The remains of an indigenous woman killed by a convicted serial killer three years ago have been found in the landfill in the center of Canada, local authorities confirmed after a search for months.
Morgan Harris He was one of the killed indigenous women of Jeremy Skibicki, who complies with multiple life sentences after being convicted of four murders last year.
Skibicki encountered his victims in homeless shelters, in a case seen as a symbol of the dangers of indigenous women in Canada, where they are disproportionately victims of violence, called « genocide » by national public investigation in 2019.
The testimony of Skibicki’s trial said he raped, kill, and dismembered Harris and another woman, Mark Myran, in 2022.
Shay Conroy photo for Washington Post through Getty Images
Police believed that his remains were turned to the place of the Prairie Green landfill, in the north of Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba.
Last month, authorities announced that the remains of two bodies had been found on the site. They confirmed by the end of Friday that a set of remains are those of Harris.
Manitoba police « have confirmed that the human remains found in search of green landfills in La Pradera have been identified as those of Morgan Beatrice Harris in Long Plain First Nation », the province said in a statement On Friday.
The identification of the second set of remains will be published « since the facts are confirmed, » he added.
The body of another Skibicki victims, Rebecca Contois, was found in an independent landfill and a trash trash trash, while the remains of a fourth unidentified victim at the age of 20 are still missing.
In a post on social media, Harris’s daughter called the identification of the remains of his mother « a bittersweet moment ».
« He returns home as we said from the beginning … We fought with our hearts and now his spirit can rest, » said Cambria Harris.
The families of Harris and Myran had pushed the authorities to Manitoba to find the bodies.
The Prime Minister of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, the first indigenous person to lead a Canadian province, said « Morgan Harris we honor », in a publication on social media.
In December 2022, Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth, wrote an open letter To indigenous leaders, recognizing the « unimaginable » pain that surrounds the case.
« The investigation involved in the killings of Rebecca Contois, Marcatedes Myran, Morgan Harris and Buffalo Woman has been one of the most complex and important investigations of murder during my term, » Smith wrote. « I have heard families’ calls, indigenous leadership and community. I understand your calls; pain and pain are unimaginable. »
Shay Conroy for Washington Post through Getty Images
Indigenous women represent about fifth of all women killed in gender -related homicides in the country, although they include only five percent of the female population.
There is a similar crisis in the USAwhere native American women are disproportionately oriented In murders, sexual assault and other acts of violence, both in reserves and in nearby cities.
According to 2016, there were more than 5,700 reports of women and girls missing in 2016 Anti-sexual organization Assault Rainnwhich cites statistics from the National Crime Information Center. The Bureau of Indian Affairs recently estimated that approximately 4,200 cases of disappeared indigenous people remain unresolved.
Last month, the remains of a woman found dead in a reserve south -west of southern Dakota identified as a woman Sioux that lacked more than a year ago.
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