Landfill search for remains could start in December: Kinew

WINNIPEG — A search of a Winnipeg landfill for the remains of a victim of convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki could begin in December.

Premier Wab Kinew says the province is in the process of hiring staff to search the city-run Brady Road landfill for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose.

“We’ve been really conscientious about the Shingoose family … We (have) made a lot of progress in terms of strengthening that relationship. So, now we’re moving ahead to the next steps, which involve hiring the searchers,” he told reporters Monday.

“We’re moving ahead with a target of searching that zone of highest interest.”

The province began a “test phase” of a search at the landfill in August. It included excavating an area to determine what the search process would look like, as well as conducting ground-penetrating radar tests to narrow down a search location.

Shingoose, originally from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation in northern Manitoba, was one of four First Nations women killed by Skibicki in 2022.

His trial heard he targeted the women at Winnipeg homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins.

Skibicki admitted to the slayings but argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental illness. He was convicted of first-degree murder in the four killings and sentenced last year to life in prison.

At the time of the trial, Shingoose had not been identified and was referred to in court as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given to her by Indigenous grassroots community members.

Months later, police announced that interviews with Skibicki after the trial, along with DNA evidence, led them to identify the unknown victim as Shingoose. They said they believed her body was taken to the landfill.

Police first became aware of Skibicki’s crimes after the remains of Rebecca Contois were discovered in a garbage bin in May 2022. More of her remains were found at the same landfill.

Kinew committed to searching the site for Shingoose after a similar dig at a different landfill for the two other victims.

The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were discovered at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. The search there concluded in the summer.

Kinew said decommissioning the search site at Prairie Green is still ongoing. The province plans to move some of the buildings set up for the search to the Brady Road site.

Talks are ongoing with the Harris and Myran families about what to do with a healing lodge constructed at Prairie Green, said Kinew.

“There’s no final answer as to what’s going to happen with that. But there’s been some discussion with the families that maybe that could be put to use for housing or some other purpose to help people in a vulnerable position.”

» The Canadian Press