Jeremy Skibicki's pretrial delayed due to complexity, volume of information on 4 murder charges

The pretrial for a Winnipeg man accused of killing four women will be delayed due to the complexity and the sheer volume of information involved in the case, a Manitoba court heard Thursday.

Jeremy Skibicki is facing four first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified fourth woman, who is being referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.

The pretrial was scheduled to begin Jan. 13. 

But in Court of King's Bench on Thursday, Skibicki's lawyer Leonard Tailleur asked for a case management judge to be appointed. That judge would help determine timelines and address unique challenges of the case.

Justice James Edmond granted the motion and set the next court date for Feb 9.

Skibicki was brought into the courtroom for Thursday's hearing, dressed in grey sweatpants and a grey T-shirt. His head was shaved and he had a long goatee beard.

About 10 family members of victims were also in the courtroom, some wearing shirts with pictures of Contois and Myran on them.

Skibicki's case is a direct indictment, meaning there won't be any preliminary hearings where evidence can be tested.

Tailleur said he had concerns about being ready for pretrial, given the large amount of information the defence team needs to go through.

Rules regarding pretrials say the defence would need to state its position on each issue at pretrial.

"We're not prepared or in a position to do so," Taillieur said in an email after the hearing.

Earlier this month, Tailleur indicated that he had received 10 terabytes of information at that point, and there was likely more to come.

Tailleur has said his client intends to plead not guilty on all charges.

Unique case: defence lawyers association

A spokesperson with the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association of Manitoba said while the motion will delay the start of the pretrial, the goal is to ensure the case moves along.

"What the case management judge is going to do is try to push the parties to make sure that they are prepared to go to a pretrial at a later date and get this matter set down, so that they're not losing too much time," said Chris Gamby, who is a practising lawyer but does not have a role in Skibicki's defence.

"This is a very unique case. I don't remember a time in my time at the bar certainly, and even before that, where we've had anything quite like this in Manitoba," said Gamby, who was called to the bar in 2015.

There's a lot of work that goes into a case before it reaches pretrial, said Gamby. But given the direct indictment, he suspects Skibicki's lawyers have not had enough time to go through all the evidence the Crown has handed over, and may not even have all the information yet. 

The case is also unusual in that there are four victims, Gamby said, and therefore likely a lot more evidence that needs to be reviewed.

"The volume of witnesses and information that the Crown would have to sort through, and likewise the defence would have to sort through … is going to be significant," he said.