A trial for a Winnipeg man accused of murdering four Indigenous women will now be heard by judge, a court heard Monday morning.
The development comes three days after King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal ruled the trial of Jeremy Skibicki would be heard by a jury.
In a trial motion last week, Skibicki’s lawyers unsuccessfully argued extensive publicity in the case tainted the jury pool such that the only way he could receive a fair trial would be before a judge alone.
Jeremy Skibicki (right) in court earlier in the trial. (Court sketch by James Culleton)
Skibicki, 37, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the May 2022 slayings of three Indigenous women — Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois and Marcedes Myran — as well as a fourth unidentified woman who was killed in March 2022. She has been named Buffalo Woman (Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe) by Indigenous leaders.
In Canada, the Crown must provide its consent before a murder trial can proceed before a judge alone.
Last Wednesday, the defence confirmed on the record Skibicki is admitting to the killings, and will be arguing he is not criminally responsible by reason of mental disorder.
With Skibicki’s admission he killed the four women, the Crown can now consent to him being tried by a judge alone, prosecutor Chris Vanderhooft told Joyal during a brief hearing Monday.
“If we were required to prove that the accused killed all four women, this would still be a jury trial,” Vanderhooft said. “However, in light of recent agreements and admissions… we are now prepared to provide our consent to proceed to trial by judge alone.”
“In every case, the Crown is required to conduct an ongoing assessment of the prosecution,” Vanderhooft said. “Where, as here, we are no longer concerned with proving that the accused has committed the offences, but rather whether he was criminally responsible at the material times, we have concluded that proceeding by judge alone would be the best route to making sure this matter proceeds with the necessary flexibility required , the type of flexibility that isn’t always easy to achieve with a jury trial.”
Jurors recently selected for the trial will return to court Wednesday, when Joyal will formally dismiss them before beginning to hear evidence in the case.
dean.pritchard@freepress.mb.ca
Dean Pritchard
Courts reporter
Someone once said a journalist is just a reporter in a good suit. Dean Pritchard doesn’t own a good suit. But he knows a good lawsuit.