Trial of suspected serial murderer to begin in Canada
23/1/2007 17:13
The trial of a suspected murderer who has been charged with killing 26
women will begin yesterday in Canada.
Robert Pickton, who was arrested five
years ago, will appear at a court in New Westminster of British Columbia
province in western Canada. He faces first-degree murder charges in the slayings
of six women for the first period of the trial, while no trial date has been set
on other charges concerning the other 20 victims.
The trial, expected to last
a year, is considered to be one of the largest, longest, and most expensive in
Canadian history.
Eight lawyers will stand in court Monday, with the
12-person jury panel hearing all the opening arguments from the prosecutors and
the defense, an unusual move designed to help them understand the case better
considering its complexity.
About 250 reporters, photographers and technical
media representatives, many from other countries, have been accredited to report
on the trial.
The judge has already warned some of the testimony may be "like
a horror movie."
The 57-year-old pig farmer from suburban Port Coquitlam,
B.C. has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. None of the allegations has
been proven in court.
In 2001, police announced that the disappearances of
dozens of women, most of them prostitutes, would be treated as murder.
In
February of 2002, officers entered Pickton's pig farm using a firearms warrant.
A few days later, he was charged with weapons offenses as the search of the
property continued.
Xinhua
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