Victims’ clothing and jewelry found in serial killer’s apartment, trial hears
WINNIPEG — The trial of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki heard Thursday that police found physical evidence of the victims in his apartment, including jewelry, clothing, DNA and a bloodstained bathtub.
Const. Jan de Vries, who was part of the police search team, testified they found bloodstains in Skibicki’s bathroom belonging to one of the victims, Rebecca Contois.
Some stains were visible while others were found using a spray that makes stains fluorescent when used with a black light, he said.
“The bathtub was very fluorescent,” said de Vries. “So was the floor, the walls and on the exterior side of the door.”
He said the bloodstains found in the bathtub covered the entire area, which had likely been emptied and rinsed at some point.
The remains of Contois were found in at least two different dumpsters in Skibicki’s neighbourhood, as well as in a local landfill.
Crown prosecutor Renee Lagimodiere has told court Skibicki assaulted Contois when the 24-year-old told him to get off her during sex. He then choked her, smothered her with a pillow and dismembered her in a bathtub.
Police say they found several of her belongings in a garbage bin in that same neighbourhood.
Surveillance video showing an individual emptying bags taken from a black duffle bag into a garbage bin in the area.
When officers went to search the bin, it had already been emptied. This led police to section off an area at the Brady Road landfill, where they ultimately found the woman’s torso, said de Vries.
Skibicki is on trial charged with first-degree murder for the killings, which occurred in early 2022.
Skibicki also killed Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman.
He has confessed to the killings, but his lawyers are arguing that he’s not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
The Crown said the killings were racially motivated, with Skibicki a self-proclaimed white supremacist and the four victims Indigenous.
The Crown says Skibicki preyed on the vulnerable women at homeless shelters, assaulted them, killed them and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins.
De Vries said that in Skibicki’s suite they found a jacket and toque belonging to Harris and Myran’s earrings and baseball cap.
Court has also heard DNA evidence was found belonging to Harris, Myran, and Contois.
The remains of Harris and Myran are believed to be in a different landfill.
Investigators have said it’s not known where the remains of Buffalo Woman are located.
After arresting Skibicki, officers located a reversible jacket believed to belong to Buffalo Woman and tested it for DNA. Skibicki told police he had sold the jacket online.
Police were able to locate an unidentified female’s DNA profile on the jacket. De Vries said there have been substantial but unsuccessful efforts to identify that DNA.
Court heard police located DNA evidence from 16 different females in Skibicki’s home and garbage bins in the area. Nine of those samples belong to unidentified women.