An artist's sketch shows accused serial killer Robert Pickton taking notes during the second day of his trial in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, B.C., Jan. 31, 2006. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jane Wolsack

VANCOUVER - A Vancouver lawyer representing families of the victims of serial killer Robert Pickton says he and his clients want to read a copy of a "tell all book" seized from Pickton's cell after he died following an attack in a Quebec prison.

Jason Gratl said Friday that he and his clients, who have pending lawsuits against Pickton and his brother David in B.C. Supreme Court, were "surprised" when an RCMP search warrant revealed the existence of a 200-page manuscript handwritten by Pickton.

"We had been led to believe that the investigation had concluded and the RCMP had no further leads," Gratl said. "Now the RCMP says there's nothing of interest in the 200-page manuscript, but we prefer to read it for ourselves."

A search warrant filed in New Westminster, B.C., this summer said prison officials found "numerous writings and notes authored by Pickton" after going through his things in search of a will following his death in May.

The "information to obtain" document said Quebec prison officials had a "cursory read" of Pickton's manuscript, which was titled "Telling My Story."

Cpl. Craig Mitchell, who applied for the warrant, said in the application that he believed Pickton wanted to give a "full account" of the murders in court, having interviewed him after he was convicted.

The search warrant document said investigators with the Missing Women Task Force had met with Pickton on "numerous occasions," trying to coax him to identify an unknown victim, still known to this day as "Jane Doe."

“I believe that Pickton wanted to tell his story of the murders he committed,” Mitchell wrote. “I believe he would have written down his account of the murders and his account in the book titled ‘Telling My Story’ and any related written documents or notes he made when writing that book."

Mitchell said Pickton’s writings could help investigators link Pickton, and potentially others, to murders committed on the serial killer’s Port Coquitlam property, and though he was charged with killing 27 women, he later admitted to 49 murders.

“I believe Pickton committed 49 murders and the book and related documents and notes may identify the other victims not yet known.”

Gratl said he'll seek a copy of the manuscript for its "potential relevance" to his clients' civil lawsuits against the Pickton brothers, as they work to consolidate the cases and set a trial.

Sgt. Vanessa Munn, a media relations officer with the RCMP, said the writings seized were "thoroughly examined" but didn't refer to any missing women or his crimes and investigators have "unfortunately" no new information to share with the victims' families.

"We recognize that there are families with questions about their loved one’s disappearances, however the content of writings did not provide any answers," Munn said in a written statement.

Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder for the killings of Mona Wilson, Sereena Abotsway, Georgina Papin, Marnie Frey, Brenda Wolfe and Andrea Joesbury in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison.

The remaining charges against him were stayed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2024