Convicted Serial Killer Robert Pickton Assaulted in Prison, Hospitalized in Critical Condition

Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who murdered and dismembered dozens of women on his pig farm, was brutally assaulted in a Quebec prison on Sunday and has been hospitalized in life-threatening condition. A 51-year-old inmate is in custody for the attack, which occurred at the Port-Cartier Institution, a maximum-security prison.

Convicted Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who lured female victims to his pig farm during a horrifying crime spree near Vancouver in the 1990s and early 2000s, has been assaulted in prison and has been hospitalized in critical condition, authorities have confirmed.

A 51-year-old inmate is in custody for the assault, which occurred Sunday at a prison in Quebec, police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu said.

The 74-year-old Pickton was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2007, with the maximum parole ineligibility period of 25 years, after being initially charged with the murders of 26 women.

Police began searching the Pickton farm in the Vancouver suburb of Port Coquitlam more than 22 years ago, triggering a years-long investigation into the disappearances of dozens of women. The remains or DNA of 33 women, many picked up from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, were eventually found on Pickton's property.

During the investigation, Pickton reportedly bragged to an undercover police officer that he had killed a total of 49 women.

Vancouver police faced criticism for not taking the disappearances of the women, many of whom were sex workers or drug users, more seriously.

The Correctional Service Canada announced on Monday that an inmate had been sent to hospital after a serious assault at the maximum-security Port-Cartier Institution, approximately 480 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of Quebec City.

On Tuesday, the correctional service confirmed that Pickton was the inmate injured in the major assault Sunday and that none of its staff were involved in the attack.

Quebec provincial police said the convicted killer's injuries were considered life-threatening.

Pickton's confirmed victims include Sereena Abotsway, Mona Wilson, Andrea Joesbury, Brenda Ann Wolfe, Georgina Papin, and Marnie Frey.

At the time of Pickton's sentencing, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice James Williams said it was a "rare case that properly warrants the maximum period of parole ineligibility available to the court."

The assault on Pickton has shocked and horrified many Canadians, who are reminded of the horrific crimes he committed and the many lives he shattered. It also raises questions about the safety and security of inmates in Canadian prisons.

The investigation into the assault on Pickton is ongoing, and authorities have yet to release further details or possible motives.