The body of a second Indigenous woman killed by a convicted serial killer was found in a landfill in central Canada, authorities confirmed Monday after the bodies of another victim came on Monday. It was identified earlier this month.
Marcedes Milan was one of the indigenous women. Three years ago, he was killed by Jeremy Skivikki.He has been sentenced to multiple life sentences after being convicted of four murders last year.
Skibicki met the victims at a homeless shelter, considered a symbol of the dangers facing Indigenous women in Canada.
Testimony at Skibicki’s trial said that in 2022 he raped, killed and dismantled Myran and another woman, Morgan Harris.
Authorities believed their bodies had been dumped in the Prairie Green Reclaimed Land north of Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. They had been searching the site for several months.
Shayconroy of the Washington Post via Getty Images
Last month, Manitoba authorities announced the discovery of two bodies.
Morgan Harris’ body was identified on March 7th.
“The human remains found at the Prairie Green Reclamation Area have been identified as belonging to Marcedes Milan, Long Plain First Nation,” Manitoba federal police said Monday.
Harris and Milan’s family were pushing Manitoba authorities to search for the body.
The body of another Skivicki victim, Rebecca Contois, was found in another reclaimed land and in a trash can, but the remains of the fourth unidentified victim in her 20s are still missing.
In December 2022, Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smith wrote an open letter to Indigenous leaders, acknowledging the “unimaginable” pain surrounding the incident.
“Investigations that include the murders of Rebecca Contois, Mardes Milan, Morgan Harris and Buffalo women were one of the most complicated and important murder investigations during my tenure,” wrote Smith. “I’ve heard calls from families, Indigenous leadership and communities. I understand your calls. I can’t imagine the pain and sadness.”
Indigenous women represent about a fifth of all women killed in gender-related murders in the country, despite only 5% of the female population.
There is a similar crisis In the USNative American women Disproportionately targeted Murder, sexual assault, other acts of violence, both in reservations and in nearby towns.
There were over 5,700 reports of indigenous women and girls missing in 2016, according to the anti-sexual assault organisation Rainn, which cites statistics from the National Crime Information Center. The Indian Affairs Bureau has estimated that around 4,200 missing Indigenous cases have remained unresolved recently.
