VANCOUVER - The mother of a woman whose DNA was found on Robert Pickton's property says new evidence should prompt another murder charge against the serial killer, but the B.C. Coroners Service says the evidence in question isn’t actually new.
Michele Pineault's daughter Stephanie Lane was last seen in 1997 and her remains were later found on the property, but Pickton was never charged in her case.
Pineault says she was told at the time that the DNA wasn't enough evidence to lay a murder charge.
But last fall, Pineault says she was told that two bone fragments had been sitting in storage for years, and that new evidence should be enough for a charge.
In a statement, the B.C. Coroners Service emphasized that that the remains Pinault spoke about at a press conference on Wednesday “do not represent new evidence.”
“The remains returned to Ms. Lane’s family were fully known and identified as part of the original police investigation,” the coroners service said.
The only problem, according to the coroners service, is that there was a delay in returning the remains to the family. The statement offers no explanation for why this delay happened.
“The BC Coroners Service regrets it cannot explain this delay as none of the current senior management team were in their positions at the time, and those who were involved are no longer employed by the BC Coroners Service,” it reads.
Pickton was convicted of six murders, 20 charges were stayed, and six other cases, including Lane's, never resulted in charges.
The Crown decided against a second trial because Pickton had already received the maximum sentence under the law.
With files from the Canadian Press
