Linda Beardy, whose remains found in Winnipeg landfill, remembered as a loving mother
Posted April 6, 2023 2:53 pm.
Last Updated April 7, 2023 9:37 am.
The family of a First Nations woman whose remains were discovered this week at a Winnipeg landfill says she will be remembered as a devoted mother and auntie whose contagious laugh could fill a room.
The family of 33-year-old Linda Beardy says in a statement that they are devastated and heartbroken as they try to comprehend what happened after staff at the city-run landfill south of Winnipeg found her remains Monday.
They describe Beardy as someone who fiercely supported her four older sisters, their children and her own four children, who were her pride and joy.
Beardy was a mother and a member of Lake St. Martin First Nation but grew up in Winnipeg and was living in the city at the time of her death.
The family says Beardy had a strong Christian faith and attended Believers Church in central Winnipeg.
Police have not released the cause and time of her death, but the Winnipeg homicide unit said it is investigating it as a suspicious.
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“Linda was our baby girl, a mommy, our sister, auntie, niece, cousin and friend. She will always be truly deeply loved beyond measure,” the statement reads.
“This is who our loved one Linda Beardy is and how she will be remembered in our hearts.”
The family is asking anyone with information about Beardy’s death to reach out to police.
The Brady Road landfill has been closed as police investigate. The city has contingency plans in place for garbage and recycling drop off.
Police have said they do not believe her case is linked to the killing of Rebecca Contois, whose remains were found in the same landfill last year, or the killings of other women believed to have ended up in landfills.
Police have said they believe the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran are in the privately run Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg, but their bodies have not been found.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Contois, Harris and Myran – all First Nations women – as well as an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. Police have also not located her remains.
An Indigenous-led committee is in the process of putting together a feasibility study to search the Prairie Green landfill, which is expected to be completed in the next four to six weeks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.
