Winnipeg trial hears victims' clothing, DNA found in serial killer's apartment
Warning: This article contains graphic content that may be disturbing to readers. Discretion is advised.
The trial of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki heard Thursday that police found physical evidence of the victims in his Winnipeg apartment, including jewelry, clothing, DNA and a bloodstained bathtub.
Const. Jan de Vries, who was part of the police search team, testified they found bloodstains in Skibicki's bathroom belonging to one of the victims, Rebecca Contois.
Some stains were visible while others were found using a spray that makes stains fluorescent when used with a black light, he said.
"The bathtub was very fluorescent," said de Vries. "So was the floor, the walls and on the exterior side of the door."
He said the bloodstains found in the bathtub covered the entire area, which had likely been emptied and rinsed at some point.
Skibicki is charged with first-degree murder for the 2022 killings of Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
He has confessed to the slayings, but his lawyers are arguing that he's not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
The Crown said the killings were racially motivated, with Skibicki a self-proclaimed white supremacist and the four victims Indigenous.
Prosecutors said Skibicki preyed on the vulnerable women at homeless shelters, assaulted them, killed them and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins.
Winnipeg police investigate a homicide scene on Edison Avenue in May 2022. (CTV News Winnipeg File)
The partial remains of Contois were found in multiple dumpsters in Skibicki's neighbourhood, as well as in a local landfill.
Crown prosecutor Renee Lagimodiere has told court Skibicki assaulted 24-year-old Contois during sex. He then choked her, smothered her with a pillow and dismembered her in the tub.
Images from surveillance video presented in court show a person emptying bags into a bin in the neighbourhood.
Court heard that when officers went to search the bin, it had already been emptied. This led police to section off an area at the Brady Road landfill, where they ultimately found the woman's torso, said de Vries.
De Vries said that in Skibicki's suite, police found a jacket and tuque belonging to Harris and Myran's earrings and baseball cap. DNA belonging to both women was also found, as was Myran's blood on the blade of a combat-style knife.
The remains of Harris and Myran are believed to be in a different landfill.
Investigators have said it's not known where the remains of Buffalo Woman are located.
Skibicki told police he sold Buffalo Woman's jacket online. Police later located the reversible Baby Phat jacket, and an unidentified woman's DNA profile was found.
De Vries testified there have been substantial but unsuccessful efforts to identify that DNA.
Court heard DNA evidence from 16 females was found in the apartment and in a garbage bin in the area. Nine of those samples were unidentified.
Lagimodiere told reporters outside court that the Crown doesn't believe at this time there are more victims in the case.
One identified DNA sample belonged to a missing woman. Ashlee Shingoose was last seen in downtown Winnipeg in March 2022.
Shingoose's family told local media last year that they were asked to provide a DNA sample to police but it didn't come back as a match to Buffalo Woman.
Police said in an email Thursday that Shingoose is still considered missing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2024.
There is a support line available for those impacted by missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and LGBTQ2S+ people: 1-844-413-6649.
The Hope for Wellness Hotline for Indigenous people, with support in Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut, is also available 24/7 in Canada at 1-855-242-3310.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ontario gave parents more than $1B in cash over 2 years. Here's where the money went
During the pandemic, the Ontario government started to hand out cash to parents to help offset the cost of at-home learning while schools were shuttered.
One dead, 26 wounded in overnight shooting in Ohio: reports
A shooting on a street in Akron, Ohio, killed one man and wounded 26 other people early Sunday morning, according to reports by local news outlets.
Do this once a month and extend your life by up to 10 years. No gym required
Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.
Ambassador says interactions with Russia 'quite limited' but 'not unfriendly'
Canada's ambassador to Russia says while Ottawa has 'grave concerns' about the Kremlin's 'longer-term trends,' the war in Ukraine is 'a primary barrier to a change in the relationship.'
Bathroom break nearly derails $22 million project at city council meeting
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
Mass parachute jump over Normandy kicks off commemorations for the 80th anniversary of D-Day
Parachutists jumping from Second World War-era planes hurled themselves Sunday into now peaceful Normandy skies where war once raged, heralding a week of ceremonies for the fast-disappearing generation of Allied troops who fought from D-Day beaches 80 years ago.
Lanny McDonald and a few old Flames take the Stanley Cup on a surprise visit to the man who saved his life
The Stanley Cup was passing through town Friday, and Lanny Legend took it upon himself to take it for a surprise visit.
South Korea vows 'unbearable' retaliation against North Korea over its launch of trash balloons
South Korea said Sunday it’ll soon take retaliatory steps against North Korea over its launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border and other provocations.
Chad Daybell sentenced to death for killing wife and girlfriend’s two children in jury decision
Jurors resumed deliberations Saturday on whether a man should be sentenced to death after being convicted days earlier of the murders of his wife and his girlfriend’s two youngest children in Idaho.