Jury selected for accused serial killer’s murder trial

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This article was published 25/04/2024 (533 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A jury has been selected in the trial of accused serial killer Jeremy Skibicki.

Twenty-one prospective jurors appeared before Court of King’s Bench Justice Rick Saull over the course of 90 minutes Thursday morning; 10 women and four men were ultimately selected for the trial, set to begin hearing evidence in two weeks.

The 14 jurors include two alternates who will step in if any of the other 12 are unable to fulfil their duties.

Skibicki, 37, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the 2022 killings of four Indigenous woman: Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran and an as-of-yet unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman.

Jurors were drawn from a pool of 157 candidates who gathered at the Law Courts Thursday selection in three impending trials.

Skibicki sat impassively in the prisoner’s box and stared straight ahead, not appearing to make eye contact with anyone in court as Saull questioned prospective jurors one-by-one.

In a preamble to the jury pool, Saull stressed the need to keep an open mind and have no preconceived ideas when hearing the evidence.

“Every juror must be impartial, which means that every juror must approach the trial with an open mind and no preconceived ideas,” Saull told them.

“All human beings experience unconscious biases, but these biases can be overcome,” he said. “If you are selected to be a juror you will be asked to judge the evidence presented fairly and without bias, prejudice, sympathy or partiality.”

Saull cautioned people against using frivolous excuses to get out of serving.

“Trying to avoid jury duty is something the court has to deal with at each and every jury selection,” he said. “Some people come up with insufficient excuses and I suggest you carefully consider whether you want to raise an excuse at all. It is a civic duty and it is very important part of our justice system.”

When picking the Skibicki jurors, Saull asked each candidate seven questions agreed to by the Crown and defence to determine whether they could be unbiased in assessing the evidence.

“Every juror must be impartial, which means that every juror must approach the trial with an open mind and no preconceived ideas.”–Court of King’s Bench Justice Rick Saull

Questions included whether they have read or heard anything about the case; whether they have posted about the case on social media; whether they or anyone they know participated in vigils, protest actions or gatherings at the Brady Road landfill; whether their ability to remain unbiased would be affected by the fact the four deceased were Indigenous; whether they have formed an opinion as to Skibicki’s guilt; and whether they were open to finding a person guilty of murder was not criminally responsible for their actions, if the evidence supported it.

Five of the selected jurors told Saull they had not heard of the case prior to coming to court.

One woman rejected for inclusion on the jury told Saull she would not be able to consider a not criminally responsible finding. “Guilty is guilty,” she said.

Another seven potential Skibicki jurors asked to be excused from the trial, offering excuses ranging from anxiety and medical issues to out-of-town work commitments and pre-planned vacations. One candidate was added to the jury while the other six were returned to the pool for inclusion in the remaining two jury selections.

Opening submissions in the Skibicki trial will be heard May 8, with the trial expected to last five weeks.

dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca

Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter

Dean Pritchard is courts reporter for the Free Press. He has covered the justice system since 1999, working for the Brandon Sun and Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 2019. Read more about Dean.

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