Report details prison assault that led to B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton’s death

An investigation report detailing the prison assault that led to the death of B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton says he was assaulted by another inmate who broke a broom handle and thrust it into his face.

The board of investigation report released Friday says Pickton was assaulted as medication was being distributed in the unit he was housed in at Quebec’s Port-Cartier Institution on May 19, 2024.

The report says prison guards quickly intervened and convinced the aggressor to stop the beating, but minutes later he “grabbed a broomstick, broke the handle, and thrust it into” Pickton’s face.

The board’s report says Pickton was taken to a hospital in an ambulance, then airlifted to another facility in Quebec City the next day and admitted to intensive care because of his critical condition.

The report says Pickton died on May 31, 2024, and investigators interviewed 35 staff members from the prison and another institution, finding that inmates had free access to cleaning tools including mops and brooms that weren’t kept in locked cabinets.

At the time of the incident, Pickton was 74 and had been serving a life sentence since 2007 for six counts of second degree murder. Twenty additional counts of first degree murder led to a stay of proceedings against him in 2010.

He was held at a maximum security institution since his intake assessment in 2018, and had been incarcerated at Port-Cartier Institution since 2018.

It says after Pickton died, the wrong family member was contacted about his death and investigators were not able to determine if he knew that his designated next of kin had changed their contact information.

The board made three recommendations, including for the prison to take action to reduce accessibility to items that are used or transformed for purposes that jeopardize the security of the institution.

“A project is underway to secure the doors of the cleaners’ storerooms in unit common rooms to better control access to cleaning supplies,” the report says.

The board’s report says no criminal charges had been laid and the Quebec Coroner’s office had not submitted any reports to the Correctional Service of Canada at the time the report was written.

Another report by an independent observer appointed to ensure the investigation’s integrity says Pickton was “violently assaulted” by an inmate named Martin Charest.

The observer’s report says the board “conducted a meticulous, highly professional and impartial investigation of a sensitive nature,” and praised the board for completing the “challenging job on time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press