'Exceptional circumstances': Court hearing set for family of serial killer victim

Family of a First Nations woman who died at the hands of a Winnipeg serial killer will have the chance to give victim impact statements in court one year after his conviction.

The Manitoba Court of King's Bench has agreed to a Crown request for a special hearing for victim and community impact statements to be submitted about 30-year-old Ashlee Shingoose.

The hearing is set for Aug. 15.

"The court has agreed that holding a hearing to receive and validate the victim and community impact statements relating to a now identified victim in a concluded first-degree murder case is both appropriate and necessary in these exceptional circumstances," the court says in a Thursday statement.

Shingoose, originally from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation in northern Manitoba, was one of four First Nations women targeted and killed by Jeremy Skibicki in Winnipeg in 2022.

Skibicki's trial heard he targeted the women at homeless shelters in Winnipeg and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison last August. 

At the time of the trial, Shingoose had not been identified and was referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given to her by Indigenous grassroots community members.

Police announced earlier this year that interviews with Skibicki after the trial, along with DNA evidence, led them to identify Buffalo Woman as Shingoose.

The court says the hearing is appropriate and necessary in order to give the woman's family the same opportunity as relatives of the other victims, to acknowledge the "dignity of the victim and make real the suffering of, and impact on, the victim's family."

"It is an opportunity that would have been afforded them had Ms. Shingoose been identified prior to the sentencing of Mr. Skibicki for her murder, a sentencing which is now complete," it says.

Police first became aware of Skibicki's crimes after the remains of Rebecca Contois were discovered in a garbage bin in May 2022. More of her remains were found at the Brady Road landfill. 

The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were discovered this year at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.

It's believed Shingoose's remains also were sent to the Brady Road landfill. Premier Wab Kinew has promised her family there would be a search of the site for her remains, but it hasn't been announced when that might start. 

Skibicki admitted to the slayings but argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental illness. Chief Justice Glenn Joyal found him guilty.

Joyal is expected to preside over the hearing, where he is to provide more details about its "extraordinarily unique circumstances," the court says.

It adds the trial is finished and nothing will impact the legal jeopardy of Skibicki.

"The court has had to reflect on both the legal parameters and institutional duties and opportunities that this situation presents for the purpose of providing a fair process that both enhances public confidence and promotes institutional reconciliation," it says.

The court says it can't order Skibicki to attend, but says his lawyers will be there.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods