Accused Canadian serial killer Jeremy Skibicki goes on trial in Winnipeg

The high-profile trial of a Canadian man accused of murdering four Indigenous women two years ago is set to begin in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Jeremy Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder.

In an unexpected development Monday, his lawyers said their client had admitted to the killings but would argue he was not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

The victims’ families want him to be held accountable for the murders.

Warning: this article contains upsetting content.

Jeremy Skibicki’s victims – Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26, Rebecca Contois, 24, and a fourth unidentified woman who was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman – are all women from First Nations.

Prosecutors accuse the Winnipeg native, aged in his 30s, of taking the women home and sexually assaulting them before murdering them between March and May 2022.

He was arrested the same year, after Ms Contois’ remains were discovered in a trash can and at a local dump.

Police believe the bodies of Ms Harris and Ms Myran were dumped at a separate landfill north of the city. Their remains have not yet been found.

The location of the remains of the fourth victim – Buffalo Woman – is unknown.

Crown prosecutors agreed the trial, which was initially scheduled to be held before a jury, could be heard by a judge alone.

An earlier request by Jeremy Skibicki’s lawyers to not have a jury was initially denied, but on Monday the trial judge granted their request after the defense said it was now seeking a not guilty verdict criminal.

Jurors who had already been selected in late April to hear the case are expected to be officially dismissed Wednesday morning.

The trial is expected to continue until early June.

Experts say the focus of the trial will likely change given the suspect’s not guilty plea by reason of mental illness.

Brandon Trask, a law professor at the University of Manitoba, told the BBC on Wednesday that typically murder trials aim to prove the guilt of the accused. In this case, it will be up to the defense to prove that the suspect suffers from “a mental illness which rendered him incapable of appreciating the nature of his actions”.

“It’s a very difficult battle for the defense in this case, where you have multiple victims spread out over a period of time,” Mr. Trask said.

If the suspect successfully proves he is not criminally responsible, he will spend time in a forensic hospital rather than behind bars, and will be subject to annual hearings that will determine the level of freedoms he can be granted. in the future.

The murders of the four women sparked outcry in Canada, where a disproportionate number of Indigenous women and girls are murdered or disappear.

In 2014, the federal statistics agency reported that Indigenous women are six times more likely to be victims of homicide than non-Indigenous women.

The case also remained relevant as the victims’ families fought to pressure the government to authorize and fund excavations at the Prairie Green landfill, where the remains of Ms. Myran and Mrs. Harris.

Initially, the Manitoba provincial government refused, citing difficulties in searching for the remains, cost and concerns for worker safety given the presence of dangerous chemicals at the site.

But the province changed course after a change of government that saw the election of Premier Wab Kinew, who is Indigenous.

Research will likely begin later this year, after the province and Ottawa set aside a combined C$40 million ($29 million; £23.3 million) in funding.

The news was welcomed by Cambria Harris, Ms Harris’ daughter, who has been campaigning for the research since 2022.

“It’s about showing our indigenous women, our indigenous people, that we’re worth it,” Ms. Harris recently told CBC news.

“That we are valued, that we are loved, and that we are more than worth seeking out.”