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Before I begin this real 
intensive deep dive on Robert 

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Picton, I wanted to talk to you 
about just kind of, you know, my

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me and my mindset and kind of 
the, the plans that I have in 

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2025 and 26. 
My goal is to start really 

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getting involved in public 
speaking, doing events where I 

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talk about these historic cases,
these complex serial killers, 

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missing persons, baffling cases 
that really, you know, defy 

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logic, where people just vanish 
off the face of the earth, these

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missing men, missing women. 
To take a little break off ICTON

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after this, a few more Dee dives
into the case, a few more 

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eisodes. 
I'm going to be, they're going 

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to be very intensive Dee dives. 
I'm going to be talking about 

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missing men. 
And, and the other thing I want 

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to talk about too is oh, I, I, 
you know, I'm trying to keep my 

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podcast ad free. 
I do get approached a lot, you 

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know, like those crazy manscape 
nomads, you know, if you know, 

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you know, all right. 
And nothing against them. 

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I have nothing against people 
putting them on their podcast. 

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You know, you got to do what you
got to do to keep the lights on.

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But I don't really like 
listening to them. 

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And I'm sure you don't either, 
right? 

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And I get approached by a lot of
stuff, a lot of food ads, you 

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know, want to put, you know, 
deliverable foods. 

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And the thing I think is, is 
that I always want to be a value

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to you, the listener. 
I, I been wanting to do this 

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podcast for 10 years. 
I listened to probably thousands

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of podcasts before I did one. 
And a lot of my favorite 

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podcasts got spoiled by just, 
you know, too many ads and 

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stuff, right? 
So I'm trying to keep that off 

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that off that, but I do have 
goals. 

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I want to build an in person 
studio so I can have better deep

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dive conversations with people 
and really, you know, get to the

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heart of all these topics. 
I'm very passionate about 

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missing people, dark psychology,
complex cases. 

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And one of the things that I'm 
working on, I'm pretty early 

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stages this. 
I've been writing a lot about 

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social engineering and what 
social engineering is, is 

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basically human hacking. 
What it is, it's basically con 

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artists, right? 
You know someone conning you 

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online. 
They could pretend to be a 

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utility company thinking that 
you're having to pay a bill. 

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They could be on a dating 
website for very nefarious 

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purposes. 
They can also fake, you know, 

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with the cloning AI technology 
that they're like a grandkid or 

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a granddaughter or grandson a 
targeting seniors to get money 

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out of them. 
And then there's romance scams. 

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And then there's even the 
scariest, right, human 

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traffickers that would do dwell 
on a lot of dating sites, right?

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You meet Prince Charming, they 
maybe even go on a few dates 

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with this person and all of a 
sudden they want to travel to 

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some luxurious exotic location, 
right And that person has never 

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seen again. 
So I want to educate people on 

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the dangers of social media and 
the landscape of social of 

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Internet land. 
I'm going to be publishing some 

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more articles and some in depths
and I'll actually going to be 

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doing some podcasts on social 
engineering to help educate you 

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guys, keep you guys safe. 
I've written probably written 

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over 100 pages, a very intensive
white aer on it, but I'm going 

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to break it all down and make it
very easy to understand this. 

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I would like to make into 
workshops, maybe online 

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webinars, in person, things like
that and tailor them to your 

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needs, right? 
So let's say, for example, let's

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say you're an organization that 
has a lot of senior people. 

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I could tailor it to to what's 
important to you? 

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What kind of scams, financial 
scams, even romance scams happen

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to a lot of senior people. 
It's pretty scary, like it's, 

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you know, and it could be quite 
devastating, right? 

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So, so I really appreciate all 
the support that I've gotten 

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over the years doing the 
Vancouver true crime and the 

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dark mind detective. 
I'm trying to balance things now

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to make it workable, keep my 
lights on, but also always 

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provide you value, create a good
listening experience for you, 

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Also provide you things that I 
believe that are important for 

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you in this modern times that we
all in right. 

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And and like I said, I I can't 
underestimate the importance of 

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understanding social engineering
because it could work on all of 

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us, including myself. 
There are some smooth operators 

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out there that are very good at 
it. 

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They're very know every trick in
the book and they can be highly 

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persuasive, right? 
There really are cyber wolves 

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out there. 
So anyways, thank you for 

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listening and I'm going to get 
into my episode now. 

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So be safe out there. 
Take care of yourselves. 

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As I mentioned before in an 
earlier podcast, I have 

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dedicated significant research 
hours to understanding the 

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tragic and extensive case of 
Robert Bicton. 

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In this episode, my goal is to 
provide a overarching view of 

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the case rather than diving into
the intricate details. 

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Think of it as viewing the case 
from 30,000 feet, a perspective 

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that reveals its size, scope and
complexity. 

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To bring depth an insight to 
this analysis, I applied the FBI

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standard investigation framework
for Over the past year, I 

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carefully studied a white paper 
published by the FBI on 

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prostitute homicides. 
While there are distinct 

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differences between 
investigative procedures in 

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Canada and the United States, 
the FBI is widely regarded as a 

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gold standard in criminal 
investigation. 

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Applying their methodology to 
the Picton case feels 

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appropriate, a way to ensure the
victims receive a thorough 

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consideration they deserve. 
The FBI Standard Analysis 

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Framework The FBI study on 
Prostitute Homicide offers a 

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comprehensive model for 
understanding, investigating, 

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and analyzing cases involving 
the murder of sex workers. 

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This framework will serve as a 
benchmark for evaluating the 

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Robert Picked an investigation 
#1 Victim risk assessment. 

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Sex workers are often classified
as high risk victims due to 

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interactions with unknown 
clients, working in isolated 

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environments, substance abuse 
challenges, marginalized social 

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status, and delays in reporting 
their disappearances. 

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The FBI studies identifies 
several types of offenders who 

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target sex workers situation. 
Impulse killers who act on 

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opportunity without 
premeditation. 

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Mission oriented killers believe
they are cleansing society. 

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Hedonistic killers derive 
pleasure, often sexual, from 

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killing power. 
Control killers kill to assert 

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dominance and control profit. 
Motivated killers murder for 

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financial gain. 
The FBI recommends several best 

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practices for investigating 
prostitute homicides. 

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Proactive response. 
Swift action when sex workers 

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are reported missing. 
Cross jurisdictional 

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cooperation. 
Cooperating across police 

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agencies. 
Victim analysis, Understanding 

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victims backgrounds and risk 
factors. 

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Linkage analysis, identify 
connections between cases. 

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Forensic prioritization. 
Thorough evidence collection and

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analysis. 
Community engagement. 

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Partnering with vulnerable 
communities for information. 

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Red flags for serial predation. 
Investigators are urged to 

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monitor for patterns that may 
suggest a serial offender. 

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Multiple disappearances of 
individuals from the same 

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demographic. 
Consistent victim profiles. 

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Geographic clustering of cases. 
Time pattern disappearances. 

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Silence from victims who were 
previously commutative. 

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This analysis will explore how 
the investigation into Robert 

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Picton's crime were aligned or 
diverge from FBI standards. 

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The key points of focus include 
the effectiveness of victims, 

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risk assessment, the 
investigative response, whether 

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it met best practices, 
coordination between 

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jurisdictions, forensic and 
analytical approaches, 

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opportunities where improved 
methodologies could have had 

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expedited justice. 
Using the FBI framework as a 

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gold standard, we critically 
evaluate the success and 

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shortcomings of the Picton 
investigation. 

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The ultimate object is to honor 
the victims by identifying 

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lessons that can lead to more 
effective investigations in the 

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future. 
The Shadows of Picton Land 

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Welcome to the Dark Mind 
Detective, where we uncover the 

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shadows and expose the truth 
that many fear to face. 

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I am Mark. 
I'm an investigative journalist 

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dedicated to exploring the 
darkest corners of human 

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behavior and the criminal 
underworld. 

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With a background in examining 
cases of serial killers, 

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organized crime, and systemic 
failures, I strive to shed light

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on stories that often go 
unheard. 

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You may know me from Vancouver 
True Crime, where I've taken you

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through gripping stories of 
violence, corruptions and 

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injustice. 
Today will be launching a new 

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series, Picton Land Behind the 
Scenes, providing exclusive 

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commentary, unanswered questions
and raw insights into Canada's 

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most horrifying criminal cases. 
Together, we'll explore how a 

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system failed countless victims 
and allowed a monster to thrive.

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The case of Robert Picton 
represents a perfect storm of 

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horror. 
A predator who targeted 

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society's most vulnerable and a 
system that failed to protect 

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them, and a community forever 
scarred by the knowledge of what

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happened on that pig farm in 
poor Coquitlam. 

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As we dwell into this case, I 
want to warn you what you're 

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about to hear is disturbing. 
It's meant to be. 

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The horrors that occurred at the
Picton farm should disturb us. 

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They should make us feel 
uncomfortable. 

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Because only through confronting
these uncomfortable truths can 

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we hope to prevent such 
tragedies in the future. 

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This analysis isn't just about 
recounting the gruesome details 

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of Picton crimes. 
It's about understanding the 

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systemic failures that allowed 
him to operate for years. 

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It's about recognizing the 
patterns that connect. 

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It's about recognizing the 
patterns that connect them to 

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other predators. 
And most importantly, it's about

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honoring the victims, the women 
whose lives mattered despite 

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society's tendency to overlook 
them. 

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In the upcoming chapters of this
series, we'll examine Picton's 

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background psychology, analyze 
the investigation through the 

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lens of FBI standards, compare 
him to other notorious killers, 

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and explore the profound impacts
of his crimes had on families, 

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communities, and Canadian 
society as a whole. 

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The shadow of Picton Land are 
dark indeed, but together we'll 

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shine a light on them, exposing 
the truth that needs to be faced

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and if we are ever to find 
justice for the victim, to 

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prevent such horrors from 
happening again. 

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The shadows of Picton Land are 
dark indeed, but together we'll 

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shine a light on them, exposing 
the truth that needs to be faced

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if we are ever to find justice 
for the victim and present such 

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horrors from happening again. 
Join me as we begin this journey

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into one of Canada's darkest 
chapters, a journey that will 

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challenge us, disturb us, but 
ultimately, I hope, enlighten 

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us. 
This is the dark mind detective.

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Let's begin the making of a 
monster. 

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Robert Pickens background in a 
world of true crime were often 

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searched for the moment when a 
human being transformed into a 

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monster. 
If we look at that pivotal point

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when something breaks inside a 
person, turning them from an 

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ordinary member of society into 
a predator. 

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With Robert Pecton that 
transformation wasn't a single 

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moment, but a slow evolution 
shaped by his upbringing, 

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environment, and the dark 
currents of his psychology. 

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The Early Years Born on October 
21st, 1949 in Port Coquitlam, 

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BC, Robert Picton entered a 
world that would shape him in a 

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profound and disturbing way. 
The Picton family's pig farm, 

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located about 27 kilometers of 
Vancouver, became both his 

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Kingdom and eventually his 
killing ground. 

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From the beginning, young 
Robert's life was marked by 

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hardship and isolation. 
His parents, Leonard Francis 

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Picton and Louise Helen Arnold, 
ran a demanding pig farming 

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operation where work took 
precedent over everything else, 

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including their children's 
well-being. 

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While his older sister Linda was
set to live with relatives in 

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Vancouver, the farm being deemed
inappropriate for raising a 

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girl, Robert and his younger 
brother David remained and 

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subjected to their mother's 
harsh The man's Louise Pickton, 

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by all accounts, was a 
domineering figure who 

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prioritized the pigs over her 
son's basic needs. 

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She would send the boys to 
school unwashed, their clothes 

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reeking of manure, earning them 
the cruel nickname Stinky Piggy 

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from their classmates. 
This early social rejection and 

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humiliation would leave lasting 
scars on Robert's psyche. 

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His relationship with his father
was distant at best and abusive 

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at worst. 
Robert instead formed a strong 

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attachment to his mother, a 
relationship that would shape 

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his later interactions with 
women in disturbing ways. 

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Educational Struggles and 
Formative Trauma School was 

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another arena of failure for 
young Robert. 

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He struggled academically from 
the beginning, placed in a 

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special class after failing 
grade 2. 

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This early academic failure 
likely contributed to a sense of

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inadequacy and social isolation.
At age 12, Robert experienced 

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what many criminologists might 
identify as formative trauma. 

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He raised a calf as a beloved 
pet, forming a rare emotional 

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attachment to that animal. 
Two weeks later, after not 

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finding it after school, he was 
told to check the barn. 

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There he discovered his pet has 
been slaughtered, a brutal 

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lesson in the disposability of 
life that would echo through his

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later crimes. 
This incident offers a window 

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into the psychological 
development of a future killer. 

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The betrayal, the sudden 
transformation of something 

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loved, and to meet the 
normalization of slaughter. 

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All these elements would later 
manifest in Picton's treatment 

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of his human victims. 
Picton dropped out of school in 

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1963 at approximately 14 years 
of age. 

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He began working as a meat 
cutter, a profession give him 

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skills he would later use for 
more sinister purposes. 

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For nearly seven years he 
learned the trade of butchery 

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before returning to work full 
time at the family farm. 

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When his parents died in 1978 
and in 1979, Robert and David 

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inherited the pig farm. 
He sold portions of the property

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for $5,000,000, making them 
wealthy men. 

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With his new found financial 
freedom, the brothers could have

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chosen any path, but they 
selected one that would lead to 

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unimaginable horror. 
Those who visited the Picton 

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farm described it as a creepy 
looking place. 

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Bill Hiscock noted it was 
patrolled by a 600 LB bore and 

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describe Robert as a pretty 
quiet guy, hard to strike up a 

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conversation with, who 
occasionally exhibited bizarre 

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behavior despite no evidence of 
substance abuse. 

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As the economy of the Lower 
Mainland grew in the 1980s and 

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90's, the Picton became 
increasingly wealthy by selling 

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parts of their farmland to 
property developers. 

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00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:43,920
This financial success allowed 
the brothers to establish an ad 

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hoc nightclub called Piggy 
Palace, which became notorious 

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for its wild parties. 
Piggy Palace operated under the 

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thin veneer of legitimacy 
provided by a nonprofit charity.

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The Piggy Palace Good Time 
Society registered with the 

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Canadian government in 1996. 
It's stated purpose was to 

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organize, coordinate and manage 
and operate special events, 

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functions, dances, shows, 
expositions on the behalf of 

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service organizations, sports 
organizations and other worthy 

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00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:33,560
group. 
In reality, it became a 

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gathering place for Vancouver's 
underbelly, hosting raves and 

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00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:44,800
wild parties featuring Vancouver
sex workers, sometimes attracted

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00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:49,320
as many 2000 people, including 
members of outlaw motorcycle 

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00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,320
gangs and the criminal 
underworld. 

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00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:56,760
This dual existence, respectable
businessman and farmer by day, 

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host the botched parties at 
night. 

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Exemplifies compartmentalization
that allowed Picton to maintain 

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his public persona while 
engaging in increasingly 

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deprived behavior. 
Early warning signs. 

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00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,920
The warning signs were there for
those willing to see them. 

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00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,200
In March 1997, Picton was 
charged with the attempted 

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murder of a sex worker we called
Miss Anderson, whom he had 

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stabbed 4 times during the 
altercation on the farm. 

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She told police he had 
handcuffed her but he managed to

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escape. 
But she managed to escape after 

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severing several lacerations, 
disarming him and stabbing him 

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with his own weapon. 
This should have been the moment

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that the system stopped him, but
instead of the attempted murder 

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charge was stayed on January 
27th, 1998. 

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Because Miss Anderson had drug 
issues, prosecutors believe she 

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was too unstable for her 
testimony to help secure a 

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conviction. 
This decision to dismiss the 

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testimony of a vulnerable woman 
who narrowly escaped death would

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have catastrophic consequences. 
It sent Picton a clear message. 

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The women he targeted were 
disposable in the eyes of the 

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justice system. 
In the years that followed, 

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women, primarily sex workers 
from Vancouver's Downtown 

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Eastside, began to disappear. 
Many were Indigenous women, 

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00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,440
women with substance use 
disorder, marginalized by 

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society the system meant to 
protect them. 

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An employee picked and even 
found several purses belonging 

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to missing women and reported 
this to police. 

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Three searches of the farm found
no evidence. 

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In June 1999, police received 
the tip that Picton had a 

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00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:57,000
freezer full of human flesh in 
the farmhouse. 

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This tip, like others, was 
ignored. 

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The monster emerges. 
What transformed Robert Picton 

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00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,880
from a socially awkward farmer 
into one of Canada's most 

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00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,840
prolific serial killers? 
The answer lies in a perfect 

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00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,200
storm of factors. 
Early trauma and rejection. 

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00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:23,480
His childhood experiences of 
humiliation, rejection, and 

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00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:29,000
witnessing the slaughter of his 
pet cab created a foundation for

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00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,200
viewing others as objects rather
than people. 

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00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:37,960
Occupational desensitization. 
Years of butchering animal 

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00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,360
normalized the process of 
slaughter and dismemberment. 

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00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,720
Power dynamics. 
His wealth and property gave him

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00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,360
the means and the location to 
commit his crime with minimum 

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00:22:49,360 --> 00:22:52,800
risk of discovery. 
Societal indifference. 

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00:22:52,920 --> 00:22:56,320
The marginalized status of his 
victims meant their 

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00:22:56,320 --> 00:23:02,360
disappearance generated little 
concern from authorities or the 

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00:23:02,360 --> 00:23:06,920
broader public. 
Systemic failures the state 

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00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:12,680
charges from 1997 attack 
reinforces his sense of 

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00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,040
impunity. 
By the time the authorities 

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00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:21,880
finally caught up with them in 
2002, Picton had agreed boasted 

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00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,680
at least to murdering 49 women 
to a cellmate, The number 

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00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,280
himself claimed to an undercover
officer, adding he wanted to 

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00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:36,640
make it an even 50 but got 
caught because he got sloppy. 

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00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,920
This transformation from a 
troubled child to serial killer,

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00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:46,280
it wasn't sudden or dramatic. 
It was a gradual erosion of 

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00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:52,360
humanity, a slow burning fire, a
pathology that when combined 

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00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:57,120
with opportunity and a lack of 
consequences, erupted into one 

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00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,920
of Canada's most horrific 
killing sprees. 

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00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:07,640
And the next part we'll examine 
the victims of Robert Picton, 

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the women's whose lives matter 
despite society's failure to 

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00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,560
protect them. 
Their stories deserve to be told

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00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,960
not just as victims of a 
monster, but as human beings 

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00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:27,360
whose lives were cut tragically 
short by a predator allowed to 

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operate in the shadows far too 
long.