The week before a jury is expected to start hearing evidence in the case of a man accused of killing four women in Winnipeg, the accused’s lawyers made a last-ditch effort to have the case heard instead by only a judge — based on concerns about whether it’s possible to assemble a group of impartial jurors in such a high-profile case.
It’s the second time the legal team for Jeremy Skibicki, 37, argued the trial should be heard by a judge alone, after a similar argument was rejected by Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal earlier this year.
While the jury in Skibicki’s case was already selected last week, jurors were not in court on Monday. They’re expected to start hearing evidence May 8.
Monday’s hearing focused on the testimony of Quito Maggi, the president of a firm that conducted a public opinion poll about Skibicki’s case in February.
Maggi testified that he was contacted by Legal Aid Manitoba to do the polling, and that he was also handed the list of questions to be asked, including whether a person has heard about the case or formed an opinion about whether Skibicki is guilty.
While the results of the poll were not shared in court, Maggi told defence lawyer Alyssa Munce more than 900 surveys were taken from people contacted at random during the four-day polling period for Mainstreet Research — a poll he said he’s confident used a sample representative of both Winnipeg and Manitoba.
The pollster added there was no effect on the poll’s final results due to someone who posted their individual poll link on social media, or due to a CBC article about the poll itself that was based on that link being shared online. Maggi said all responses tied to that link were thrown out, since each one is only supposed to be used for one person.
Crown highlights prior incorrect poll result
Later in the day, Crown attorney Renée Lagimodière pointed out in her questioning of Maggi that definitions were not provided in the poll for what she called “nebulous” terms, including some related to gender and “problematic DNA evidence.”
The prosecutor also asked Maggi about a poll his firm conducted for Calgary’s 2017 election that predicted an eight per cent win for one mayoral candidate — when another person ended up winning by seven per cent, she said — after Maggi said he was confident in the accuracy of the polls he’s done and disagreed that there could sometimes be “faulty” results.
Lagimodière said Maggi was also quoted in a news article about the Calgary poll, saying the data pointed to “a near-certain election” of a candidate who ended up losing. She added he later told media there had been a “wonky sample” when he went back and examined the data.
“I didn’t conduct that research myself,” Maggi said in court, where he appeared virtually. “I had a two-month-old at home at the time. I never saw Calgary data. I’m sure my staff quoted me saying various things. But I understand what you’re trying to get at.”
WATCH | Lawyers try to toss jury as Winnipeg trial begins for man accused of killing 4 women:
The trial of a Winnipeg man accused of killing four women began this morning with a preliminary matter before the jury is called in next week.
Maggi said unlike the Calgary poll, he supervised the research of the poll on Skibicki’s case himself.
Skibicki, who was brought into court with his ankles shackled and sat silently throughout the proceedings, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2022 deaths of three First Nations women: Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26, and Rebecca Contois, 24.
He’s also charged with first-degree murder in the death of a fourth unidentified woman, who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by community members. Police have said they believe Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe was Indigenous and in her mid-20s, but the location of her remains is unknown.
Roughly two years ago, in mid-May, partial human remains later identified as belonging to Contois were discovered in a garbage bin near a Winnipeg apartment building. The following month, police recovered more of her remains from the Brady Road landfill in south Winnipeg.
Police said their investigation determined the three other women had been killed between March and May 2022 — before Contois died. Myran’s and Harris’s remains are believed to be in the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg, police have said.
Another expert is expected to be called by the defence on the motion to have Skibicki’s case heard by a judge alone on Tuesday.