Family of Ashlee Shingoose says receiving her jacket gives them 'strength to carry on'

CBC

16 hours ago

WARNING: This story contains details of violence against Indigenous women.
The parents of a First Nations woman killed by a Winnipeg serial killer in 2022 say receiving the coat that police used to help identify their daughter has given them a sense of closure and the strength to continue their healing journey.
Thirty-year-old Ashlee Shingoose, who was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe or Buffalo Woman by Indigenous community members before she was identified in March, was from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation in northern Manitoba.
Winnipeg police gave her parents the white and black Baby Phat brand jacket investigators believe she wore during a private ceremony on Wednesday.
"Yesterday … we had received Ashlee's coat …That was one step ahead to give us that strength to carry on," Ashlee's father Albert Shingoose said at a news conference on Thursday.
Shingoose was last seen in downtown Winnipeg in March 2022. She was the first of four First Nations women murdered by Jeremy Skibicki between March and May 2022, along with Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26, and Rebecca Contois, 24.
A year ago, Skibicki was convicted of first-degree murder for their deaths and received an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
The remains of Harris and Myran — who were both from Long Plain First Nation — were identified in March during a search of the privately run Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.
The partial remains of Contois, who was a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, were found in both a garbage bin in North Kildonan and the Brady Road landfill in south Winnipeg in 2022.
On Wednesday, Premier Wab Kinew said the province has begun the test phase of searching for Ashlee Shingoose's remains in the Brady Landfill, where investigators believe she may be located.
Kinew said a small team is excavating the landfill to help plan the effort, conducting ground-penetrating radar tests to narrow down the search area.
After the search for Shingoose is complete, Kinew said the province will start looking for the remains of Tanya Nepinak, who went missing in 2011. Police believe Nepinak was a victim of serial killer Sean Lamb and that her remains may be in the south-end landfill.
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The premier's announcement comes as the Shingoose family prepares for a special impact hearing in Winnipeg on Friday morning, where they will share how her death affected them.
The other victim's loved ones had the opportunity to read their impact statements when Skibicki was sentenced last August — months before Shingoose was identified.
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said she plans to be at the hearing on Friday to offer support to the Shingoose family.
"When I think about Ashlee Shingoose, she has a story. She was important to her family, she was important to anyone who was in her circle, in her life. We need to be able to honour and respect who she was. This is an opportunity for the family to share that," Wilson said.
"All we can do right now is show that love and that support and that kindness to the Shingoose family," she said.
Ashlee's mother Theresa Shingoose said the family is thankful for community members who have supported them on their healing journey.
"I'm very happy that I got all the support yesterday, when they gave us that jacket," she said.
Albert Shingoose said they plan to bring Ashlee's coat home to St. Theresa Point after Friday's hearing.
"We are going to bring Ashlee home," he said.
You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.