‘It’s a little unsettling,’ says neighbour of man accused of killing four women
Posted December 2, 2022 5:58 pm.
Last Updated December 3, 2022 10:09 am.
The caretaker where alleged serial murderer Jeremy Skibicki — now accused of killing four women — lived, says it’s unsettling to know a neighbour could be capable of this kind of violent crime.
“It’s a little unsettling to think that I was in suite downstairs and a lot of things seem to point to him bringing those women back here,” said Jeff Cohan.
“They met their demise here maybe, so based on that, it’s a little unsettling that was going on and you never heard a thing.”
Skibicki is now accused of first-degree murder in the deaths of an unknown woman police are trying to identify, 39-year-old Morgan Beatrice Harris, 26-year-old Marcedes Myran and 24-year-old Rebecca Contois.
READ MORE: Winnipeg police charge man with murders of four women
Police say the three identified victims, are all indigenous and believed to have been killed between March and May of this year.
Cohan looks after the building where Skibicki lived on McKay Avenue. He says Skibicki at times had access to two suites on the top floor. Adding police spent a lot of time in those suites, and were seen removing materials from them, following the initial charges in May.
The suites have since been renovated. Cohan says he had little interaction with Skibicki while he was a tenant, but witnessed the murder suspect coming and going from the building “fairly often” mostly late at night.
He also noticed a “rancid” smell in the hallway on occasion, which he contributed to potential drug use.
Cohan says on Thursday night, a large crowd gathered at the building to pay their respects to the women.
“This community and whatnot — they pay their respects — people were coming from all around just to light a candle and put it down,” said Cohan.
Crown Prosecutors will be proceeding with a direct indictment, which means the case will go straight to trial. Skibicki’s lawyer, Leonard Tailleur says his client maintains his innocence and says with the amount of attention the case is receiving, he wants to ensure his client has a fair trial.
“His plea is not guilty to all charges,” said Tailleur. “It’s very important that people try to respect the general process with respect to the presumption of innocence, and at the end of the day let the evidence go in as it should in a normal, judicial process.”
