The Pig Farm a gruesome look at the Pickton case
Almost every Canadian has
heard of Robert Pickton, but few
have actually heard his chilling
voice. A new documentary from
CTV provides viewers with that
intense experience in The Pig
Farm by cutting Pickton's own
voice recorded on audio tapes into
the film.
The Pig Farm is a 90 minute television documentary that is newly available on DVD. The documentary focuses much more on the events leading up to the charges laid against Pickton for murder on February 22, 2002, than on the gruesome details of what he did on his farm. The doc begins by laying down some background information; Robert Pickton lived on a pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C., had nothing more than an elementary school education and had a severe deficit in social skills.
The story begins in 1997 in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, an inner-city neighborhood known for its rampant prostitution. Const. Dave Dickerson, who worked on the Pickton case, talks about why it was so difficult to begin an investigation when some of the female prostitutes known to the Downtown Eastside shelters began to go missing.
The producers of The Pig Farm get the opportunity to interview multiple prostitutes that Pickton had hired, and each tells a more frightening tale than the last. One, whose identity has been concealed, recounts Pickton taking her to his farm and stabbing her multiple times with a butcher knife, though charges were never laid against Pickton.
The film goes on to feature extensive interviews with those who knew Pickton best. His friend and former employee Lisa Yields tells of her long friendship with Pickton and how it devastated her to learn of what he had done on the farm. Andy Bellwood, another former employee of Pickton's, recounts how Pickton must have concealed his gruesome crimes well as no one who worked on the farm ever saw anything suspicious. Friends and family of a few of Pickton's victims are also interviewed and each tells a heartbreaking story of a daughter lost to the world of drugs and prostitution and then butchered by Pickton.
The most difficult account to get though in The Pig Farm is that of Lynn Ellingsen, an addict who Pickton brought to live on his farm. Ellingsen recounts the chilling story walking into the barn and seeing a woman hanging from a butchering hook. She also explains that she never told the police because she was blackmailing Pickton into giving her money, food and drugs.
Through first-hand accounts, police records and interviews with those who knew the situation best, The Pig Farm explores why Robert Pickton was able to get away with his crimes for more than five years.
This documentary is difficult to watch, but it is informative, and if you are at all squeamish, this is probably one to shy away from.
The Pig Farm is a 90 minute television documentary that is newly available on DVD. The documentary focuses much more on the events leading up to the charges laid against Pickton for murder on February 22, 2002, than on the gruesome details of what he did on his farm. The doc begins by laying down some background information; Robert Pickton lived on a pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C., had nothing more than an elementary school education and had a severe deficit in social skills.
The story begins in 1997 in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, an inner-city neighborhood known for its rampant prostitution. Const. Dave Dickerson, who worked on the Pickton case, talks about why it was so difficult to begin an investigation when some of the female prostitutes known to the Downtown Eastside shelters began to go missing.
The producers of The Pig Farm get the opportunity to interview multiple prostitutes that Pickton had hired, and each tells a more frightening tale than the last. One, whose identity has been concealed, recounts Pickton taking her to his farm and stabbing her multiple times with a butcher knife, though charges were never laid against Pickton.
The film goes on to feature extensive interviews with those who knew Pickton best. His friend and former employee Lisa Yields tells of her long friendship with Pickton and how it devastated her to learn of what he had done on the farm. Andy Bellwood, another former employee of Pickton's, recounts how Pickton must have concealed his gruesome crimes well as no one who worked on the farm ever saw anything suspicious. Friends and family of a few of Pickton's victims are also interviewed and each tells a heartbreaking story of a daughter lost to the world of drugs and prostitution and then butchered by Pickton.
The most difficult account to get though in The Pig Farm is that of Lynn Ellingsen, an addict who Pickton brought to live on his farm. Ellingsen recounts the chilling story walking into the barn and seeing a woman hanging from a butchering hook. She also explains that she never told the police because she was blackmailing Pickton into giving her money, food and drugs.
Through first-hand accounts, police records and interviews with those who knew the situation best, The Pig Farm explores why Robert Pickton was able to get away with his crimes for more than five years.
This documentary is difficult to watch, but it is informative, and if you are at all squeamish, this is probably one to shy away from.
