Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, known for bringing victims to pig farm, dead after prison assault

Convicted Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, who brought female victims to his pig farm during a crime spree near Vancouver in the late 1990s and early 2000s, has died after being assaulted in prison, authorities said Wednesday. He was 74.

The Correctional Service of Canada said in a statement that Pickton, an inmate at Port-Cartier Institution in Quebec, died in the hospital following injuries resulting from an assault involving another inmate on May 19. Pickton was assaulted at the maximum-security federal institution and then brought to an outside hospital to receive treatment. 

Authorities said in a statement they notified Pickton's next of kin as well as registered victims, "in accordance with their specified notification preferences."