NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. - Here is a quicksketch of convicted serial killer Robert Pickton:
Name: Robert Pickton, also known as Willy.
Born: Oct. 26,'49
Childhood: Grew up on a family farm in suburban Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Family: Sister Linda, two years older. Brother Dave, two years younger.
Occupation: Bought, butchered and sold pigs; tinkered with cars bought for scrap; helped brother with gravel and demolition business.
Charges: Faces six counts of first-degree murder currently, trial on 20 other counts to be held in the future.
Quote: "Our name has been tarnished. It has a humbling effect on us. Any good you've ever done in your life has been destroyed." - Pickton's sister Linda in a 2002 interview.
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Here is a quicksketch of Michael Petrie, the lead Crown lawyer who prosecuted accused serial killer Robert Pickton:
Name: Michael Petrie
Law degree: University of British Columbia. Called to bar in'79
Previous high-profile cases: Prosecuted one of two men known as the tag-team rapists in suburban Surrey. They'd assaulted five women.
Quote: "He was always an honourable guy to deal with. I can't think of any problems I ever had with Mike. He took his positions sometimes quite firmly, other times he could be more reasonable from a defence perspective." - John Conroy, a defence lawyer in Abbotsford, B.C., who used to see Petrie almost every day.
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Here is a sketch of Peter Ritchie, the lead lawyer for serial killer Robert Pickton:
Name: Peter Ritchie
Born:'43, Thunder Bay, Ont.
Law degree: Osgoode Hall, Toronto. Admitted to bar in'70.
Hobbies: Bluegrass music, plays guitar and mandolin.
Other high-profile cases: Defended juror Gillian Guess, who had an affair with the accused and was charged with obstruction of justice.
Quote: "Peter is first of all a very bright guy. He's also a very hard-working guy and he gets along well with people. He is fiercely independent in the sense that he's fearless in the courtroom. He will do what he thinks is right regardless of the consequences." - Vancouver lawyer Len Doust.
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Here is a sketch of Justice James Williams, who presided over the trial of serial killer Robert Pickton:
Name: James Williams
Born: Brooks, Alta.
Law degree: BA, University of Alberta,'70. Attended University of British Columbia law school in'81.
Previous jobs: RCMP officer, bus driver
Appointed to B.C. Supreme Court: October 2002
Quote: "He has excellent legal skills but in addition to that, he has excellent people skills. He is street-smart as well as being intellectually smart. I think he has, as a result of that, a tremendous ability to separate the wheat from the chaff." - Lawyer David Crossin, Williams' first partner. --The Canadian Press
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