Pickton seeks interview

Notorious killer tries to talk with press

By Natalie Serafini, Contributor

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]obert Pickton, the infamous serial killer, has responded to The Canadian Press’s request for an interview with a letter from prision.

In his letter, Pickton instructs The Canadian Press to “[t]ell them (prison staff) when making appointment by telephone that you are my new defence lawyer being appointed to this case, in defending Mr. Pickton’s rights. To get a upper hand on this particular case, plan for a four-hour interview to exchange information, as we have much to talk about to fully understand this case.” He goes on to say, “Also, bring another lawyer with you as a junior lawyer to help you with the workload. You need one.”

Pickton suggests there may be more to his murders, stating “If you are looking for a story, boy do I have one for you!!!”

This is reminiscent of August 2010, when Pickton spoke to a CTV reporter from a provincial jail. He asserted that he was not responsible for the murders. He also suggested that there may be more to the story, but did not elaborate.

Public reactions to Pickton’s letter have been mixed. Some are concerned that he might be toying with the media and victims’ families, much like serial killer Clifford Olson did. Olson contacted journalists and taunted his victims’ families, prompting Corrections officials to keep him away from the media.

Others are interested in hearing what Pickton has to say. Ernie Crey, a relative of one of the women who disappeared from the Downtown Eastside, stated “If he’s going to give some insight into the folks that he’s victimized and he’s going to be forthcoming like the Green River Killer was, that’s of interest to me. If he has something new to tell us that he didn’t have the fortitude or was under his lawyers advice not to say, and is going to help police, I wouldn’t object to hearing it.”

As it stands, Corrections officials are not allowing him to be interviewed by journalists. Jean-Paul Lorieau of the Correctional Service of Canada says “[a]t this point, what I can tell you is that the case-management team has made the decision that it’s not in his correctional plan to give interviews.”