Latest news with #MarcedesMyran
USA Today
20-03-2025
- USA Today
Remains found at Canadian landfill identified as missing Indigenous woman Marcedes Myran
Remains found at Canadian landfill identified as missing Indigenous woman Marcedes Myran Remains found at a Canadian landfill have been confirmed as an Indigenous woman believed to have been killed around three years ago. The remains belong to Marcedes Myran of Long Plain First Nation, a 26-year-old woman who police say convicted serial killer Jeremy Anthony Michael Skibicki murdered around May 4, 2022. Officials from the province of Manitoba made the announcement Monday, just 10 days after identifying another one of Skibicki's victims, 39-year-old Morgan Beatrice Harris, also of Long Plain First Nation. Police believe Harris was killed just a few days before Myran. Their remains were found as part of a humanitarian search of the Prairie Green Landfill, located about 20 miles northwest of Winnipeg, officials said Monday. The search began on Dec. 2 last year, according to Manitoba officials. Those searching combed through piles of waste dumped between May 9, 2022 and May 21, 2022, Manitoba officials said. Missing Indigenous women: A man killed an Indigenous woman in 2022. Her remains were found at a Canadian landfill. Man linked to the killing of four Indigenous women in Canada Skibicki, 35, has been linked to multiple deaths in the Winnipeg area. On May 16, 2022, partial remains later identified as 24-year-old Rebecca Contois of Crane River First Nation were found in a collection receptacle, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a news release. Two days later, Skibicki was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Investigators discovered that some of Contois' remains may have been taken to the Brady Road Resource Management Facility during a residential pickup. In early June, investigators had workers stop operations there and began searching the facility. On June 14, 2022, they found more remains at the facility, police said. Investigators had a suspicion there were more victims and continued their investigation and altogether, Skibicki has been linked to the killings of four different women between March 2022 and May 2022. Those women include: An unidentified victim who, for now, is known as Buffalo Woman or Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, killed around March 15, 2022 Rebecca Contois of Crane River First Nation, 24, partial remains found on May 16, 2022 Morgan Beatrice Harris of Long Plain First Nation, 39, killed around May 1, 2022 Marcedes Myran of Long Plain First Nation, 26, killed around May 4, 2022 Skibicki allegedly met the women at homeless shelters and once he got them to his home, he killed them. He was charged with three additional counts of first degree murder on Dec. 1, 2022, the police service said. Skibicki was found guilty of four counts of first degree murder in July 2024 and was ordered to serve four life sentences without the possibility of parole for 25 years, according to the Canadian Broadcast Corporation and CTV. Native women are murdered at alarming rates, research shows According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native females experienced the second highest rate of homicide in 2020. Also that year, it was reported that homicide was one of the top 10 leading causes of death for American Indian and Alaska Native females ages 1 to 45. Red dresses are often placed in outdoor spaces to represent these missing and murdered Indigenous women. The symbolization began as part of the REDress Project, created by artist Jaime Black. In April 2023, community members hung red dresses at the Brady Road Resource Management Facility in honor of 33-year-old Linda Beardy, whose remains were found there, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. It's the same landfill where Contois' remains were found. Organization stands by families of Indigenous women 'taken too soon' Regarding the most recent discovery of Myran's remains, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said Monday that returning her to her family is sacred to the organization and their community. "Marcedes, a beloved young woman from Long Plain First Nation, was deeply cherished by her children, her family, and her community," the organization wrote in a news release. Grand Chief Kyra Wilson said in the news release that it was Myran's family and their determination that led to the discovery of her remains. "Their courage is a reflection of the love they carry for her," Wilson said. "Our hearts are with them as they grieve and begin the journey of healing." Wilson added that First Nations women have been disrespected, and Myran deserved to live out her life with her loved ones. The organization said it will continue to honor the memory of Myran, Harris, Contois and Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe (Buffalo Woman), "and all our women, girls, and Two-Spirit relatives who remain missing or have been taken too soon." Contributing: Taylor Ardrey Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Email her at sdmartin@
CBS News
18-03-2025
- CBS News
Remains of another Indigenous woman murdered by serial killer found at landfill in Canada, officials confirm
The remains of a second Indigenous woman murdered by a convicted serial killer have been found in a landfill in central Canada, authorities confirmed Monday, after another victim's remains were identified earlier this month . Marcedes Myran was one of the Indigenous women slain three years ago by Jeremy Skibicki , who is serving multiple life sentences after being convicted of four murders last year. Skibicki met his victims in homeless shelters, in a case seen as a symbol of the dangers faced by Indigenous women in Canada, where they disproportionately fall victim to violence, termed a "genocide" by a national public inquiry in 2019. Testimony at Skibicki's trial said he raped, killed and dismembered Myran and another woman, Morgan Harris, in 2022. Authorities believed their remains were dumped at the Prairie Green Landfill site, north of Winnipeg, the capital of the province of Manitoba. They had been searching the site for months. Last month, Manitoba authorities announced the discovery of two bodies. Morgan Harris's remains were identified on March 7. Federal police in Manitoba on Monday confirmed the other set of "human remains found in the Prairie Green Landfill search have been identified as those of Marcedes Myran of Long Plain First Nation," a statement said. The families of Harris and Myran had pushed authorities in Manitoba to search for the bodies. The body of another of Skibicki's victims, Rebecca Contois, was found in a separate landfill and in a garbage bin, while the remains of a fourth unidentified victim in her 20s are still missing. In December 2022, Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth wrote an open letter to Indigenous leaders, acknowledging the "unimaginable" pain surrounding the case. "The investigation involving the murders of Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris, and Buffalo Woman has been one of the most complex and important homicide investigations during my tenure," Smith wrote. "I have heard the calls from the families, the Indigenous leadership, and the community. I understand your calls; the pain and sorrow is unimaginable." Indigenous women represent about one-fifth of all women killed in gender-related homicides in the country -- despite comprising just five percent of the female population. A similar crisis exists in the U.S. , where Native American women are disproportionately targeted in murders, sexual assaults and other acts of violence, both on reservations and in nearby towns. There were more than 5,700 reports of missing Native women and girls in 2016, according to the anti-sexual assault organization RAINN , which cites statistics from the National Crime Information Center. The Bureau of Indian Affairs estimated more recently that roughly 4,200 cases of missing and murdered Indigenous people remain unsolved .
Washington Post
18-03-2025
- Washington Post
Second murdered Indigenous woman found in Canadian landfill is identified
Canadian authorities said Monday that human remains found in a landfill near Winnipeg, Manitoba, were identified as those of an Indigenous woman murdered by a serial killer three years ago. The remains of Marcedes Myran were found at the Prairie Green landfill, officials said. Since last year, the Manitoba government has been conducting a search-and-recovery mission at the request of the families of Myran and Morgan Harris, another Indigenous woman murdered by the same man. Harris's remains were found at the site last month.
CBC
18-03-2025
- CBC
Remains found at Manitoba landfill confirmed to be Marcades Myran
Police have now identified a second set of remains found at a Winnipeg-area landfill as those of Marcedes Myran, one of four Indigenous women who were victims of a serial killer in 2022, the province said Monday. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew says being able to find her remains was an 'important step forward.' Read more:
The Guardian
17-03-2025
- The Guardian
Second body identified in Canada landfill amid search for serial killer's victims
Canadian police have confirmed the identity of a second woman whose body was dumped at a private landfill near Winnipeg by a serial killer who preyed on Indigenous women and left their bodies hidden in trash. The Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted police said in a statement on Monday that the human remains found in the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg, were those of Marcedes Myran, 26. Myran's family 'has been notified and the Manitoba government continues to ask that the family's privacy be respected'. The young woman from Long Plain First Nation was killed in 2022 by Jeremy Skibicki, who was given a life sentence in July 2024 after he was found guilty of first-degree murder over four murders described as 'jarring and numbing' by the judge overseeing the case. Last week, police announced that another set of human remains found at the Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg had been identified as those of Morgan Harris, 39. The discovery came after local officials were forced into a U-turn, launching a large search operation after initially suggesting that it would be too costly to examine the refuse, much of which was buried under tonnes of clay. The remains of a third victim, Rebecca Contois, a member of Crane River First Nation, were found in a dumpster near Skibicki's home in 2022. Investigators are still trying to locate the remains of Skibecki's fourth victim, an unidentified woman known as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe (Buffalo Woman). Police first suggested in 2022 that the some of the victim's bodies were buried in the landfill, but said that any recovery would be too challenging, prompting disbelief and outrage from family members. 'They keep saying it comes down to feasibility. But it doesn't come down to feasibility when it's about human beings and bringing these people home,' Cambria Harris, Morgan's daughter, said at the time. After meeting with former prime minister Justin Trudeau, she was blunt: 'I told him these women need to be found, and they need to come home. The province's former Progressive Conservative premier Heather Stefanson nonetheless defended the decision not to search the landfill in 2023. 'My heart goes out to the families. It's a horrific situation that they're facing right now, but I'm also the premier and we have to make what are difficult decisions,' she said. 'These are decisions that need to be made, and I continue to stand by the decision that has been made.' She and others in her government said the search was too costly and too hazardous – a conclusion other experts rejected. At the time, Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations minister Marc Miller called the decision 'heartless' and said a search was necessary. A search of the landfill became central to a provincial election in 2023, in which New Democratic party leader Wab Kinew campaigned on a search of the landfill. Kinew's party won a majority government and last year, the federal government pledged C$40m to search for the victims. When the positive identification of Harris's remains were first announced, Kinew praised the family members as 'having been the people who called us to our better nature and to do the right thing'. Excavation began at the privately run landfill in December, with teams sorting through early 20,300 cubic metres of material with rakes and by hand. An enormous steel heated building was also constructed to allow teams to sift though wet material by hand while outside temperatures hovered at about -20C. Of the 45 search technicians hired, including family liaisons, a forensic anthropologist, a health and safety officer, and a director of operations, half are Indigenous. Kinew said: 'The effort itself is a microcosm of where we're at as a country … people from different walks of life coming together to try to do the right thing for these families.'
