Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew holds a press conference in Winnipeg on October 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim
WINNIPEG – Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki should never see the light of day again as a free person.
Skibicki has been sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole for 25 years, for killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg.
The four concurrent life sentences, and 25 years without parole eligibility, are the maximum penalty under law.
Kinew says Skibicki should never be free again, and any parole hearings in the future should take into account the impact the killings have had on family members and others.
The federal government used to have a law that allowed for consecutive sentences with longer parole ineligibility, but the Supreme Court of Canada struck it down two years ago.
The trial heard Skibicki targeted his victims at homeless shelters, then strangled or drowned them before disposing of their remains in garbage bins.
His lawyers said he should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness but the judge rejected that argument.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024
