Witness’s medical emergency forces Skibicki trial adjournment

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This article was published 17/05/2024 (480 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A trial for confessed serial killer Jeremy Skibicki was adjourned Friday morning after one of two expected witnesses suffered a medical emergency.

The trial will resume Tuesday with police testimony about what was found on Skibicki’s computer following his arrest, court heard. The witnesses set to testify Friday will be rescheduled.

Skibicki, 37, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the 2022 slayings of three Indigenous women – Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran — as well as a fourth still-unidentified woman given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman) by Indigenous leaders.

Skibicki admits to killing the women but is arguing he should be found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder.

On Wednesday, Justice Glenn Joyal ordered that Skibicki undergo a psychiatric assessment to be completed Sunday and Monday.

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Prosecutors requested the assessment after receiving a copy of a defence-commissioned psychiatric report.

Under the Criminal Code, the court can order a psychiatric assessment at any stage in the trial if “the accused puts his or her mental capacity for criminal intent into issue.”