Judge in murder trial weighs motivations of admitted Winnipeg serial killer

A judge is expected to determine this week whether a man who admitted to sidesplitting 4 Indigenous women in Winnipeg did truthful because he was successful nan throes of a psychotic section aliases was driven by a uncommon shape of perverse intersexual interest.

The tragic lawsuit making love backmost to 2022 renewed calls for governments and organizations to reside nan ongoing rumor of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Countrywide protests were besides held demanding a hunt of a landfill for nan remains of 2 of nan victims. The hunt is group to commencement successful nan fall.

The judge is scheduled to springiness his verdict Thursday successful nan first-degree execution proceedings of Jeremy Skibicki.

Skibicki has admitted to sidesplitting Morgan Harris, 39; Marcedes Myran, 26; Rebecca Contois, 24; and an unidentified female an Indigenous grassroots organization has named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, aliases Buffalo Woman.

Defence lawyers person based on nan 37-year-old Skibicki should beryllium recovered not criminally responsible owed to intelligence illness. A forensic psychiatrist for nan defence testified Skibicki was suffering from schizophrenia astatine nan clip of nan killings.

But nan Crown contends Skibicki killed nan women because he is simply a homicidal necrophiliac and that he knew what he was doing was wrong.

Homicidal necrophilia isn’t good understood aliases documented, opportunity immoderate criminologists. It’s an uncommon paraphilia wherever individuals are aroused by having activity pinch personification they’ve killed.

Eric Beauregard, a professor of criminology astatine Simon Fraser University, said location are a fewer studies connected homicidal necrophilia, but it’s not good researched.

“We’re talking astir thing very terrible and besides very rare,” he said.

One of nan astir well-known cases is American serial slayer and activity offender Jeffrey Dahmer. Some of his murders progressive necrophilia.

Cases of these quality successful Canada tin beryllium counted connected 2 hands, said Michael Arntfield, a criminologist and professor astatine Western University.

Beauregard has studied patterns of necrophilic behaviour successful intersexual homicides. It’s often associated pinch serial offenders.

“It has to beryllium recurrent and intense. It’s not thing personification would person knowledgeable erstwhile and past you get nan diagnosis,” said Beauregard.

The causes are unclear.

“That’s nan million-dollar mobility criminal profilers, criminal psychologists, psychiatrists and constabulary investigators person been trying to get to nan bottommost of,” said Arntfield.

Research suggests offenders knowledgeable a traumatic arena during their childhood.

Skibicki’s proceedings heard he has a history of intelligence illness, including depression, borderline characteristic upset and thoughts of suicide. But location was nary test of schizophrenia from a psychiatrist passim his years of treatment.

Dr. Sohom Das, a forensic psychiatrist from nan United Kingdom, assessed Skibicki aft nan killings and testified for nan defence. He said he believes delusions and nan psychotic symptoms caused by schizophrenia straight motivated nan slayings.

Das said Skibicki told him that he felt compelled to termination nan women because he was connected a ngo from God and heard hallucinations coaxing him to kill.

Prosecutors person based on nan opposite, presenting DNA, video surveillance and witnesser grounds to show Skibicki had nan intelligence capacity and consciousness to perpetrate and screen up nan killings.

They besides reason Skibicki targeted nan women because they were Indigenous.

In an unprompted confession to police, Skibicki told constabulary nan killings were racially motivated and cited achromatic supremacist beliefs.

Prosecutors said Skibicki preyed connected nan victims astatine bum shelters. He past assaulted them, strangled aliases drowned them, earlier committing “vile, intersexual acts” connected their bodies.

The proceedings heard he disposed of nan bodies successful garbage bins successful his neighbourhood. Myran and Contois were dismembered.

Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, a Crown-appointed forensic psychiatrist, testified Skibicki is apt a homicidal necrophiliac and was driven to termination nan women because of his intersexual liking successful nan dead.

Chaimowitz told tribunal that Skibicki has a grounds of necrophilia interests making love backmost to his early teens. Chaimowitz said Skibicki told him he had been aroused by group playing dormant aliases who were dead.

The proceedings besides heard Skibicki sexually assaulted his erstwhile woman while she was sleeping. The ex-wife testified Skibicki had a fetish for her being lifeless, and he showed her convulsive pornography and suggested they re-enact it.

Research suggests location are 9 types of necrophilia. The first involves an constituent of role-playing that escalates.

“People go progressively exploratory and risk-taking,” said Arntfield.

“Once you’re to that level of depravity, it’s very difficult to control. There’s nary benignant of anodyne substitute for what you’re doing successful bid to support you fulfilled.”

However, paraphilias by themselves do not require psychiatric treatment, said Arntfield.

“Necrophilia successful itself doesn’t make you criminally insane, for deficiency of a amended connection … those group are perfectly capable to function.”

Beauregard said nan existent prevalence of necrophilia is unknown, fixed that investigators aren’t ever acquainted pinch nan behaviour.

“Sometimes it is very easy to miss nan intersexual move that went connected successful nan homicide. This is why a batch of these cases are not flagged arsenic sexual, erstwhile successful truth they are,” said Beauregard.

Arntfield said constabulary should acquisition much training to let them to admit and categorize behaviours associated pinch nan paraphilia.

The national authorities has a support statement for those affected by nan rumor of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls: 1-844-413-6649. The Hope for Wellness Helpline, pinch support successful Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut, is besides disposable to each Indigenous group successful Canada: 1-855-242-3310.