Opinion poll about alleged serial killer 'distressing and disheartening,' says daughter of slain woman

The daughter of one of four women allegedly murdered by the same Winnipeg man calls an opinion poll focusing on the man accused "disgusting," saying she doesn't know what purpose it's supposed to achieve.

The online public opinion survey asks questions about Jeremy Skibicki, who is charged in the 2022 deaths of First Nations women Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris and Rebecca Contois, as well as a fourth as-yet unidentified woman, whom the Indigenous community has given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.

Skibicki is scheduled to face a jury trial this spring after pleading not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in November.

The poll asks things such as whether respondents know Skibicki's name, whether they've formed an opinion about his guilt, and their general views on three criminal defences: not criminally responsible due to mental disorder, problematic DNA evidence or due to self-defence.

Cambria Harris, daughter of Morgan Harris, said the survey is upsetting for the victims' families and communities.

"It was distressing and disheartening to know the families' grief were shoved aside and made into a public issue," Harris said Wednesday.

"I don't know what the ulterior motive is behind this survey.... Why is this survey being conducted in the first place?"

The poll was commissioned by Legal Aid Manitoba — which is providing Skibicki's defence — and is being conducted via text messages and phone calls by the national polling firm Mainstreet Research.

Legal Aid — which receives most of its funding from the province — wouldn't say the reason behind the survey or how much it cost.

Executive director Peter Kingsley wouldn't comment directly about the poll, but said in a statement that generally speaking, lawyers are "often required to present expert reports or factual foundations for motions or arguments," which "in some cases … is done with market research" — a practice he said is not common, but "not unusual."

He said Legal Aid has policies and procedures in place to make sure spending on things like surveys and experts is justified — and that sometimes unpopular decisions have to be made in mounting a defence based on the unique facts of each case.

Legal Aid should disclose cost: advocate

Nicole Murdock, a criminal justice student at the University of Winnipeg and an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, said she was "disturbed" when she received a text linking to the survey.

She said she's written to the provincial justice minister to raise concerns about the use of public money, and feels the costs should be made public.

"The resources that have been allotted by Legal Aid Manitoba to craft and create a defence for this individual are more than what has been provided to other individuals or other people currently facing accusations and charges," Murdock said.

As well, while there have been repeated calls for a search of the Winnipeg-area landfill where Myran and Morgan Harris's remains are believed to have been taken, questions about funding "have been a central argument and case made against" such a search and "bringing these women home to their families," said Murdock.

"I think the questions of dollars and funding [for the poll] … is then important to disclose."

B.C. criminal defence lawyer Anthony Robinson told CBC News Legal Aid may be putting resources into Skibicki's case since it's "highly unusual" with high stakes, and that the defence isn't obligated to tell anyone why they're conducting the survey.

The survey may be a way to explore which defence strategy might have a greater impact on jurors, Robinson said.

Brandon Trask, a law professor at the University of Manitoba and a former prosecutor, said the poll may also be a way for the defence to make an argument Skibicki wouldn't get a fair trial if the issue was put to a jury.

Skibicki's defence lawyers had argued for a judge-alone trial, but that application was denied.

"This is just, I think, a way for the defence to sort of build that record, essentially, to potentially try for an appeal," Trask said. 

"I certainly see the argument that this [survey]… could be seen as very distasteful at the very least," Trask said.

But "the provision of legal aid is essential to the fair functioning of our system. So, you know, taxpayers don't get to decide essentially on the tactics used by defence counsel or the resources consumed in carrying out those tactics."

Mainstreet Research president and CEO Quito Maggi said he can't comment on the survey, but confirmed on Wednesday it remains open, with a new link being used after the previous one became public.

Leonard Tailleur, Skibicki's lawyer, declined comment.

Skibicki's six-week trial is scheduled to begin April 29, while jury selection is slated for April 25.