A new search operation for the remains of First Nations women is set to commence at a Winnipeg landfill next week. The province has trained personnel to prepare for the search at the Brady Road landfill, situated in the south end of Winnipeg, focusing initially on locating the remains of Ashlee Shingoose, a victim of convicted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. Skibicki is currently serving four concurrent life sentences without parole for 25 years after being found guilty of murdering four First Nations women in Winnipeg in 2022.
Following the completion of the search for Ashlee Shingoose, the province has announced intentions to also search for the remains of Tanya Nepinak, a woman who went missing over a decade ago. The government officials declined to provide comments on this matter when approached on Friday.
Tanya Nepinak disappeared on September 13, 2011, after leaving her Winnipeg home where she resided with her mother, stating that she was going to a nearby restaurant to get pizza. Although Shawn Lamb was previously charged with second-degree murder in Nepinak’s case, the charge was later dropped. Lamb was, however, convicted of manslaughter in the killings of Carolyn Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith in 2012.
Despite a six-day search conducted by the police at the Brady Road landfill in 2012, Nepinak’s remains were not found. The province initiated a “test phase” of a new search at the landfill in August, involving excavation work to determine the search process and using ground-penetrating radar tests to pinpoint potential locations.
A previous search at the privately operated Prairie Green landfill, near Stony Mountain, concluded in the summer with the discovery of the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, who were also victims of Skibicki. During Skibicki’s trial, it was revealed that he targeted women at Winnipeg homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins.
Furthermore, Skibicki was convicted in the death of Rebecca Contois, whose partial remains were found in the Brady Road landfill by Winnipeg authorities in June 2022. Initially known as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by the Indigenous grassroots community, the victim was later identified as Ashlee Shingoose through interviews with Skibicki and DNA evidence post-trial.
The search efforts at the landfill aim to bring closure to the families of the victims and shed light on these tragic cases.