The grandmother of a slain First Nations woman whose remains were disposed of in a landfill by an admitted serial killer said a search of the site may begin as soon as July.
Premier Wab Kinew said Tuesday the provincial government has been quietly preparing, including building structures, at Prairie Green Landfill in the Rural Municipality of Rosser to prepare a search of a two-hectare and two-metre-deep area for the remains of slaying victims Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 26.
“The process has begun … they’re getting the area ready to search. I’m hoping by the end of July, or August, to start searching, or maybe sooner, depending on how everything goes — but it will be soon,” said Donna Bartlett, Myran’s grandmother, on Thursday.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
‘It might take a while for them to find them, but they will find them, they will find them and we get to bring them home,’ says Donna Bartlett.
“It might take a while for them to find them, but they will find them, they will find them and we get to bring them home.”
The premier said Tuesday a test search would begin next month, but did not reveal when the search of the key area, where the remains are believed to have been deposited, would begin.
Jeremy Skibicki, 37, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in the May 2022 slayings of three First Nations women — Harris, Myran and Rebecca Contois — as well as a fourth unidentified woman, known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe or Buffalo Woman, who police believe was slain in March 2022.
Skibicki disposed of Myran and Harris’s remains in refuse bins near his McKay Avenue home, which were later emptied at the landfill north of Winnipeg. City police, who said a search of the landfill would be too dangerous and difficult due to the amount of compressed toxic material at the site, have not confirmed where the remains of Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe are believed to have ended up.
He’s admitted to killing the women, but his lawyers argued at a four-week Court of King’s Bench trial that ended Monday he should be found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder. Chief Justice Glenn Joyal has reserved his decision until July 11.
“To me, he was not insane, he did everything methodical if you listen to the trial, it was all methodically done, there was no insanity done,” Bartlett told reporters on the grounds of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, where the families and supporters previously had a protest camp calling for the search.
“I can’t wait until the judge comes back, I am praying to God he sentences him to life in prison, that’s where he belongs — or else, six feet under the ground.”
Bartlett went to the landfill site on Tuesday along with other family members and Harris’s family.
“It was emotional … to see it again, and know where she is, which area, it was hard. But I was just thinking ‘OK, we’re going to get you home, my girl, we’re going to get you home,’” said Bartlett.
She said her understanding is the province will continue the search until remains are found.
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
Donna Bartlett, Marcedes Myran’s grandmother, went to the landfill site on Tuesday along with other family members and Harris’s family.
“They’re going to search until they find her — that’s what I got from it. They’re hoping it won’t take that long, but who knows, they might have to go further into the landfill.”
“But they’re going to find her, they’re going to work until they get her home.”
The effort could continue into early 2026 but will fall within the $40-million price tag budgeted by the province and federal government, Kinew said earlier this week.
The premier said the search will be conducted in five stages. The final stage would be to broaden the search area if remains haven’t been located.
A government spokesman said officials had nothing to add Thursday, when asked whether the province has committed to searching indefinitely or only until early 2026.
“Stay tuned, more details will be coming,” said the spokesman.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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