Winnipeg police have released more details about their decision to not search a landfill for the remains of two Indigenous women believed to have been the victims of a serial killer as family of one of the women shared their disappointment at Parliament Hill.
Police say they believe the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran ended up in the Prairie Green landfill north of the city in the spring.
Cambria Harris said Tuesday in Ottawa that she shouldnB次元官网网址檛 have to beg for officials to search for her mother.
B次元官网网址淢y mother didnB次元官网网址檛 pass away with a home, so letB次元官网网址檚 pay her the respect that she deserves by finally giving her one thatB次元官网网址檚 not a resting place at the Prairie Green landfill.B次元官网网址�
Harris said officers sat down with her this week and shared a presentation outlining the reasons the search is unfeasible.
B次元官网网址淚t was basically to say we failed you and weB次元官网网址檙e not going to do anything, and I think thatB次元官网网址檚 disgusting.B次元官网网址�
Jeremy Skibicki has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Rebecca Contois, 24, Harris, 39, Myran, 26, and a fourth woman who has not been identified, but has been given the name Buffalo Woman or Mashkode BizhikiB次元官网网址檌kwe by police and community leaders.
Skibicki was taken into custody and charged May 18 with first-degree murder in the death of Contois. Her partial remains were found in a garbage bin near an apartment building. Police later found the rest of her remains in the Brady Road landfill in the cityB次元官网网址檚 south end.
He was charged last week with the other three killings, although police have not found their bodies. Police said they do not have a definitive location of the remains of Buffalo Woman.
Insp. Cam MacKid, head of the forensics unit, said Tuesday that the manageable conditions police worked with in locating the remains of Contois did not present themselves in the search for the other women.
He said compacting, the passage of time, topography and safety concerns prevent officers from searching the Prairie Green landfill.
B次元官网网址淲e have to look at the specific site and the issues it presents, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what we did here,B次元官网网址� MacKid said. B次元官网网址淲hen we presented it we made the very difficult decision as a service that this wasnB次元官网网址檛 operationally feasible to conduct a search of this site.B次元官网网址�
In the case of the Brady Road landfill, refuse is not compacted, police were able to secure the site within hours of finding ContoisB次元官网网址� partial remains and they werenB次元官网网址檛 working against other remains and hazardous minerals. Police were also able to rely on GPS tracking in garbage trucks and heavy equipment at the landfill.
Homicide officers told the forensics team on June 20 that they believed additional remains had been disposed of at the Prairie Green landfill a month before, MacKid said.
Because of the time gap, police had no starting point to search the 1.6-hectare site, where trash is compacted with heavy mud at a depth of about 12 metres.
MacKid said during this time, 10,000 truckloads of refuse were dumped at the landfill and 1,500 tons of animal remains were deposited.
He added that given the compacting and the passage of time, any human remains might not be discernible from animal remains.
B次元官网网址淚f we were to search that site given the compaction that went on in the truck at the site, the decomposition that occurs over time, I guess the question to be asked B次元官网网址� is it impossible? NothingB次元官网网址檚 impossible,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淏ut is it likely that even if remains were found that they would be discernible from animal remains? ThatB次元官网网址檚 a tough question.B次元官网网址�
Kera Harris said her family is prepared to search on their own for her mother, calling the policeB次元官网网址檚 reasons B次元官网网址渕eaningless excuses.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hese are people who you are leaving alone in the landfill. These are human beings. How can you even fathom the idea to leave them there?B次元官网网址� she said in Ottawa.
B次元官网网址淭hese women are deserving of a proper resting place not to be left alone in a landfill in the dead of winter. If you want to respect and honour them, stop making excuses as to why you canB次元官网网址檛 find them.B次元官网网址�
Police Chief Danny Smyth said they did not want the searches to end this way for the families.
B次元官网网址淲e acknowledge that the families are heartbroken. We acknowledge that theyB次元官网网址檙e angry. We acknowledge that a lot of people are angry. WeB次元官网网址檙e doing our best to bring justice to the families, and thatB次元官网网址檚 what we hope to do.B次元官网网址�
Police continue to appeal to the public regarding Buffalo WomanB次元官网网址檚 identity and where her remains may be.
The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
