Serial killer faces sentencing hearing

NEW WESTMINSTER, British Columbia, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Serial killer Robert Pickton was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no parole for at least 25 years for killing six Vancouver women.

Relatives of the victims cheered when they heard Justice Jim Williams impose the stiffest sentence possible under Canadian law, The Vancouver Sun reported. The judge called Pickton "murderous and repeatedly so."

"This is the rare case that properly warrants the maximum," Williams said.

Robert Pickton, a pig farmer in British Columbia, received six life sentences. The judge was limited to deciding how long he must serve before being eligible for parole.

During a day-long court hearing Tuesday, relatives described their grief and anger. While the women lived in a part of Vancouver known for drugs and crime, their families had other memories.

"I feel anger when I hear these women were drug addicts and prostitutes," said Bonnie Fowler, sister of Georgina Papin. "I didn't know Georgina in that way."

Pickton's attorney asked for a shorter period of parole ineligibility, calling his client "a 58-year-old man with no criminal record whatsoever."

Pickton may face a second trial for other killings.