Humanizing The Victims At Last

I was unable to attend the trial last week for personal reasons, and I found myself missing being in the courtroom...almost needing to be there. I think with my addictive personality, I realized, this is my new drug.

As the facts of the evidence started to come out, I thought I thought maybe me not being able to attend was perhaps a small blessing, for I really do not know how I would be able to cope with the sight of Sgt. Philip Ziegler pulling out a three-pound reciprocating saw, which he then turned on to show the action of the blade and how the saw marks found on jawbones, skulls, and rib bones matched the marks made by the saw like the one found on Pickton's property.

It also came out that the bullets found in Serena Abotsway and Mona Wilson were too damaged to make a connection with any guns found on the farm property. Evidence also focused on determining whether there were similarities between the hog carcasses and the remains of the women found on the property, in terms of how they had been butchered. Brian McConaghy, a tool mark and firearms expert, stated there were no similarities between them.

As I sat in various places around town reading the paper, or obsessively checking the news online, I found I was sad for having missed all this evidence, knowing how different it is to hear the facts as they come out live versus just reading them in the newspaper. I also find so many questions remain unanswered by the articles, that I'd prefer to see for myself what transpires in the courtroom.

How was the witness' demeanor?

Did Pickton react in any way to anything said?

How did the members of the jury fare?