Canadian serial killer convicted

NEW WESTMINISTER, British Columbia, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- A jury in Canada Sunday found Robert William Pickton guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of six women who disappeared from Vancouver.

The seven men and five women on the Supreme Court jury returned their verdicts on six counts after nine full days of deliberations, capping a 10-month trial with 128 witnesses, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Pickton, a 58-year-old pig farmer from Port Coquitlam, B.C., was arrested in 2002 and had been charged with first-degree murder in the six deaths.

Prosecutors accused him of butchering their corpses before disposing of their remains on his farm.

After the jurors delivered the verdict Judge James Williams asked them to recommend a prison sentence.

"You are asked to make a recommendation as to whether Mr. Pickton should serve more than 10 years in prison but less than 25 before he is considered to be eligible for parole," the judge said.

Pickton faces a second murder trial in connection with the deaths of 20 other women, BBC reported.