An Interesting Day...

I just had to intrude on the Advent Calendar to post something that could be good news, but it also could be disappointing news. My mother thinks I am crazy, she was the only one around when the news was released, and I was very surprised on the verdict.

A B.C. Supreme Court jury on Sunday found Robert William Pickton guilty on six counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of women who disappeared from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

He was originally charged with first degree murder, and while he did not get away with the crime, I am left shocked at the drop in charge.

Pickton showed no emotion as the verdicts were read.

The 58-year-old pig farmer from Port Coquitlam, B.C., was arrested in 2002 and had been charged with first-degree murder in the six deaths.

He still faces murder charges in connection with the deaths of 20 other women, but no decision has been made on whether to hold a second trial, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal said.

I can sort of understand if they do not go through with the other 20 women, but at the same time, I am sure the other 20 victims family want the closure that these 6 were able to receive. If locking the man that did it away is closure, it really depends on the person.

Anyways, this just bothers me:

"What we can learn is that since they acquitted this man of first-degree murder, they weren't satisfied that the evidence showed that he planned and deliberated these murders," defence lawyer Peter Ritchie told reporters.

Isn't that sort of crazy? I mean, maybe he did not plan the first murder, but you would think 26 murders later there was a bit of planning in the process... It just blows my mind that the jury did not think it was a first-degree offense. Not that he is getting away with it, like I said, but still... I would really have liked to be a fly on the wall when they decided that one!

The jury found Pickton:

• Guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Sereena Abotsway between July 18, 2001 and Feb. 5, 2002, near Port Coquitlam.
• Guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Mona Wilson between Dec. 1, 2001 and Feb. 5, 2002, near Port Coquitlam.
• Guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Andrea Joesbury between June 5, 2001, and Feb. 5, 2002, near Port Coquitlam.
• Guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Brenda Ann Wolfe between March 5, 1999, and Feb. 5, 2002, near Port Coquitlam.
• Guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Georgina Faith Papin between March 1, 1999, and Feb. 5, 2002, near Port Coquitlam.
• Guilty of second-degree in the death of Marnie Frey between Aug. 30, 1997, and Feb. 5, 2002, near Port Coquitlam.

So, I just wanted to dedicate today to the memory of these six women, and the twenty others that Pickton allegedly killed. It is scary when things like this happen, and it is about time that these families got some closure. The even scarier part is that he said at one point that there were more victims...

For those that do not know what I am talking about, Pickton was a pig farmer who lured sex trade workers to his house, where he killed and dismembered them. He is Canada's most recent serial killer, and he sort of fed the remains to his pigs...