Jeremy Skibicki lawyers to argue he’s not criminally responsible

Lawyers for a Winnipeg man accused of killing four women say they plan to argue that he is not criminally responsible because he is mentally ill.

“This isn’t a case where we are looking at the evidence to determine whether or not Mr. Skibicki committed those offences, this is a situation where we are proffering a defence of NCR,” said defence attorney Alyssa Munce Wednesday as Skibicki’s lawyers continue to argue for a judge-only trial.

The defence is seeking to have the high-profile case heard by a judge alone instead of the jury.

Munce relied on polling commissioned by the defence which shows that 66 per cent of respondents to the poll would find it either highly unacceptable or somewhat unacceptable for a judge or jury to find Skibicki not criminally responsible by way of mental disorder.

“People have a significant negative opinion of NCR, you have Mr. Skibicki at a significant disadvantage,” Munce said.

The arguments in court are not under a publication ban.

RELATED: The Skibicki trial brings up emotions for families still looking for answers

Both the defence and the crown Wednesday were making their submissions before a decision is made on whether to have a jury trial or not.

The crown questioning the impartiality of Christine Ruva, a U.S.-based psychologist who testified Tuesday that it would be nearly impossible for a juror to be impartial if they have been exposed to media about an accused pre-trial.

Crown attorney Charles Murray citing a memo sent to Ruva ahead of her testimony where according to Murray, she was asked to analyze some protections the Canadian court system has in shielding against bias. Murray took issue with the phrasing “so-called protections” in the memo.

“This sets a tone for the entire memo. It causes concern that there is a biased opinion. If I said to this court, ‘I’m giving this so-called memo to the so-called defence expert,’ you can see that I’m trying to convince you of something I’m not effectively conveying.”

Both the crown and the judge also asked the defence that if indeed pre-trial media exposure causes bias within jurors that cannot be neutralized, how would the legal system safeguard against judges who preside over those very same cases that have also been exposed to media reports. The defence argued the training judges receive helps them spot their own biases.

The judge is expected to provide his reasoning for the defence’s motion for a judge-only trial on Friday.

Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman.

The partial remains of Contois were found in a garbage bin and at a city-run landfill in 2022. Police have said they believe the remains of Harris and Myran are at a different, privately owned landfill outside the city.

The location of the unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, is unknown.