Memorial service set for Alberta Pickton victim

A memorial service is set for Thursday in Edmonton for one of the victims of convicted killer Robert Pickton.

The family of Georgina Papin, who attended a vigil in Vancouver Tuesday, plan to bring her remains back to Edmonton after British Columbia officials released them earlier this week.

Papin's three sisters, as well as her daughter, struggled through years of pain as they waited for the court case to be over. They were finally allowed to pick up their sister's remains at the coroner's office in Vancouver.

"I'm pretty overwhelmed. We have our sister and we get to take her home now," Elena Papin, Georgina's sister said.

Memorials in Edmonton and on a reserve in Hobbema are also planned for the mother of seven.

Georgina Papin disappeared in March 1999 when the 34-year-old was working on the street in Vancouver.

She was one of 33 women whose remains or DNA were found on Pickton's farm after his arrest in 2001.

B.C.'s Attorney General Mike de Jong promised a wide-ranging commission with the powers to compel testimony from witnesses.

Papin's daughter Christina Bateman, who was raised by her grandparents in Las Vegas, said it was a bittersweet reunion with her mother.

"The sadness is that she's not actually physically here but we definitely feel her around," Bateman said. "I'm feeling warmth, I know she's watching us and she's really happy that we're all together."