Despite extensive DNA tests, identity of 1 of Winnipeg serial killer's victims remains a mystery, trial hears

WARNING: This story contains distressing details.

As recently as a few months ago, Winnipeg police were still sending samples for DNA testing to try to identify the lone unknown victim among the four women Jeremy Skibicki has confessed to killing — but even with 120 exhibits analyzed in the case, investigators still don't know who she is, Skibicki's trial heard Tuesday.

The items scraped for DNA included cigarette butts, hair and nail clippings found inside Skibicki's apartment, and samples taken from several places on a black-and-white Baby Phat-brand jacket that was the only piece of evidence linked to the unknown woman that police were ever able to identify, court heard.

Several spots of the jacket were tested based on which were most likely to have DNA, said Florence Célestin, a forensic DNA specialist who worked with the samples found in the case and testified remotely from Ottawa on Tuesday.

"Most of the time, the person wearing the garment will leave DNA behind where there is friction — so at the cuff area or the collar area, that's typically where we might find DNA profile," she said.

Court heard the jacket's zipper pull and button were also tested, but only one sample taken from one of the jacket's cuffs provided enough information to form the female DNA profile that prosecutors believe belongs to the unidentified victim.

The sample never matched any others found during the investigation, or any located in the police crime scene or convicted offender data banks, Célestin said.

Jacket was sold online

While the samples taken to try to identify the woman were just a portion of the 120 collected in the case, the more recent samples sent were all related to the search for her identity, court heard — including a DNA analysis report completed in February 2024.

When Skibicki was arrested and brought in for questioning in May 2022 — after the partial remains of Rebecca Contois were discovered in garbage bins near his North Kildonan apartment — he unexpectedly confessed to killing her, along with three other women.

That includes the unidentified woman, who has since been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by community members.

Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in that woman's death, and the deaths of Contois, 24, Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26. All four women were killed in Winnipeg between mid-March and mid-May of 2022, police have previously said.

Prosecutors have said the women's deaths were "intentional, purposeful and racially motivated," and alleged the accused preyed on vulnerable Indigenous women at Winnipeg homeless shelters before killing the four victims.

Contois was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, also known as Crane River, located on the western shore of Lake Manitoba. Harris and Myran were both members of Long Plain First Nation in south central Manitoba. Police have said they believe Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe was also Indigenous and in her 20s.

Skibicki's lawyers say while he admits to the killings, he should be found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

During his confession, Skibicki also told police he took the Baby Phat jacket from the unidentified woman after he killed her, then sold it on Facebook Marketplace. The jacket was later recovered before being sent for DNA testing.

Court heard previously through an agreed statement of facts that the DNA of the three identified victims was found on various items in and outside Skibicki's apartment, including on a bloodstained pillow, a cigarette butt, a combat knife and a bra. 

Investigators also found about a dozen DNA samples during their search of Skibicki's apartment and nearby garbage bins that belonged to women other than the four Skibicki admitted to killing. Prosecutors say there is no indication there are additional victims.

Psychiatric assessment ordered

Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal on Tuesday also granted a request from Crown attorney Christian Vanderhooft that Skibicki be ordered to undergo an assessment by a forensic psychiatrist to determine whether he was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the killings — as the defence plans to argue.

The order was granted despite opposition from Skibicki's lawyer Leonard Tailleur, who said the defence has already obtained an opinion on his client's mental state.

Tailleur added he is required to advocate for Skibicki's best interests.

"I accept that," the judge told him, before granting the Crown's request. "But is that the best argument you have?"

"That's my best argument," Tailleur replied, laughing.

Court heard the assessment is scheduled to happen on Sunday and Monday, and that Tailleur has advised Skibicki to co-operate fully.

The judge-alone trial continues Wednesday, when court is expected to hear from four civilian witnesses. The trial is expected to continue until June 6.

Support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate emotional assistance and crisis support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.

You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.