Robert William "Willie" Pickton is currently serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of six British Columbian women. Although convicted of the murder of six victims, physical and forensic evidence for thirty-three women was discovered at Pickton's pig farm in Port Coquitlam, which served as the crime scene for his murders. Numerous other missing women, mostly marginalized sex workers with chronic drug addictions, from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside remain missing. It is not unreasonable to assume that they too suffered the same disturbing fate as other murder victims. Pickton's modus operandi for serial murders was the same; He prowled Vancouver's drug- and poverty-plagued Downtown Eastside neighborhood looking for potential victims, took victims back to his Port Coquitlam pig farm, and then sexually abused, tortured and murdered before mutilating and disposing of their bodies . Most disturbingly, the victim's remains were allegedly fed to pigs on his farm, which were then slaughtered with the meat distributed to Pickton's associates or visitors to the farm (The Pickton Trial, CBC.ca/news) . an individual to behave in this rather atrocious and macabre manner? Using Robert Pickton as a case study, this article will explore the phenomenon of serial murders and apply research literature to help explain his behavior and examine issues such as psychopathy, mental disorders and substance abuse relevant to the Pickton case . Additionally, the article will explore the sexually sadistic nature of the Pickton murders. Finally, the article will explore the reasoning behind Pickton's choice of drug-addicted prostitutes as victims who allowed him to conduct his murders in relative anonymity. ......middle of paper......to murder. In short, if we want to prevent other unfortunate tragedies like the Pickton murders from happening again in the future, greater attention must be paid to intervening, treating and rehabilitating negative psychological states in minors before they can give rise to violent and sadistic behavior in minors. adulthood, like those present in serial killers. References Arndt, W., Hietpas, T., & Kim, J (2004). Critical characteristics of male serial murderers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 29(1). Quinet, K. (2011). Prostitutes as victims of serial homicide: Trends and case characteristics, 1970-2009. Homicide Studies, 15(1), 74-100. Simons, C. (2001). Antisocial personality disorder in serial killers: The thrill of killing. The Justice Professional, 14(4), 345-356. The Pickton trial. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/ background/pickton/more.html