Outrage, anguish follows news of additional murder charges

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This article was published 30/11/2022 (755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The family of Morgan Harris is reeling with anguish and rage after learning the 39-year-old mother of five was one of three more women now believed to be victims of an alleged serial killer.

“Jeremy might have silenced my mother, but he won’t silence me,” said Cambria Harris, speaking outside an apartment where police say they found enough evidence to charge Jeremy Anthony Michael Skibicki with four counts of first-degree murder.

“There were four women found, and those women had families, they were mothers, they were cousins and sisters and they didn’t deserve that.”

On Thursday, the Winnipeg Police Service announced it had charged Skibicki with the killings of Harris, 26-year-old Marcedes Myran and another unidentified woman. He was already in police custody, having been arrested and charged with in the death of Rebecca Contois in May.

Police believe all four killings occurred within the span of a few weeks.

Cambria, 21, described her mother as a vibrant woman with a big spirit. She had fallen on difficult times, but was well-loved by all who encountered her. She does not believe she knew Skibicki or the other victims.

Hours after the news broke, Cambria was one of more than 50 relatives, friends and supporters who gathered at 259 McKay St. to grieve and honour the dead. Members of the Winnipeg police and volunteers with Bear Clan, the Salvation Army and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak also attended.

Darryl Contois, who founded the Evelyn Memorial Search Team, spent several months scouring Winnipeg streets for Harris and helped organize the vigil. He is not directly related to Rebecca Contois.

The loss has weighed heavily on him.

“It’s hard to get up some days and look for someone, but all lives matter,”he said. “Love somebody, hug somebody, let them know you care.”

NDP MLA Bernadette Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne went missing in 2008, said the death of Indigenous women has become normalized in society.

“I am so angry that this continues to happen to our women,” she said, her voice breaking with grief. “We’ve been doing this work for a long time and we shouldn’t have to keep coming together in this way.”

“This affects all of us. It’s not just an Indigenous issue, it’s not just a woman’s issue… it’s a human issue.”

Smith credited police for the investigation that lead to the charges against Skibicki.

Remains of Contois were recovered from the Brady Road landfill in June.

Police did not find the bodies of Harris, Myran or the unidentified woman, but said they had enough DNA evidence for first-degree murder charges, which is reserved for killings that are allegedly planned and deliberate.

Officers will continue to look for victims’ remains, but do not foresee another landfill search, WPS Chief Danny Smyth said.

Cambria and other members of Harris’ family disagree with the decision.

“I find peace and I find closure in being able to be here today and say that they did find something, but we are still not done,” Cambria said. “That’s where Rebecca Contois was found and I don’t think that’s fair… to not search (the landfill) is not going to do anything. I think thats disgusting.

A former friend of Skibicki’s said he was manipulative, deceptive, controlling and had violent tendancies.

“He always seemed like he wanted you to believe he was a very positive nice person, yet he was a volcano… and that’s what I found out as I got closer to him. He could be easily agitated and explode,” said Evan Fulawka, speaking during a phone interview.

Fulawka knew the accused for more than six years and the pair lived together between 2011 and 2012 in a property near Sargent Avenue. During that time, Skibicki lost control of his temper on multiple occasions, once threatening to beat Fulawka after a dispute escalated.

He also saw the accused serial killer act aggressively to a woman he was dating at the time.

Skibicki did not work and would often spend long hours at home on the computer. He frequently consumed cannabis and MDMA. The men were evicted from the rental after Skibicki failed to pay his share of the rent and Fulawka did not speak with him again, he said.

A review of Skibicki’s social media accounts revealed posts on far-right politics, including references to the white genocide conspiracy theory and antisemitic content.

Fulawka does not remember Skibicki expressing any racist or misogynistic sentiments, but said he was known to take advantage of vulnerable people.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca