Manitoba premier suggests landfill search could jeopardize 'judicial process.' What might that mean?
Lawyers outline how search for remains could help, hurt case against man accused of 1st-degree murder
WARNING: This story contains distressing details.
Is it possible supporting a landfill search for human remains could in some way hamper the prosecution of an associated criminal case in court?
Manitoba's premier hinted at such a possibility in explaining why her government won't fund the search of the Prairie Green landfill for the remains of two First Nations women, saying the province doesn't want to "jeopardize the judicial process."
Lawyers who spoke with CBC News said searching could help that process, but also has the potential to hurt it.
"Finding the bodies could provide closure, it could demonstrate support for a community that has lost one of their own, it could enhance the quality of the prosecution," said Toronto-based criminal lawyer David Butt, who prosecuted a case where the body of the victim was never found.
If the premier expressed support for a search, "it could demonstrate more broadly a government commitment to leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of justice," he said.
"But it's certainly quite fair for the prosecution to say, 'If we were to take three years to find the body and the case gets thrown out for delay, we have not served the interests of justice.'"
Police allege Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris were killed by the same man last year. They believe the women's remains were transported to the Prairie Green landfill, in the rural municipality of Rosser northwest of Winnipeg.
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with a total of four counts of first-degree murder. In addition to charges in the deaths of Myran and Harris, he is also accused of killing Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in Winnipeg's Brady Road landfill last summer, and an unidentified woman community members have named Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. It's not known where her remains may be.
On July 5, Premier Heather Stefanson said her government will not financially support a search of Prairie Green, citing safety concerns for searchers outlined in a search feasibility report.
That report outlined how a search could be done, with estimated timelines between one and three years.
Stefanson has also suggested more than once that a search, or government support for one, could negatively impact the case in court. She has not explained how.
"We also want to ensure that this doesn't jeopardize the judicial process," she told reporters on July 6.
"We need to respect the judicial process that this continues to go through. We don't want to jeopardize that."
WATCH | Premier suggests supporting search could 'jeopardize the judicial process':
Court cases where a body or bodies haven't been recovered are rare. Butt, the Toronto-based lawyer, has experience with one.
He was a prosecutor in a 2001 trial involving the disappearance of Hugh Sinclair. Though Sinclair's body was never found, Butt crafted a case with dozens of witness testimonies and circumstantial evidence that persuaded the jury to convict the accused.
Sinclair's DNA was also found in a rental car trunk and in his home. That was presented at trial.
Quality of evidence unknown
Winnipeg police haven't said exactly what evidence they have that would connect Skibicki with the deaths of Myran and Harris.
Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft told The Canadian Press late last year the prosecution will "be able to establish all four homicides."
How compelling that evidence is won't be clear until after trial, scheduled to begin in April.
"It's unlikely that they would complete … [a potential landfill] search by then," said lawyer Chris Gamby, who is the communications director with the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba.
"If they were planning on delaying the trial for that, I suppose they could try to do that, but then they run the risk of Mr. Skibicki making an application for a judicial stay of proceedings, which would obviously be a huge problem."
In 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada set hard limits of 30 months from the date charges were laid for these kind of cases to be wrapped up, Gamby notes.
Skibicki was charged in December 2022. His trial is slated to start next April — 16 months after his charges. It's unclear how long that trial could take. The feasibility study estimates a search, if one ever begins, could take 12 to 36 months.
The implication is that Crown attorneys believed the evidence was strong enough to lay charges and get a conviction without finding the remains believed to be at Prairie Green.
Gamby and Butt agree that if that's the case, it would be wiser to move the legal case ahead without potential search-related delays.
"The risk is that if you engage in that lengthy search, you could jeopardize the prosecution, and then the accused person … because of his Charter rights to be tried within a reasonable time, would be entitled to walk free," said Butt.
"And how would that impact the community, if the government knew the clock was ticking and decided to go ahead [with supporting the search] anyway and as a result made the prosecution nonviable?" he said.
"If, on the other hand, the evidence is weak and they're simply just not committed to getting the … evidence they need, that's very problematic for the government."
Support is available for anyone affected by details of this case. If you require support, you can contact Ka Ni Kanichihk's Medicine Bear Counselling, Support and Elder Services at 204-594-6500, ext. 102 or 104 (within Winnipeg), or 1-888-953-5264 (outside Winnipeg).
Support is also available via Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Liaison unit at 1-800-442-0488 or 204-677-1648.
People outside Manitoba can call 1-844-413-6649, an independent, national, toll-free support call line that provides emotional assistance.
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