VANCOUVER, British Columbia-A man accused of being Canada's worst serial killer pleaded not guilty Monday to 27 counts of first-degree murder.
Robert Pickton, 56, was arrested almost four years ago by police investigating the disappearances of sex-trade workers from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.
The not-guilty plea marked the formal start of Pickton's trial, which will begin with months of hearings on the admissibility of evidence held under a strict publication ban.
Pickton is charged in connection with more than 60 women - many of them prostitutes - who have vanished over the past two decades from one of Canada's most crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Pickton lived on a 7-hectare (17-acre) farm in Port Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. He was involved in several businesses on the property and is accused of having disposed of the women on his farm.
Details here from the AP via FindLaw.com.