Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal, left, defence lawyer Leonard Tailleur, centre, and Jeremy Skibicki, right, are shown in this courtroom sketch in Winnipeg on April 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/James Culleton POOL
WINNIPEG – A man who lived in the same Winnipeg apartment building where Jeremy Skibicki killed four women says he saw his neighbour disposing of trash just before a victim’s remains were found.
Allan Mackay has told court that he confronted Skibicki around 2 a.m. in May of 2022 after hearing the man running up and down the stairs of their building.
Mackay says they spoke for less than five minutes and Skibicki said he was getting rid of garbage.
A few hours later, the partial remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a garbage bin in the neighbourhood.
Skibicki has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder for the slayings of Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and an unidentified woman Indigenous leaders have named Buffalo Woman.
His lawyers have said he killed the four Indigenous women but is not criminally responsible due to mental illness.
Crown prosecutors say the killings were racially motivated and Skibicki preyed on the vulnerable women at homeless shelters.
Skibicki told police he strangled or drowned the women in his home and then disposed of their bodies in garbage bins.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2024.
