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Serial killer Jeremy Skibicki has been sentenced to four concurrent life sentences without the possibility of parole for 25 years for the murder of four indigenous women in Canada.
Skibicki was found guilty last month of the premeditated murder of 39-year-old Morgan Harris, 26-year-old Marcedes Myran, 24-year-old Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe (buffalo woman) by community leaders.
The first three victims were all indigenous women.
The 37-year-old from Winnipeg was arrested in May 2022 and showed no emotion during his sentencing. When Court of King's Bench Judge Glenn Joyal asked him if he had anything to say, Skibicki replied, “No.”
He sat there, staring in silence at the verdict, while the victims' families told the court the impact the murders had on them.
“It was horrific,” said Elle Harris, Harris' youngest daughter. “Do you know how many times I had to listen to my mother being murdered?” she told CBC News.
“'Agony' is not painful enough. 'Shattered' does not describe how I feel. 'Angry' does not even come close to the rage I am trapped in,” said Allana Contois, Contois' eldest sister. “'Justice' is just a word of comfort. It does not bring her back.”
Skibicki confessed to the murders during his police interrogation in 2022, saying they were racially motivated. However, his lawyers had defended him during the trial, saying he could not be held criminally responsible for the killings due to a mental disorder. Judge Joyal rejected the confession, saying the confession showed the killings were premeditated and planned.
He targeted the Indigenous women he met in homeless shelters between March and May 2022, the court was told. According to court documents, Skibicki killed the women between March and May, whose remains were found in a landfill. Police are still searching the area, where the remains of two other victims are believed to be located.
When announcing the verdict, Judge Joyal also pointed out the “inadequacy” of a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the next 25 years.
“Make no mistake, Mr Skibicki: given the current legal situation, the only possible sentence I can impose today will unfortunately not adequately reflect the seriousness of these crimes and your moral culpability,” said the judge.
“I hope that any parole board will consider very, very carefully the evidence in this case, my reasons for the decision, the voices you have heard today and now my comments at the end of this judgment.”
The victims, according to the judge, were “the target of a white racist who was pursuing his murderous necrophilia.”
Grand Chief Cathy Merrick of the Assembly of Chiefs of Manitoba explained the impact of the murders on the members of the indigenous community: “Mr. Skibicki's heinous crimes have left deep scars on First Nations people and the repercussions of his actions will be felt for generations to come.”
“Despite overwhelming challenges, the community remains resilient.”
