Police in Winnipeg, Canada, added three more murder charges against a man who was previously arrested and charged with the murder of a 24-year-old indigenous woman in May and throwing her body in a dumpster.
Authorities charged 35-year-old Jeremy Skibicki this week with three additional counts of first-degree murder after they identified more victims.
Skibicki’s first arrest was on May 18, 2022, and he was charged with first-degree murder after police found partial remains of Rebecca Contois, a woman who belonged to O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, otherwise known as Crane River, on the shores of Lake Manitoba.
Winnipeg Police now believe that Skibicki was also responsible for the death of three other indigenous women, two who are members of First Nation, and a third unidentified woman. The Winnipeg Police Chief, Danny Smyth, said the murders occurred between March and May of this year.
Speaking during a press conference, Police Chief Smyth said that even though it is unsettling when there is any serial killing, the case was particularly upsetting because it involves the murder of indigenous women.
Authorities identified the two murder victims as 39-year-old Morgan Beatrice Harris, killed around May 1, and 26-year-old Marcedes Myran, killed around May 4. Both women were Winnipeg residents and members of the Long Plain First Nation in South Central Manitoba.
Police said Skibicki killed a fourth woman, who they are yet to identify but believe to be indigenous, in her mid-20s. They think he killed her on March 15 or around that time. They released a picture of a jacket similar to the one she was wearing on the day of her disappearance, a reversible baby phat coat with a fur hood, and asked the public to help identify her.
The police have not yet recovered the bodies of the three additional victims, but Police Chief Smyth said they have enough evidence against Skibicki to charge him with their murders.
Inspector Shawn Pikes, with Winnipeg Police’s major crime division, said they used DNA evidence in their investigations but failed to give further details.
Police discovered the partial remains of Rebecca Contois in a garbage bin in the North Kildonan neighborhood on May 16. They believe some of her remains might have ended up in a city landfill during a garbage pickup in the neighborhood. Police searched extensively for her remains in the Brady Road landfill, finally finding the rest in June.
After police arrested Skibicki in May, they said they believed he had killed more people, but up until this week, the police had not identified any other victims.
Police Chief Smith said they were unsure if Skibicki specifically targeted aboriginal women. The police also said they had no motive for the murders.
A quick dive into Skibicki’s Facebook page revealed his violent sentiments and anti-Semitic and white supremacist views. He also described himself as a member of a far-right movement called ‘Holy Europe.’
Scott Gillingham, Winnipeg’s Mayor, said that the city had a lot of work to do to protect indigenous women and girls.