Notorious B.C. serial killer Robert (Willie) Pickton was on life support Monday after a brutal attack by another prisoner in Quebec’s maximum Port-Cartier Institution.
Pickton was airlifted to hospital after the assault, which sources say took place just before 2 p.m. local time on Sunday, May 19.
One source said the attacker had earlier assaulted other inmates at the prison before being moved to segregation. The attack on Pickton allegedly happened after the prisoner was then released back onto the same unit as the serial killer, Postmedia has learned.
Pickton was speared in the head with a broken broom-like handle, another source said.
The Correctional Service Canada confirmed to Postmedia late Monday that Pickton was the victim of a “major assault.” But they wouldn’t comment on his medical condition. In an earlier news release, the CSC said “the Sûreté du Québec is presently investigating the incident. The assailant has been identified and the appropriate actions have been taken.”
No one at the Port-Cartier Institution would comment Monday.
“We don’t have somebody who can speak with you,” the person answering the phone at the high-security prison said. “Call tomorrow and somebody will speak with you.”
When contacted by phone and asked about whether his client had been attacked in prison and was now in hospital with a serious brain injury, Pickton’s lawyer Ian Runkle said Monday: “I don’t have anything I can say at this point. That may change, but nothing I can pass along at this point.”
