Pig farmer admitted killing 49 women, say prosecutors

A Canadian pig farmer on trial for killing dozens of women and feeding them to his animals told police that he was planning one final murder to bring his tally to an “even 50”, the prosecutor said.

At the start of what promises to be a gory year-long trial, Derrill Prevett, representing the Crown, told the court in Vancouver that Robert “Willie” Pickton had confessed to killing 49 women.

Mr Pickton told police, including an undercover officer planted in his cell, that he was plotting his last kill to reach a half-century before he “shut it down”, the prosecutor said.

“I was going to do one more and make it an even 50,” Mr Prevett quoted the pig farmer as telling investigators. “I made my own grave by being sloppy.”