful of dirt at a time.
A woman who is considered by many to be this country's best investigative
journalist, Cameron has been thinking about the missing women of Vancouver's
Downtown Eastside since 1998, when the occasional newspaper story ran about
families and friends of some of the 63 missing women agitating for action -- and
being ignored by police and politicians. Robert William "Willie" Pickton has
been on her mind since his arrest, that February five years ago, for the murders
of two of the women, Mona Wilson and Sereena Abotsway, both drug-addicted
prostitutes from the impoverished neighbourhood where all the missing women had
connections.
Living half-time in Vancouver for the last five years, Stevie Cameron has come
to know many of the people involved in this case, from families of the missing
women to the lawyers involved on both sides. She writes not only with tireless
investigative curiosity, but also with enormous compassion for the women who are
gone and the ones who still struggle to ply their trade on the Downtown
Eastside.
"We had no idea [in 2002] how massive the investigation would be. We had no
notion that the police would sift every inch of dirt on the Pickton farm, a
process that lasted from the spring of 2002 to late 2004. We did not foresee the
broad publication ban that would prevent any word printed or broadcast of what
was being said in court in case it influenced a potential juror. We couldn't
know that there would be, by 2006, 27 charges of first-degree murder against
Pickton and that the police would continue to investigate him on suspicion of
many other deaths. And we didn't know that the police and other personnel
involved in the case, under threat of ruined careers, were forbidden to talk to
reporters. In blissful ignorance, all I could do was begin…"
--Excerpt from The Pickton File
Stevie Cameron is the multi-award-winning author of four bestselling books, including The Last Amigo, Blue Trust and On the Take. She is a graduate of UBC and lived in Vancouver for several years. She heads up an Out of the Cold program, where food and shelter are provided to more than 250 homeless men and women in Toronto, where she now lives.
Stevie Cameron's next book - The Pig Farm - will be out after the conclusion of both trials and when the publication bans are lifted.
The Pickton File - Random House
http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780676979534