Front Burner - Alleged serial killer behind Indigenous womens’ deaths

Episode Date: December 7, 2022

Winnipeg Police are alleging that a serial killer murdered four women earlier this year. Investigators believe that each of the man’s alleged victims died between March and May, and – despite only having identified three of the women – that all are Indigenous. The accused is now facing four counts of first-degree murder. Today, CBC Winnipeg reporter Stephanie Cram helps us understand more about the lives of the alleged victims, and how communities are grappling with further loss in a province some advocates call “ground zero” for violence against Indigenous women and girls.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Jamie Poisson. My mom was Morgan Harris and she was a great person, and I want her to be remembered as how she was when she was younger

and not how she was when she went missing. And I think it's sad that time and time again that we have to keep coming here to gather for sad circumstances like this when our family members go missing, and it shouldn't have to be that way. This is Cambria Harris at a vigil in Winnipeg on Thursday. And she's speaking just hours after police named her mom as a victim of an alleged serial killer. Investigators say Morgan is one of four women killed

within a few months this spring. And while they've only identified three of the women, police believe all of them are Indigenous. There were four women found and those women had families. They were mothers, they were cousins, sisters and they didn't deserve that. The accused in this case is awaiting trial for four first degree murder charges where his lawyer says he'll plead not guilty on all counts. But simultaneously, these women's communities are grappling with yet another string of violence. In a province some advocates call ground zero for violence against Indigenous women.

So today, CBC Winnipeg reporter Stephanie Cram is with me. She's going to take me through the investigation into this alleged serial killer. But she's also going to help me understand a little more this alleged serial killer, but she's also going to help me understand a little more about the lives of some of these women and the action communities want for what they're calling an emergency. Finally, a warning here, this episode is going to contain some graphic details about murder investigations. Hi, Stephanie. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me.

So I want to start today with Rebecca Contois. She was a 24-year-old mother of one, a band member of Ochicha Cosipi First Nation. And what discoveries did police make surrounding her case in May? On May 16th, Winnipeg police responded to the discovery of partial remains near an apartment building in North Kildonan, which is a suburb in Winnipeg. The victim was identified at the time as Rebecca Contois. That same day, police said that they were focusing their search on a section of the Brady landfill. So it made many believe that the remains were found outside of the apartment building, were likely in a garbage bin. So Rebecca's family, I will say, has never spoken to CBC.

Instead, we have spoken to Daryl Contois, who often speaks on their behalf. Daryl is actually a very well-known Winnipegger who has a community grassroots search for missing persons in the city. With Rebecca's death, a lot of people that knew her knew how she was. She was a very kind person. She reached out, she talked to people, she liked to joke, she liked to laugh. Like any other child or person, you know. But she had a lot of respect, you know. I will say that Rebecca's mother did show up at the many vigils held for her daughter.

CBC did get to speak to her very briefly. She just expressed how heartbroken she was with the loss of her daughter. My heart's broken. I don't know. I don't do anything. I miss her. And tell me, who did the police charge with her murder? Police charged 35-year-old Jeremy Anthony Michael Skabecki. Before this year, he had a few charges, including assault, failed to comply with a no contact order and forgery. In May, when Rebecca's body was found,

police said that they did not rule out any additional victims. So the idea was there might be there might have been more women out there. Right. And I guess that brings us to last week when they held another press conference. And what did they reveal that expanded this already incredibly tragic case? Police announced three additional charges against Skibicki. First degree murder for all three. He's been charged with the murder of Morgan Beatrice Harris, 39 years old, of Winnipeg, and a member of the Long Plain First Nations.

Skibiki has also been charged with the murder of Mercedes Myron, 26 years old, of Winnipeg, and also a member of the Long Plains First Nation. Third woman who is not yet being identified, but police say they believe she is also likely Indigenous and possibly in her 20s. We're calling on everyone, including the media, to help us identify this female. It doesn't matter how trivial you may think your information may be. Give us a chance. Give us a chance to follow it up. Because the last thing that we want is for this fourth victim to remain a Jane Doe. It's not acceptable. Police did provide a photo of a jacket. It's a baby fat black and white reversible jacket which they believe they belong to the unidentified victim. What do we know about the evidence police based these three new charges on? wouldn't go into much detail of what that meant. And we know that police did an extensive search of Skabeki's apartment.

Police told reporters they couldn't divulge too much information because they didn't want to interfere with the investigation and the upcoming court proceedings. And am I right to say that the police believe these three other women were actually murdered before Contua was murdered? Yes. Police said they had a timeline over a couple of months at the beginning of this year, from March to May, that they believed that the women were killed. And Rebecca Contois, they believe, was the last one.

I'm hoping we can spend a bit of time today talking about who these women were. First, what did family members tell you about Mercedes Myron? Over the weekend, I spoke with Donna Bartlett, who is Mercedes' grandmother. She remembers her granddaughter as always smiling. Great, big, beautiful smile. Just contagious, you know? You know, a smile like that. Just contagious, make everybody smile. Mercedes was also an artist. Her family members showed me a bunch of the art that she did over the years. She really liked to draw anime cartoons, and all the family members insisted that the one thing she was really good at was drawing eyes.

She used to draw. Oh, lots of things. She always had an art book. And one thing she was very good at drawing was eyes, people's eyes. She would like to draw a lot. She was very good. They showed me all these portraits that she did and these big giant drawings of eyeballs. So her grandmother, Donna Bartlett, said she always had a special bond with her.

And she joked that everyone in the family said that Mercedes was her favorite grandchild. They used to say she was my pet. My favorite. She was the favorite. But Mercedes did also have a difficult life leading up to her death. She had two young children who were taken away from her from child and family services. At the time, she was struggling with addiction, but she wanted to make a change in her life. She had signed up for addictions treatment and her family said that she wanted to go back to school at some point.

and her family said that she wanted to go back to school at some point. Donna Bartlett, her grandmother, wanted to get her children back to live with her and her extended family. So she fought to get the two children back. And once she got them back, Mercedes found out that she was dropped from the Child and Family Services mandated addictions treatment. And we went back to that place or phoned them or something like that to see when she's going to go for treatment.

Oh no, she's not. She's not with us anymore. I said, why not? Because the kids weren't in care at wherever they wanted them to be. Once we got the kids but because they weren't at that home there are no law she was no longer part of that program and I'm like what I said they're still under the US AFS nope they're not she's not with us anymore and that was it I think that broke her. So Donna said that it was at that point that her life kind of fell into pieces. She became homeless and she continued to struggle with addiction.

When she disappeared, what did her family think? How did they react? Yeah, Mercedes always still maintained contact with her family. So her mother, Pamela, she'd often reach out to. Her grandmother, Donna, she'd often come and visit with her children at her grandmother's house. So when they stopped hearing from her in March of this year, they became concerned. But the family was too scared to go to police to report Mercedes as missing. So they started to do their own search. They talked to people from Winnipeg's homeless community. We'd ask people. They knew her. And they said,

yeah, we know her. She's a nice person and everything. But we haven't seen her for a while. And they would always tell me, too, that if we see her, we'll tell her to get hold of you. So they'd keep an eye out for her. There was no indication that she was in trouble that I know of anyways. And then the family started ramping up their search in September and they went to police and that's when they reported her missing.

I will say that the reason why that they were initially scared to go to police was fear of police, but also at the same time they were just scared of what to police was fear of police. But also at the same time, they were just scared of what police might tell them. They were concerned that the police might have information that would shatter their hopes. So it did take them six months to eventually go to police to report her missing. Donna Bartlett did tell me that she was still holding hope, even up until the day before she found out about her granddaughter's death. She was saying that she was hoping that perhaps she had moved to another part of the country.

She said, best case scenario, she was injured and sitting somewhere in a hospital in a coma. I just wanted her to be alive. That's all I wanted. To know she was still alive. And then the worst thing happened. She said when police showed up at their door last week, Donna was completely shattered to hear about her granddaughter's death. The other woman police have been able to identify as Morgan Harris,

and we heard a bit from her daughter in the introduction. But tell me more about who Morgan was and what her daughter had to say about her. Yeah, her daughter, Cambria Harris, wanted folks to remember her mother, Morgan, as a happy-go-lucky person. She really emphasized that she didn't want people to remember Morgan for who she was at the time of her death. So at the time of her death, she was living on the streets in Winnipeg. But Cambria said her mother was more than that. She was happy-go-lucky. Everyone said that she just lit up a room. I also spoke to Tom McNeil, who's from Winnipeg's Bear Clan Patrol. It's a grassroots patrol group. And he said he knew

Morgan as well. His wife was very good friends with Morgan. The two of them were homeless at one point together. And he said that she was always really happy and everyone who met her instantly liked her. So she seemed like this light within the homeless community of Winnipeg. Sweet, loving little girl. I'm going to gonna miss her but I know she's still here. Not in body she's in spirit. The last murder charge, Becky, is facing here is for the woman, as you mentioned, who is still unidentified. But police say that they believe that she is also Indigenous. And what have Indigenous communities in the area done for her memory? A local Indigenous services organization, Gunnick Knegic, they decided to

consult with elders and community members about what to call the unidentified woman because they didn't want her to be referred to as unidentified or Jane Doe. So they decided to hold a naming ceremony and they decided on the name Buffalo Woman. They said that they referred to the teachings of the grandmother buffalo, the buffalo spirit, which is often a name given to people who don't yet have a spirit name. For several people in the Indigenous community, giving the woman a name was an issue of respect.

So it's not to simply call her unknown woman. This week, police confirmed they would respect the decisions of the community and going forward, they're going to continue to call her Buffalo woman in press releases and any announcements going forward. the landfill where they found some of Contois' remains. But up until this week, what have police been saying about whether they'd searched the landfill? Last week, Police Chief Danny Smythe said too much time had passed to resume the search at the Brady landfill. And in fact, this week, some of the family members have gone to Ottawa to meet with the government there. And it came out that Cambria Harris, the daughter of Morgan Harris, said that she was told by police just the night before she left to go to Ottawa that her mother's remains were actually maybe not in the Brady

landfill. They believe instead that they are in the Prairie Green landfill, which is just north of Winnipeg. Okay. And what did police say about whether they'll be searching this landfill? Police did follow up with, after much pressure from community and family members who were sharing this information with the media, Police Chief Danny Smyth said he did not specifically identify Brady Landfill as the only place they were searching, but he said because of extensive reporting on the issue, they felt the need to come forward and set the record straight. Many assume that I was referring to the Brady Landfill. Since then, there has been much reporting and speculation about the police search and recovery operations. It is important for us to set the record straight.

Investigators believe that the remains of Morgan Harris and Mercedes Myron are at the Prairie Green landfill north of the city. landfill north of the city. They did go on to explain what they explained last May as well, of the difficulties of searching a landfill. And the way that the Prairie Green landfill operates is a little bit different than the Brady landfill. It is a private facility. They do not section off areas of the landfill. So there's no way of really knowing where to start the search. areas of the landfill. So there's no way of really knowing where to start the search. They said that the land was just too large. And they also mentioned that there was a lot of asbestos in the Prairie Green landfill and also a lot of animal remains, making it really difficult for investigators to search the area. If you can't find them, then why haven't you asked for help? Why can't you ask for help

nationwide rather than just having a small amount of people conduct the searches? These are four women, one you have found, but now you refuse to find the last three. What is the reasoning for that? We have the people who are willing to help and do the work for you, but you are not accepting it. What is the thought process behind this? And if you won't look for them, then we will. I imagine this is an incredibly difficult thing for the families to hear, this idea that both of these landfills, but the landfill where police now believe their remains are, won't be searched. Yeah, today when Kimbria Harris was speaking, she was very passionate. She said it shouldn't be up to her to come forward and share this information with the media. She felt that police should have done a better job at communicating this to the families, to the media, to the public in general,

because she herself, that's a lot of weight to carry as a family member still grieving the death of her mom. weight to carry as a family member still grieving the death of her mom. Time and time again, our Indigenous women and brothers and sisters have to come here and we have to shout and we have to raise our voices begging for change and begging for justice for our people. And that is wrong. I should not have to stand here today and I should not have to come here and be so mad and beg and beg so that you will find and bring our loved ones home. You mentioned that these families had met with the federal government. Where is the federal government on this? What are they saying?

There was a really surprising exchange with the Minister of Crown and Indigenous Relations, Mark Miller. He stood up at the microphone and he said, This is the first time I meet the family, so I think it's uncomfortable for them. My back turned to them because the government has turned their backs on them for centuries. He says that he plans to meet further with the family to discuss what they need. And he said that time and time again, all levels of government have failed Indigenous women.

It means that as officials, we've got to screw our heads on straighter and get our acts together. I'm going to go. empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. No, their own household income. That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. Let's talk a little bit about the man facing four charges of first-degree murder here. So I want to be clear, we don't, as you said, know a lot of specifics about the case against Skibecki yet. But

separately through your reporting, what have you heard from people who know him? Mm-hmm. We know that Skibecki was married. And in fact, around the time that he was allegedly committing these murders, his ex-wife was trying to serve him divorce papers. And looking through the divorce papers, they do tell a disturbing story of someone with control issues and violent tendencies. His ex accused him of tracking her through her cell phone. His ex said Skabecki was estranged from his family as well. And both of them accused one another in the divorce papers of being addicted to drugs. We also spoke with an old friend who recently reconnected with Skibeki online after many, many years of not talking to one another.

They said that Skibeki would spend a lot of time at homeless shelters. He would often travel between the different shelters throughout the day to go get meals. So we do know that he maybe wasn't financially stable. He was going to homeless shelters where one can speculate that is perhaps where he met some of the victims that he allegedly killed. Okay. And there were posts, right, unearthed from his apparent social media account. Can you tell me about those? Yeah. Earlier this year, after the discovery of Rebecca Contois' body, CBC reviewed his Facebook page, which is just rife with violent sentiments. There's also anti-Semitic statements and misogynistic and white supremacist material as well.

In his Facebook bio, Skebeibeki described himself as an official member of Holy Europe, which is a small fraction of a broader far-right movement. That's according to an anti-fascism expert that CBC spoke to back in June. There are community members that would like to see Skibeki charged for hate crimes, but as experts have told CBC, it is often really difficult He appeared in court on Friday ahead of his trial. It's early, but what has his lawyer signaled about how he'll defend himself? There will be no preliminary hearing. So the Crown plans to proceed on four counts of first-degree murder. hearing. So the Crown plans to proceed on four counts of first-degree murder, and his lawyer, Leonard Taylor, says he will plead not guilty on all counts.

So I imagine the deaths of these women and the accusations of a serial killer have shaken their communities to the core, right? And give me a little more context here about the violence against Indigenous women from recent years that are still being felt in these communities. At the vigil over the weekend, I spoke to MLA Bernadette Smith. She's First Nation, and a member of her family has been missing. Her sister, Claudette Osborne, has been missing since 2018. So she's a well-known MMIWG advocate. And she told me she, for the first time in many years, feels unsafe to be living in Winnipeg. She's concerned about leaving her house.

She's concerned about her daughter when she leaves the house and her grandkids as well, she was telling me. We need the federal government to come forward, even if they send the army. And it has been 10 years since Winnipeg saw their last alleged serial killer. been 10 years since Winnipeg saw their last alleged serial killer. So Sean Lamb in 2011 killed three women, according to police. He admitted to two and the charges for the third were stayed. And there's parallels to be drawn. One of the alleged victims, Tanya Nipinak, that is actually the case where the charges were stayed. Police believe that her body was also placed in the Brady landfill, which is where the remains of Rebecca Contois were also found. And I'll also say that within the last 10 years, a reminder, a lot of Canadians already know

her story well, but Tina Fontaine, I was just in 2014, a 15-year-old girl was found dead in the Red River. So these are issues that continue to seem to pop up in Winnipeg in particular. And just in very recent times, like even the last couple of months, what have we seen? Yeah, I will say that women have been saying that 2022 has been a particularly violent year. And I will say generally it is one of the most violent years in history for Winnipeg. This year we've seen 50 homicides alone in this year. It's the most ever in one year. And of those 50 homicides, 10 of them we have identified are Indigenous women. We've confirmed that the majority of those 10 are in fact First Nation, I do want to specify.

I want to take a quick look at May in particular. So as we know, Rebecca Contois' body was found on May 16th. And then three days after that, on May 19th, Doris Trout from God's Lake First Nation was found dead in a lobby in a downtown apartment. And then nine days after that, on May 28th, Tessa Perry was found beaten in her home. She was taken to hospital and she later died of her injuries. So in less than two weeks, there were three First Nation women who died. At that time, advocates, family members were calling for action to be taken. They were saying there is definitely an increase in violence. And then fast forward to now, December, when police have announced

three more deaths that they said Jeremy Skabecki allegedly killed. What kind of action are the families and communities calling for since this violence keeps happening? Yeah, when I spoke to Bernadette Smith, she mentioned the need for more housing in the city, saying that there are very few beds for women at homeless shelters in Winnipeg, mentioned the need for more addictions treatment, domestic abuse supports. The list is long, but she said it will take a lot of effort from all levels of government to help tackle this issue. Thank you so much for this. We're really appreciative. And for all your reporting, thank you. Thank you so much for this. We're really appreciative. And for all your

reporting. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. All right, that is all for today. I'm Jamie Poisson. Thanks so much for listening, and we'll talk to you tomorrow. Thank you.