The remains of an indigenous woman murdered by a serial killer sentenced three years ago were found in the landfill in center of Canada, local authorities confirmed following a search of several months.
Morgan Harris was one of the indigenous women killed by Jeremy Skibicki, who is serving several perpetuity sentences after being found guilty of four murders last year.
Skibicki met his victims in shelters for homeless, in a case considered a symbol of the dangers encountered by indigenous women in Canada, where they are victims of disproportionate violence, described as “genocide” by a national public inquiry in 2019.
The testimony of the Skibicki trial said that he had raped, killed and dismembered Harris and another woman, Marices Myran, in 2022.
Photo of Shay Conroy for the Washington Post via Getty Images
Police thought that their leftovers had been thrown on the landfill site of Prairie Green, north of Winnipeg, the capital of the Province of Manitoba.
Last month, the authorities announced that the remains of two organizations were found on the site. They confirmed on Friday evening that a set of remains are those of Harris.
Manitoba police “confirmed that the human remains found in research on the Green meadow discharges have been identified as those of Morgan Beatrice Harris of the Longtime First Nation”, the province said in a press release Friday.
The identification of the second set of remains will be published “as the facts are confirmed,” he added.
The body of another of the victims of skibicki, Rebecca Contois, was found in a separate discharge and in a trash can, while the remains of a fourth unidentified victim in the twenties are still missing.
In an article on social networks, Harris’ daughter called the identification of her mother’s remains “a soft-maker moment”.
“She comes home as we said from the start … We fought with our hearts and now her mind can rest,” said Cambria Harris.
The families of Harris and Myran had pushed the authorities to Manitoba to search for the bodies.
The Prime Minister of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, the first Aboriginal to lead a Canadian province, said “Morgan Harris, we honor you”, in an article on social networks.
In December 2022, the Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth, wrote an open letter To indigenous leaders, recognizing the “unimaginable” pain surrounding the case.
“The investigation involving the murders of Rebecca Contois, Marcades Myran, Morgan Harris and Buffalo was one of the most complex and important homicide surveys during my mandate,” wrote Smith. “I heard the calls of families, indigenous leadership and community. I understand your calls; pain and sorrow are unimaginable.”
Shay Conroy for the Washington Post via Getty Images
Aboriginal women represent approximately a fifth of all women killed in gender homicides in the country – despite only five percent of the female population.
A similar crisis exists in the United Stateswhere Amerindian women are disproportionately targeted In murders, sexual assault and other acts of violence, both on reserves and in neighboring cities.
According to the Rainnn anti-sexual assault organizationwho cites the statistics of the National Crime Information Center. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has more recently estimated than about 4,200 cases of indigenous and murdered peoples remain unresolved.
Last month, the remains of a woman found on a reserve in southwest of southern Dakota were identified as a Sioux woman which disappeared more than a year ago.
