Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - August 28, 2024 - Families and allies of four Indigenous women killed by a serial killer will address him in a Winnipeg courtroom on Wednesday.

Last month, Jeremy Skibicki was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2022 killings, highlighting the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada.

A first-degree murder conviction guarantees life without parole for 25 years.

Families of the women will provide victim impact statements at sentencing.

After meeting with Indigenous people across Manitoba, an advocacy group must make a statement on their behalf.

Skibicki strangled or drowned the women at homeless shelters and threw their bodies in waste bins, the trial heard.

A guy searching for scrap metal found 24-year-old Rebecca Contois' fragmentary remains in a garbage in Skibicki's neighbourhood, revealing the murders. More of her remains were found at a city landfill.

Skibicki confessed to killing Contois, Morgan Harris, 39; Marcedes Myran, 26; and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, to police.

Skibicki said police the killings were racist and invoked white supremacy.

Skibicki admitted to the crimes but was too mentally sick to be prosecuted, according to his defence lawyer.

Justice Glenn Joyal agreed with a Crown psychiatrist who testified that Skibicki didn't have a mental illness that prevented him from knowing the killings were wrong.