VANCOUVER -- A bid by the lawyer of accused serial killer Robert William Pickton to bar all members of the public, including the news media, from Mr. Pickton's preliminary hearing, came under heavy fire yesterday.

Media lawyers and relatives of the missing women at the centre of the case, who also would be kept out of the hearing, said such a ban is unjustified.

"I feel we have a right to be there, and I am not going to be excluded from that courtroom. Not without a fight," said Ernie Crey, the brother of Dawn Crey who vanished from the streets of the drug-ravaged Downtown Eastside two years ago. Mr. Crey said he has hired a lawyer to challenge the ban sought by defence lawyer Peter Ritchie. "I am not going to let them walk over me."

Sandra Gagnon, sister of Janet Henry who is among the missing women, said the idea that she would not be allowed to attend Mr. Pickton's preliminary hearing is "crazy. I want to know what's going on."

Ms. Gagnon acknowledged that much of the evidence could be difficult to listen to. "But my family and I want answers. They have no right to try to get the families not to go. I want to be at everything I can."

Mr. Pickton, a 53-year-old pig farmer from nearby Port Coquitlam, is charged with killing 15 of the 63 women who have gone missing in recent years from the Downtown Eastside.

Media lawyer Dan Burnett said he was told by Mr. Ritchie this week that Mr. Ritchie intends to ask the court for a closed preliminary hearing to be attended only by lawyers, a court reporter, the judge and Mr. Pickton.

Mr. Ritchie has expressed concern that reporters from the United States could violate the ban on publication of evidence that is normally applied to reporters and members of the public sitting in on preliminary hearings.

Mr. Burnett, one of at least four lawyers hired by various media outlets to fight the proposed ban, charged that closing the courtroom to the public would seriously undermine confidence in the justice system.

"If this kind of sweeping order is granted, just because of a bit of international media attention, that's pretty frightening," he said. "In terms of anti-openness in the courts, this could be the biggest case in the past decade. The idea of a 3½-month hearing behind closed doors is pretty repugnant to the way we pride ourselves in the conduct of justice in this country."

Lawyer Michael Skene, representing CTV News, said he finds it troubling that the media continually must fight court-imposed restrictions. "This one is very sweeping. I can't think of any other circumstance where this type of ban has been granted. But we are seeing more and more applications for publication bans and court closures. It costs the media a lot of time and expense to get them set aside."

A court hearing on media coverage of Mr. Pickton's preliminary hearing is set for Monday. But it may be delayed a day to allow lawyers to attend the funeral of well-known B.C lawyer Peter Butler, who died this week.

The preliminary hearing, called to determine whether there is enough evidence to commit Mr. Pickton to a formal trial, is to start on Jan. 13.

Meanwhile, the joint police task force investigating the missing women's case has asked for assistance from the public in finding four other women who have not been seen for a long time.

Marilyn Ann Moore, who was last seen on April 11, 1985, and Verna Littlechief, who was last seen in 1978, match the profile of drug use or involvement in the sex trade that is common to the 63 women on the official police list.

Lenora Elizabeth Olding, who went missing Oct. 18, 1986, and Elizabeth Chalmers, reported missing Feb. 23, 1999, have no history of drug use, involvement in the sex trade or association with the Downtown Eastside.

"We have no reason to believe that these four women have anything to do with our current investigation of the Port Coquitlam farm," RCMP Constable Cate Galliford said. "But we are constantly reviewing outstanding missing-women cases, and these four women came to our attention as a result of that file review."