Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran, and a fourth unidentified woman who has been given the name Buffalo Woman or Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe.
On Tuesday, Skibicki's lawyers said the count related to Buffalo Woman should be quashed due to the fact her body has not been found and she has not been identified.
His lawyers said this information should make the count a "nullity" or legally void.
After listening to the arguments from both the defence and Crown, Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal dismissed the motion, saying the "count is not a nullity."
A partial publication ban was put in place allowing information about the motion to be shared, but preventing any evidence discussed from being shared.
Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to all four first-degree murder counts.
Contois' remains were found in the Brady Landfill in June 2022, and it's believed the remains of Myran and Harris are in the Prairie Green Landfill. It is not known where Buffalo Woman's remains are.
In March, the federal and provincial governments reached an agreement to commit $20 million each to fund a search of Prairie Green.
Skibicki's trial is expected to get underway at the end of the month.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Nuclear-armed nations are deepening their reliance on their nuclear weapons, watchdog finds
The world's nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their nuclear weapons as the countries deepened their reliance on such deterrence in 2023, a Swedish think tank said Monday.
A new tax filing system could give Canadians more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits: PBO
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
2 Canadian cities ranked high on global list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
Israeli officials say Netanyahu has dissolved the War Cabinet after key partner bolted government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential War Cabinet tasked with steering the war in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted the government over frustrations surrounding the Israeli leader's handling of the war.
World's first weekly insulin injection coming to Canada in 2 weeks, manufacturer says
Many people with diabetes in Canada will soon be able to take insulin once a week instead of daily, drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk announced on Monday.
At least 8 dead after trains collided in eastern India in Darjeeling district, a tourist hotspot
A cargo train rammed into a passenger train in India's eastern state of West Bengal on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, officials said.
16-year-old boy fatally shot outside Scarborough plaza identified
Police have identified a teenage boy who was fatally shot in Scarborough’s L’Amoreaux neighbourhood on Saturday afternoon.
1 in 4 parents say their young child has bedtime anxiety, new poll finds
One in four parents say they have trouble getting their anxious child to sleep, while one in five resort to giving their kids melatonin, according to a new poll.
George Clooney and Julia Roberts help Joe Biden raise US$30 million-plus at a star-studded Hollywood gala
Some of Hollywood's brightest stars headlined a fundraiser for U.S. President Joe Biden that took in a record US$30 million-plus for a Democratic candidate, according to his campaign, in hopes of energizing would-be supporters for a White House contest they said may rank among the most consequential in U.S. history.