[Wamvan] Fwd: [dnc-board] Civilian RCMP saw missing woman at Pickton's booze can

[Tami Starlight]

FYI

Trigger warning - language and overall story.
View with caution.

Tami Starlight



** **
 *Civilian RCMP saw missing woman at Pickton's booze can*

[image: Slideshow image]****

Robert Pickton is interviewed by police in January 2000 in a video released
to the media on Feb. 8, 2012.****

By: James Keller, The Canadian Press****

Date: Tuesday May. 15, 2012 4:46 PM PT****

*A civilian RCMP worker rang in the year 2000 at serial killer Robert
Pickton's illegal booze operation, where she saw him with a woman she later
recognized in news coverage of
missing<http://www.surfcanyon.com/search?f=sl&q=missing&partner=wtiffeub>sex
workers from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the public inquiry into
the
case heard Tuesday.*****

But it's not known whether ****Beverly**** (Puff) Hyacinthe, who worked in
the radio room at the Coquitlam RCMP detachment, ever told investigators
what she saw or anything else she knew about Pickton. She isn't scheduled
to testify.****

The inquiry has already heard about Hyacinthe, who lived near Pickton in ***
*Port Coquitlam**** and had known him and his brother David for years. Her
husband attended grade school with the Picktons; her son had worked for
them.****

Cameron Ward, a lawyer representing the families of more than two dozen
missing and murdered women, revealed what Hyacinthe told police
investigators several days after Pickton's arrest in February 2002,
including details of her trips to an illegal drinking establishment known
as Piggy's Palace.****

"On Dec. 31, 1999, Willie brought a date to one of the parties at Piggy's
Palace, who (Hyacinthe), when she saw the front page of the Vancouver
Province several weeks later, immediately recognized as one of the missing
women from the Downtown Eastside," Cameron Ward told the inquiry as he
summarized the police interview.****

"She could produce photos of that evening upon request."****

Ward said the woman at the party was likely either Mona Wilson or Dawn
Crey. ****Wilson**** was one of the six women Pickton was convicted of
killing, and Crey's DNA was found on the Pickton property.****

By the end of 1999, the RCMP were investigating a tip that Pickton killed a
sex worker on his property and were considering the possibility he was
responsible for more murders.****

Hyacinthe was aware of that investigation and had spoken to officers
involved in the case. For example, she told Cpl. Mike Connor, who in 1998
and 1999 was the lead investigator on the file, that Pickton was aware
police were monitoring his activities.****

Connor told the inquiry earlier this year that he didn't pry for more
information from Hyacinthe about Pickton.****

A group of four officers who testified Tuesday, including Ruth Chapman, who
took over from Connor, and Earl Moulton, who was an inspector in charge of
major crime in Coquitlam, said Ward's cross-examination was the first time
they had heard detailed information about what Hyacinthe knew about the
Picktons.****

"All I can say is that if this is the state of Puff's knowledge, I sure
wish she'd made it known to us," Moulton told the inquiry.****

"I put it to you she did -- she told you," said Ward.****

"She did not," replied Moulton.****

Other information Hyacinthe told the police during her February 2002
interview:****

   - Pickton staged cockfights and pit bull fights on his farm.****
   - Piggy's Palace was frequented by "a strange group of people" and
   Pickton would always bring "dates" to his parties.****
   - Years earlier, her husband helped the Picktons bury stolen cars on
   their property.****
   - Her son told her there were often women on Pickton's farm, who he
   believed were sex workers.****
   - Her son once saw bloody
clothing<http://www.surfcanyon.com/search?f=sl&q=clothing&partner=wtiffeub>in
Pickton's truck.
   ****

The RCMP have maintained they did not have enough information to legally
search Pickton's property, but Ward has argued police were well aware of
illegal activities Pickton was involved in -- any number of which could
have been used to secure a warrant.****

Ward noted a tipster told police Pickton was running weekly cockfights on
his farm, and the RCMP knew for years about Piggy's Palace, which was
frequented by members of the Hells Angels.****

He said the Mounties also had information about illegal guns. Ross
Caldwell, who told police in 1999 that Pickton may have killed a sex worker
at his farm, recalled seeing guns on the property.****

Almost three years later, a junior officer named Nathan Wells used another
tip about illegal firearms to obtain a search warrant for Pickton's farm,
which ultimately led to his arrest on Feb. 5, 2002.****

"You could have got on the property in '99," said Ward.****

Moulton insisted ****Caldwell****'s tip wasn't enough. He said he even
asked a Crown prosecutor in 1999 whether police had enough evidence to
obtain a search warrant, and he was told they did not.****

"The information from Mr. Caldwell had been assessed by myself and many
others, and the information did not support the issuance (of a warrant),"
said Moulton.****

Pickton was eventually convicted of six counts of second-degree murder.****

Police found the remains or DNA of 33 women on Pickton's property. He once
told an undercover police officer he killed 49.****

** **



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