Lawyer says Pickton inquiry will be broad in scope
Posted October 3, 2010 6:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The top lawyer for the public inquiry into why so many women fell victim to serial killer Robert Pickton says the hearings will include a range of voices and could focus on the lives of sex workers.
There have been concerns a public inquiry focused solely on the failed police investigation into Pickton in the 1990s and early 2000s would be too narrow and would be unable to address the underlying issues that forced his victims into sex work.
But Art Vertlieb, lead counsel for the inquiry, says commissioner Wally Oppal will consult with a range of people including the victims’ families and aboriginal groups before the hearings in order to determine what to focus on. He says those consultations will shape the hearings, and that could mean examining why so many aboriginal women are placed in vulnerable situations.
Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder, although the remains or DNA of 33 women were found on his farm.
