Stevie Cameron
Investigative Journalist

You were following the Pickton case closely even before you contracted a book in 2002. What got you interested?
I have a long connection to Vancouver —I went to UBC—and I started reading reports of the missing women in 1988. When I was editor of Elm Street magazine, I assigned Daniel Wood to do the first major investigative feature. Serial killers are rare. I’m fascinated by this kind of human animal.

How do you immerse yourself in grief without being affected by it?
The case is unprecedented. The people I’ve gotten to know are amazing. The women I’ve met—the friends I’ve made—and the vast scope of this story keep me above the pain and horror.

You’ve spent five years getting to know the DTES. How does it strike you?
It’s a hellhole, but there’s a real sense of community. People look out for one another. That’s why, every time a woman went missing, everybody knew. Everybody but the police. The Pickton case is Vancouver’s disgrace. The police ignored this tragedy as it was unfolding. And let’s not forget the city politicians who found it convenient to funnel all the addicted and poverty-ridden into one neighbourhood so as not to offend the rest of the city.

What’s the most striking thing you’ve learned?
No matter how poor these women are, how addicted, how sick, they never lose their humour, their appreciation of kindness, the pride they take in their children.

What about the families?
Some of the women didn’t end up on the street for no reason. The families know that, and they’ll never stop paying for it.

How does Pickton come across in court?
He has muscular forearms, so sinewy they’re scary, and hairy ears that listen intently to everything. He’ll acknowledge people in the witness box, pleased to see somebody he knows. He bows to the judge. He’s an actor in this pageant, and he plays it to the hilt. He’s having the time of his life. I find him frightening.

Did the Crown hope he’d die before the trial?
If they did, they haven’t shared it with me. But it would have been convenient. Pickton hashepatitis C, but not HIV as some people thought, and he looks as healthy as can be. He lopes into the courtroom.

Is there a chance he’ll be found not guilty?
He has extremely good counsel—18 defence lawyers and 13 paralegals—who have worked very hard to raise reasonable doubt. But I think the jury will find it hard to overlook Pickton’s confession to an undercover RCMP officer that he murdered 49 women.

What about the next trial, 20 more counts of first-degree murder?
If he’s convicted on all six counts, I imagine the Crown will be under pressure to stay the other charges. It will be over. And those other victims’ families will go crazy. —Gary Stephen Ross

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