Homicide victims’ families anticipate difficult week

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/11/2023 (714 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly one year after Winnipeg police charged an alleged serial killer in the slaying of four Indigenous women, the victims’ families are bracing to hear details about their deaths, with a pretrial hearing slated to take place Monday.

“It’s going to be a tough week for us. I don’t think there is much you can do to prepare for something like that, so me and my family are just talking amongst ourselves and spending time together, and we will continue to do that,” said Jorden Myran, sister of Marcedes Myran who is believed to have been slain May 2022.

“We have met with the Crown and they have told us a little about what will be said in court… We didn’t know what we are going to going to be walking into, so letting us know what we’re going to have to hear, just to prepare us, it was good.”

Jeremy Skibicki, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Marcedes, 26, Morgan Harris, 39, and Rebecca Contois, 24. He is facing the same charge relating to a fourth victim known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman), whose true identity remains unknown.

The charges against Skibicki have not been tested in court, and he is pleading not guilty on all counts, his lawyer told the Free Press in October.

All of the slain women were Indigenous.

“I know for myself personally, and some of my other family, we don’t want to know the details, but we know that there’s not going to be anyway for us to avoid them,” Kirstin Witwicki, Morgan Harris’ cousin, said of the upcoming proceedings.

Witwicki and her family have turned to traditional Indigenous ceremony as they prepare for what will be long and difficult days ahead, she said, adding she does not know for certain if Skibicki will appear in person, but expects it is likely.

“Of course, it is pretty tough. We have a lot of supports in place through community organizations, which is really great,” she said. “Just to kind of keep ourselves grounded and prepare ourselves mentally for what is going to come this week.”

Cambria Harris, Morgan Harris’ daughter, also acknowledged the pretrial in a statement posted to social media Friday.

“A few days ago, I finally found out just what happened to my mother Morgan and how she passed, and so I’m just heartbroken lately knowing what she had to go through in the end. It’s horrible. This was so that it doesn’t come as a shock in court, and I’m glad I got the answers, but it has left me traumatized,” she wrote, adding the thought of potentially being in the same room as Skibicki makes her stomach turn.

Around three dozen family members and supporters braved the November rain and gathered outside the Manitoba Law Courts building (408 York Ave.) Sunday night to participate in a candlelight vigil.

Myran, who organized the event in honour of her sister, led the crowd in a series of traditional Indigenous songs, accompanied by several other drummers and singers.

“We wanted to do it the day before pretrial starts just to make a statement and also to keep her name and spirit alive,” she said of the vigil.

Many in the crowd carried candles and wore ribbon skirts beneath rain and winter coats. Others displayed pins in the shape of red dresses — a nationally known symbol of justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Donna Bartlett, Marcedes’ grandmother and caregiver, blinked away tears as she helped relight candles doused by the rain. Around her neck, she wore a laminated photo of her granddaughter, emblazoned with the words “Search the landfill, bring Marcedes home.”

The Harris and Myran families have led ongoing calls for the various levels of government to support a search of Prairie Green Landfill near Winnipeg, where the remains of both women are believed to be buried.

Last month, Premier Wab Kinew promised the provincial and federal governments will move ahead with such efforts.

Witwicki did not attend the vigil — needing time to prepare emotionally for the following morning when she would arrive at the courthouse in time for the hearing’s 10 a.m. start, she said.

She urged the public to look at her cousin and the other women as human beings, not just victims, as the court case progresses through the coming months.

“I know that this started as a local issue, and now is national — you hear talk about it even globally — but we need to remain grounded and remind ourselves that these are women who had families,” Witwicki said. “Remember that when you hear these details.”

A review of court documents show Skibicki has filed dozens of motions and documents since being charged. Any details revealed during the pretrial will likely fall under a publication ban, meaning they cannot be reported.

The pretrial process is a standard feature in criminal trials, and can include the use of a voir dire — a legal term describing a kind of “trial within a trial,” which can help a judge determine what evidence will be admissible in court and identify any issues before proceeding, said Chris Gamby, communications director for the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre

Wednesdays

Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences.

Sign up for Biidaajimowin | News from the Centre

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

“The Crown and defence may make agreements limiting the need to call certain witnesses, or basically doing what they can to streamline things for everyone involved,” Gamby said. “In cases that are more complex, there may be multiple pretrials… Sometimes those things can be settled by agreement, other times you have to set a voir dire.”

Gamby, who is not involved in the Skibicki case, could not comment on what may be discussed in court.

Pretrial hearings are slated to continue until Nov. 21, Myran said.

“Me and my family will be in court every single day,” she said. “We want these women to get justice.”

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.