Winnipeg police not planning to search landfill for remains of victims

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story indicated additional remains were at Brady landfill. Police later clarified they were believed to be at Prairie Green landfill.

Winnipeg’s police chief said Friday the remains of three victims of an alleged serial killer are believed to be at a city landfill, but no search is planned.

BACKGROUND: Winnipeg police charge man with murders of four women

Too much time has passed and there is no known starting point at the large site, where bulldozers are constantly moving things around, Danny Smyth said, adding that he understands that families are frustrated.

“I would want the remains of my loved ones as well.”

Smyth’s comments, after a police board meeting, came as Jeremy Skibicki, 35, appeared briefly in court.

Skibicki was taken into custody and charged on May 18 with first-degree murder in the death of Rebecca Contois, 24. Her partial remains were found in a garbage bin near an apartment building. Police later found the rest of her remains in the Brady Road landfill in the city’s south end.

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On Thursday, Skibicki was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26, and an unidentified woman. Their bodies have not been found.

Contois lived in Winnipeg and was a member of the O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River. Harris and Myran also lived in Winnipeg and were both members of Long Plain First Nation. Police say the three were killed in May.

WATCH: Winnipeg community in pain following charges to murders of Indigenous women.

The unidentified woman is also believed to be Indigenous. Police believe she was killed in March.

“We caught a break with Rebecca Contois in the timing of that particular search,” Smyth said.

“We were able to take some action to isolate a very specific area of the landfill within hours of discovering her other remains at the scene of the crime. We don’t have that luxury with these other victims.”

Skibicki, his head shaved and sporting a long beard, kept his gaze forward as he walked by family members of some of the women and their supporters in the courtroom. He said “correct” when a judge said his name and asked him to confirm his identity.

Skibicki did not enter a plea, but his lawyer said he maintains his innocence and a trial is likely some time away.