The mysterious and strange case of Robert Picton This research
and story represents thousands of hours of deep investigation.
I first began exploring the Robert Picton case seriously in
2022. The case is dark, disturbing and
tragic, leaving an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction as if
the full story has never been told.
I have spoken to family members of victims, individuals who
still work for Dave Victim and off the record police officers
who were present at the crime scene when the case broke under
Project Even him. I've read every available book
on Victim and I combed through hundreds of court documents,
victim witness statements, inquiry parts, Verbose yet
lacking in new information. Despite the abundance of
material on Picton, none of it paints a full picture.
In early 2024, January of 2024, a film production company from
Toronto reached out to me seeking to create a series on
Robert Picton. I contributed some information,
engage in discussions, but ultimately I decided to conduct
my own deep dive investigation completely independent of
external influences. Over the course of the year, I
pursued an intensive and exhaustive examination of the
case with a singular goal to uncover and present the true
story of what I believe happened on that farm.
The official narrative surrounding Picton was, in my
opinion, expertly crafted. The media, The government of BC,
British Columbia, high-ranking officials within the RCMP and
the Vancouver Police Department seemingly invested more energy
in controlling the public perception of the case than
conducting a thorough investigation.
And this seems to be a frustration to many of the on
the ground investigating officers.
Imagine if authorities had put as much effort to solving the
case and bringing those responsible to justice as they
did managing the case through inquiries, reports and press
releases. Was the Picton crime scene a
clean up operation or a true investigation?
If it was an investigation, why don't we know all the facts?
Why is there no available information on the male DNA
found at the scene? Despite advancements in forensic
technology, we know that 40 missing women's remains were
recovered on the property. Yet there's a disturbing lack of
effort to identify the male DNA found on the body parts, such as
the male DNA found on the teeth of a severed head in a bucket.
The resources and energy devoted to this case were not aimed at
finding the full truth, but rather at controlling the damage
and the public perception. The real story behind the
Pickton farm. Robert Pickton was an uneducated
pig farmer who operated an illegal slaughterhouse.
He and his business partner butchered and processed 12 to
100 pigs per week in horrific, unsanitary conditions.
The animals were often diseased. Purchase at the auction for the
lowest price. This meat was then sold to shops
in Chinatown and distributed throughout Metro Vancouver.
It has been proven that human remains were mixed into this
meat. What remains unknown is where
other certain people knowingly purchased and consumed it.
Speculation exists that this tainted meat was deliberately
sold for its human content, and some unsuspected recipients
unknowingly consumed it. Despite the gruesome nature of
the case and its implications of cannibalism, there was no
thorough forensic psychological evaluations of Picton's
motivation. 1 documented account describes Picton serving human
meat at a dinner party, with one guest suspecting that the meat
was not regular pork. Picton's property was not just a
slaughterhouse, it was a dumping ground for toxic waste.
The soil from the industrial sites used for Expo 86 was
allegedly hauled onto the farm and later sold as topsoil
throughout Metro Vancouver. This soil, contaminated with
traces and laced with human remains, was distributed to
farms, schools, landscaping projects across the region.
Another overlooked aspect of the Picton operation was its
involvement with law enforcement.
Picked and ran a stolen car, Ring a shop chop.
Operating under a contract with the Vancouver Police Department,
he salvage cars and worked at the police auction.
He even claimed to have found a bloody hatchet inside a police
auction car. This provided an easy
explanation for why women's belongings, clothing and ID's
were found on his property. An explanation that conveniently
was accepted without further scrutiny.
Crime, corruption and a suspicious lack of arrests.
Beyond the murders, Picton's Farm was a known hub for illegal
activities. There were weekly underground
animal fights, pit bulls, Roosters battling to the death,
attended by criminals, drug dealers and corrupt officials.
Bets replace contraband was sold and sex workers were brought in.
Despite the illegal nature of these activities, they were
never rated or shut down. Piggy's Palace, the infamous
event venue on the farm, was another anomaly.
A massive state-of-the-art sound stage capable of hosting 2000
people, it became a hot spot for off duty.
Cops, bikers, politicians, teenagers, drugs, alcohol and
sex workers were readily available.
Authorities labeled the Picton's property the Killing Fields.
Human body parts in various stages of decompositions were
found in buckets, shroon among animal entrails.
Hands, feet, and several heads were discovered in freezers
along with packaged meat that contained ground human remains.
Yet we are expected to believe that Picton acted alone.
One of the most perplexing aspects of the case is Pat
Casanova, Picton's right hand man.
Casanova, who was charged with 14 counts of first degree
murder, worked side by side with Picton for 20 years,
slaughtering pigs, allegedly sharing sex workers, some whom
ended up as dismembered remains in their freezer.
Despite this deep involvement, he slipped through the cracks
with minimal scrutiny. This is not incompetence.
This is complacency and possibly something more sinister.
One of the most revealing aspects of this case is Picton's
police interrogation, which I will analyze in detail line by
line. It is the only incident where he
speaks freely. While he remains guarded, he
reveals more than one might expect between the lines.
I firmly believed that Picton murdered sex workers and that he
derived pleasure from their suffering.
He played a sick game of cat and mouse, reveling in the power and
control it gave him. It is also likely that he
engaged in cannibalism as an ultimate assertion of dominance.
However, Picton was no criminal mastermind.
He was socially awkward outcast who carved out a grim existence
on his family's land. The idea that he singly handedly
became one of the most prolific serial killers in modern
history, operating undetected in a first world country with
advanced forensic and law enforcement, stretches the
bounds of credibility. The deeper story remains
obscured. So as I mentioned before, I will
be writing a book. It's called Welcome to Picton
Land and in the book I have changed the names of the people
involved, including the victims, out of respect for the families.
I believe they have suffered enough and should not be forced
to rely relive the trauma each time their loved ones are named
and mentioned. This podcast and commentary is
where I will be mentioning names because it's I feel that it's
important to go through my source material just because,
you know, running my platform for now for six years, the most
energy that I expend and I put thousands, if not 10s of
thousands of hours into the dark mind detective platform,
formerly of Vancouver true crime.
I would say about 50% of my energy is arguing with people
for each and tiny little nidbit of source and where I came up
with stuff. And, you know, there's a lot of
keyboard warriors out there that will, you know, they'll let you
know, you miss a comma, you make a typo.
And, you know, they don't do any research themselves, but they
expect, you know, your work to be absolutely, you know,
impeccable, You know, So this series picked in land.
I am going to be going through all the source material, the
names, dates and times and events in my book.
Names will be changed because in the book, I really want you to
be able to get the full view of the events on the farm, to spend
your disability belief a little bit, even though it's based on
source material. And I want you to have the full
story arc in a chronological of events from the history of
Robert Pickton, his childhood, the informant that went to the
police because he needed rent money.
Basically the search on his farm, his arrest, his
incarceration, his release, then his rearrest, his main
interrogation, and then the rest of the search of the farm, the
history, the people involved, Piggy Palace, the Co
conspirators, his enablers, trial, and ultimately his death.
So my goal for the many of those seeking specific names, dates,
official records, I have provided extensive material on
my website. I was going to start a sub stack
because I was highly recommended.
Oh, we got to start a sub stack. Well I did my introduction page
and now I'm accused of spamming and I just.
I can't be bothered. So guess I'm sticking with my
WordPress site. So please go to my Dark Mind
Detective website where I provide very in depth articles
that are heavily fact checked and you know, there's a lot of
information there and I maybe put about 10% of my information.
I will continue to keep updating it as time goes on.
And again, my goal is not to tell you what to think.
My goal is to provide you with the information needed to draw
your own conclusions. What the Picton case ultimately
proves is that the justice system in British Columbia is
fundamentally broken. It's a stain on Canadian
history. It's a cautionary tale of
corruption, negligence and unanswered question.
Until the full truth is uncovered, this will remain one
of the most disturbing unsolved cases in the world of true
crime. Robert Pickton died on May 31st,
2024 at the age of 74. He was serving a life sentence
at the Port Cartier Institution in Quebec.
Pickton died in hospital following injuries sustained
from an assault by a fellow inmate on May 19th, 2024.
He'd been in a coma since the assault.
So I had a follower reach out to me who told me, and this is, you
know, this is not confirmed or this is not official.
But some of the details of this assault from how it was
disclosed to me that he was in a, a general population area and
someone came up to him and asked him something, asked him a
question. And Robert Picton apparently was
pretty rude with the guy, kind of arrogant and and dismissive.
And the fellow inmate wasn't having it.
He apparently grabbed a broomstick, cracked it and split
it until it was like a sharp steak and shoved him up
apparently and really did a number on him.
Apparently this is. I don't know the name of the
inmate but it was disclosed to me.
He was in his 50s and serving time for armed robbery.
So did humanity a service. So my earlier podcast I talked
with the two amazing women, Sue Brown, the lawyer for Justice
for Girls and Doctor Sasha Reed for the From the Midnight Order.
You can watch her show she did on Picton that's currently
streaming on Hulu. It was a great pleasure talking
to them. Conversation really crystallized
my research and I'm grateful for having that opportunity to talk
to them. So the thing that they were
advocating on the most with their efforts is the preserving
the evidence. The fight to preserve evidence
from the Robert Picton farm has been a significant point of
contention for victims advocates.
Their aim was to ensure that potential further investigation
or future legal avenues remained open, especially considering the
vast amounts of evidence collected in recent
developments. A legal ruling has gone against
these efforts. The general outcome is that the
court has sided with the disposal of the remaining
evidence. Of course it did, right?
Are you even fucking surprised? It's fucking Canada.
The decision has been met with deep disappointment and anger
from the families and their supporter.
Piggy Palace. The thriving nightclub allegedly
generated substantial illicit income, estimated to be around
50,000 per night. The property was reported a
significant location for trafficking of illegal
substances. Evidence and testimony suggested
that the farm was used in the exploitation of vulnerable
women. I also believe with my deeper
research, which we will get into, that women were being held
there against their will. This is the Mariana Trench of
true crime and we are just on the shallow surface at this
stage. My dear listeners, disturbing
rumors and blood sports Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of
the Picton case involves persistent rumors dating back to
the 1980s of snuff film production on the farm.
While concrete, irrefutable evidence of actual film
production remains elusive, chilling court testimonies did
mention the occurrence of blood sports events.
These alleged events involved the brutalization of women for
perversed entertainment of paying spectators painting a
picture of unimaginable cruelty. This is a a testimony of Mona
Wilson's partner Steve Ricks. This was published in the Globe
and Mail, February 26th, 2002. Mona Wilson was Robert Picton's
last victim, was staggering a little after Downing 4 beers in
a row when two men in a car pulled up beside her on the
Vancouver's Downtown East side of Hastings St. waving money and
drinks. They said they wanted to party,
she said. Steve, go home.
I'll be home in an hour. Steve Rex, who said he lived
with Miss Wilson. For five years, told reporters.
I told her not to get in, but one of the men came at me with a
large cane. They didn't want me there, they
just wanted her. They just wanted a cheap female.
He said the men were dangling cans of beer and waving a $50.00
bill at Mona Wilson. I had a gut feeling something
was up, but she was still intoxicated.
Mr. Ricks watched her climb into the car.
I had a gut feeling something was up, but she was still
intoxicated. Mr. Ricks watched her climb into
the car, and she didn't come home in an hour that night, or
ever again. She was reported missing two
months later, but her name was added to the list of women who
vanished from the Downtown East Side.
So the phone call, my understanding the girl in the
background was screaming was Mona Wilson.
I recalled Picton and said I did everything I could, but I
couldn't stop it. It was a phone call with the
call, a male and female screaming in the background,
Picton pleading don't do it here.
A final possible dying gas Analyzing the Picton phone call
with screaming in the background The phone call with screaming in
the background is one of the most overlooked yet damning
pieces of evidence in the Picton case.
The conversation suggests a murderer was taking place while
Picton was on the phone, and yet no serious effort was made to
determine who the victims were or to pressure Ictin for the
details from available interrogation transcripts.
Ictin was never aggressively confronted with this recording
or forced to account for what was happening in the background.
From testimonies and transcripts, we know the
following about the contents of the call.
A man and a woman were screaming in the background.
Picton was heard saying don't do it here.
A final possible dying grasp was repicted, later dated.
Oh, I did everything I could. I couldn't stop it.
The woman screaming was believed to be Mona Wilson.
Picton was aware of what was happening but did not intervene.
He admitted that he tried to stop it, suggesting he was
present when the murder was happening.
No one forced him to identify who else was present during the
murder. This audio was never properly
leveraged in the interrogation or trial.
Who was picked in talking to? There's some uncertainty about
who Ickton was on the the phone with at the time.
Gina Houston was a known close associate.
Deena Taylor was another potential contact, as Picton
frequently asked to speak with her before revealing any
information in the interrogation.
Which I'm going to go. He said he wanted to tell who
else was involved, but he needed to talk to his girlfriend first.
Deena Taylor and you know, the RCMP said, hey, do you need a
bathroom break? So let's possible examinations
for this call. Gina Houston.
She may have known about the murders as they happened.
Dina Taylor. If she was on the other end, it
may explain why picked and insisted on speaking to her
first before talking to the police.
A third party, an unknown accomplish suggest yet another
Co conspirator was actively involved in the murder.
No investigator ever forced Picton to name the people
screaming in the background. He was never asked who he was
talking to during this call. This was a big chance to link
other people involved in the act of murder, yet for some reason
it was ignored. The forensic evidence of Mona
Wilson found on Robert Pickton's farm was extensive and
disturbing. Key findings include human
remains. Mona Wilson remains were
discovered in a green garbage pail inside the slaughterhouse.
Her left hand was found in a bucket and her skull, hands, and
feet were located in a plastic garbage pail.
DNA evidence matching Mona Wilson was found on a sex toy
affixed to a barrel of a 22 caliber revolver located in
Picton's trailer. Additionally, an orange plastic
bag in the slaughterhouse contained evidence linked to
Wilson on the mattress in a mobile home on the farm.
Picton likely operated within a hierarchy of enablers,
facilitators, criminal underworld associates who
trafficked vulnerable women. I believe women were being held
captive. Diana Rock's harrowing
experience at Robert Picton's farm is a tragic example of
brutal violence and exploitations that many women,
particularly those from marginalized communities And
with the Pictons case, Rock was reportedly held captive in a
blacked out room on the farm where she was subjected to
repeated rapes and physical abuse by multiple men for
several days. This horrific ordeal highlights
the systemic failures that allowed Picton and his
associates to operate with impunity for years, targeting
vulnerable women and many of whom were indigenous or involved
in the sex trade. Clients, possibly high paying
individuals seeking experiences, violent sex acts, film,
pornography or thrill killings. The Dark Mind Detective
continues to investigate. It becomes increasingly clear
that the Picton tragedy represents a far more than the
actions of a single deprived individual.
I'm going to close with this and like I said, this case is so
intense and I just don't want to fire Hosey with gore.
I want you to be able to connect the dots and over time, you're
going to see a pretty dark and disturbing picture.
This case does weigh heavy on my mind and my heart goes out to
all the victims, families and all the people who each and
every day is affected by this horrific case.
And us as a society, we have to protect our most vulnerable.
So I'm going to end with something I'm writing Embracing
the Devil in Pictonland. People have asked me before, do
you believe in the devil? I used to think the devil was
just a story, a name we gave to the dark corners of the human
mind, a convenient excuse for things we don't want to admit
men are capable of on their own. But after what I've seen, after
what I known, I don't wonder anymore.
The devil's alive and well. He doesn't come with horns and
hooves, He doesn't whisper in the ears of the desperate.
No, the devil is what men do when they think no one is
watching. The devil is a thing they do
when they know no one will stop them.
The devil was what happens in privacy, of locked doors and
forgotten places, when men no longer pretend to be good.
And in Pictonland, everyone gets to meet their inner devil
somewhere. They're deprivedly open, grimly
grinning wolves, their teeth already wet with hunger.
Others walk in quiet, blending in, masking their sickness under
plate smiles. But once inside this world, once
deep enough into this place where no law exists, they all
become the same thing. They revel in their violence,
they savor it. They make a sport of suffering,
feeding on it like starving men at a feast.
The weak, the forgotten, discarded.
These are their playground, and in Picton land, nothing is off.
Limit some drink to drown the last shred of their
consciousness before they step into those rusted shed where
there, where life and death are no longer separate things.
Others don't need the alcohol. Their blood runs cold enough on
its own. And here, among them, like them,
they do not fear shame, do not fear justice.
They feel safe, because who will stop them?
This is picked inland, the place where the devil doesn't exist,
he thrives. Music.