International

Court pronounces Canadian serial killer guilty of killing four women

Published

8 months ago

July 12, 2024

Court pronounces Canadian serial killer guilty of killing four women

Tearful cheers erupted in a packed Canadian courtroom on Thursday as a judge found a serial killer guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of four indigenous women.

But in the court gallery, Jeremy Contois’ reaction was reserved.

His younger sister, Rebecca, was one of the women killed in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba two years ago.

“I feel a little sense of relief,” Mr Contois said, but will not get full closure until the killer, Jeremy Skibicki, is formally sentenced.

In his oral verdict, Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal dismissed the argument by the defence at trial that the accused was not criminally responsible for the murders.

Lawyers for Skibicki, 37, said he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the killings.

Prosecutors argued that Skibicki deliberately killed Ms Contois and three other women in 2022 in crimes that were calculated and racially motivated.

Warning: This story contains details readers may find distressing.

The murders and the subsequent weeks-long trial sent shockwaves through Canada’s indigenous community, which has long grappled with cases of violence against their women.

Wearing a grey T-shirt and pants, Skibicki did not react as Judge Joyal read aloud the summary of his judgment.

One of Ms Contois’ family members held up a large photo of Rebecca in his direction as he left the courtroom.

“Why did I lift up her photo? Because we, as First Nations people, are not statistics,” Krista Fox said afterwards.

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“Every single one of us has a name, and a family that misses us dearly.”

Skibicki’s victims are Morgan Harris, 39, Marcedes Myran, 26 and Ms Contois, who was 24. The fourth woman has yet to be identified, and has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, meaning Buffalo Woman, by indigenous elders.

Throughout the trial, a buffalo head sat on a red cloth on a table near the prosecutors in tribute to the still unidentified victim.

In his verdict, Judge Joyal said the accused failed to demonstrate he was not criminally responsible for the murders, dismissing the testimony of a British psychiatrist, Dr Sohom Das, who said Skibicki was motivated by delusions when he committed the murders.

The judge added that the “mercilessly graphic” facts of the case “are largely uncontested”, given that the accused had admitted to the murders in police interviews and in court prior to the trial.

Skibicki had pleaded not guilty due to a mental disorder.

The 100-person courtroom was packed full with the four women’s families and friends for the verdict.

Judge Joyal said the case has had an “undeniable and profound impact on the entire Manitoba community, indigenous and non-indigenous”.

With Skibicki facing life behind bars, the focus is now shifting to finding the remains of two of his victims, Ms Myran and Ms Harris, which are believed to be in a Winnipeg landfill.

A formal search has been set for this autumn, after months of pressure from their families.

‘Intentional and purposeful’ murders

According to court documents, Skibicki killed the women between March and May of 2022, with Ms Contois believed to be the final victim.

He met at least two at local homeless shelters in Winnipeg, a city of 820,000 in the prairie province.

Judge Joyal agreed with prosecutors that he deliberately targeted and exploited “vulnerable” women.

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Over the course of the trial, the court heard that Skibicki had assaulted the women, strangled or drowned them and then committed sex acts on them before dismembering their bodies and disposing of them in garbage bins.

The killings went undetected for months, until a man looking for scrap metal in a bin outside Skibicki’s apartment found partial human remains in May 2022 and called police.

“She’s obviously been murdered,” the man said in the 911 call, which was played in court.

Police were able to identify the remains as those of Ms Contois.

More of her remains were discovered at a city-run landfill the following month.

In police interviews shortly after his arrest, Skibicki surprised officers by admitting to killing Ms Contois as well as three others.

At that point, police had no knowledge of the other deaths.

Speaking outside court, Ms Fox said she believes that it was only because Ms Contois’ remains were found that the other families were able to get justice.

Skibicki’s lawyers tried to argue that he was not aware of the severity of his actions due to delusions driven by schizophrenia. They argued he was hearing voices that told him to commit the crimes as part of a mission from god.

Prosecutors argued that Skibicki was fully aware of his actions, saying they were “intentional, purposeful and racially motivated”.

They demonstrated this through a mix of DNA forensic evidence, surveillance footage showing Skibicki with the women in their final days, as well as testimony from his ex-wife, who detailed a history of physical abuse.

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Had Skibicki been found not criminally responsible for the four murders, it would have been a relative rarity in Canadian law.

According to data from Canada’s statistics agency and reported by the Globe and Mail newspaper, between 2000 and 2022, of 8,883,749 criminal cases prosecuted across the country, only 5,178 – or 0.06% – had such verdicts.

The case unearthed deep wounds for Canada’s indigenous community, which has long grappled with a high number of cases of their women going missing or being murdered.

According to an investigation by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Winnipeg – a city near numerous indigenous communities – had the highest number of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada between 2018 and 2022.

Across Canada, indigenous women are 12 times more likely to be murdered or go missing than other women, according to a 2019 inquiry.

Some indigenous women in the city remain missing, sparking fears from family members that Skibicki had more victims.

The Crown, however, said they do not believe he murdered more women.

Even with the relief of a guilty verdict, Mr Contois, Rebecca’s brother, said he still wonders why his sister – who is also a mother to a young daughter – was so brutally murdered.

“Why did he have to do it?” he said. “I wish I knew that.”

International

UK announces new passport application fees starting April 2025

Published

2 days ago

March 20, 2025

Trends Admin

UK announces new passport application fees starting April 2025

The UK government has confirmed it will introduce new fees for passport applications beginning on April 10th, 2025.

The changes, which are still subject to parliamentary approval, will see a rise in costs for both online and paper applications, affecting adults and children alike.

According to the UK Home Office, the adjustments will apply to both domestic and overseas passport applications.

The fee increases,  as stated, are part of an ongoing effort to ensure the passport system is financially self-sustaining, reducing the need for funding from general taxation. The Home Office clarified that the government does not make any profit from the fees.

Fee increases for domestic applications

Starting April 10th, 2025, the fee for a standard online application within the UK will rise for both adults and children. The cost for an adult’s application will increase from £88.50 to £94.50, while for children it will go up from £57.50 to £61.50.

Postal applications will also see an increase, with the adult fee rising from £100 to £107 and the child fee increasing from £69 to £74.

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Charges to premium service fees

The Premium Service, which allows for passport issuance within one day, will also become more expensive.

For adults, the fee will rise from £207.50 to £222
For children, the fee will increase from £176.50 to £189.

This service is available for those who need a passport urgently and are applying from within the UK.

Higher costs for overseas applications

For individuals applying from overseas, the standard online application fee will also increase;

The adult fee will rise from £101 to £108, and the child fee will increase from £65.50 to £70
For paper applications made abroad, the adult fee will rise from £112.50 to £120.50, while the child fee will increase from £77 to £82.50.

The Home Office stated that the new fees are necessary to maintain the passport service and ensure it is financially viable. The fees contribute to covering the cost of processing passport applications, offering consular support to UK citizens overseas, and managing UK border services.

“The fees contribute to the cost of processing passport applications, consular support overseas, including for lost or stolen passports, and the cost of processing British citizens at UK borders,” the office said.

It is also related that in 2024, 99.7% of standard applications from the UK were processed within three weeks, where no additional information was required. Customers are advised to apply well in advance of their travel plans to avoid delays.

These fee adjustments are in line with guidelines from HM Treasury, which regularly reviews passport fees.

UK announces new passport application fees starting April 2025

International

UN staff member killed in central Gaza blast, five others injured

Published

2 days ago

March 20, 2025

Trends Admin

UN staff member killed in central Gaza blast, five others injured

At least one UN staffer has been killed and at least five others injured following an explosion at two UN guesthouses in Deir al Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Several of the injured staffers are reported to be very severely hurt, though further details on their conditions have not yet been provided

The UN is verifying and confirming the details, including the circumstances that led up to the incident at the compound.

However, it was not due to “any action” that was being taken by UN personnel to remove “unexploded ordinance,” the head of the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) said during a press conference in Brussels.

The UN official’s statement clarifies that the incident did not involve any activities related to the removal of unexploded ordinance by UN personnel, and further investigation is underway to determine the exact cause and context of the event.

According to media reports, the Israeli military – which has resumed deadly strikes in the Gaza Strip, killing hundreds since Monday – has denied attacking the compound.

“These premises were well known by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and they were ‘deconflicted’,” UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva, said, explaining that “everyone knew who was working inside the premises – it was UN personnel, UNOPS personnel.”

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“This was not an accident, this was an incident,” he told journalists, adding that additional information is being collected.

“What we do know is that an explosive ordnance was dropped or fired at the infrastructure and detonated inside the building,” he said, adding it was unclear if it had been due to air-drop weapons, artillery or rocket fire.

Silva stressed that attacks against humanitarian premises are a breach of international law.

“UN personnel and its premises must be protected by all sides. The civilian population relies on the UN for lifesaving assistance, they are an essential lifeline at the time of utter tragedy and devastation,” he said.

The incident took place at around 11:30 a,m. local time on Wednesday. It followed strikes on Tuesday that resulted in some damage, and “a near miss” on Monday, Silva said.

The UN buildings are situated in an “isolated area” in Dier al Balah.

As investigations continue into the incident, the “top priority” is the evacuation of injured staff members, Silva said.

“We have stayed and delivered for the people in Gaza in the last year and a half. This was not the first time a colleague from UNOPS lost their life,” he added.

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He noted that a staffer who drove aid trucks was killed around a year ago in the line of duty.

“It is very difficult to operate in Gaza…we have been challenged by the fact that international humanitarian law has not been respected,” he said.

UNOPS teams in Gaza have been carrying out critical humanitarian work, supporting hundreds of thousands of civilians severely affected by the conflict.

Their efforts include delivering essential supplies such as fuel and assisting in demining and explosive removal.

Additionally, the agency manages the so-called UN 2720 Mechanism for Gaza, which was mandated by the Security Council to accelerate humanitarian aid into the enclave.

In a related development, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reaffirmed that all parties to the conflict have a legal obligation to protect UN premises, which must remain inviolable.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief, strongly condemned the attacks and called for a full investigation.

“Today’s deadly strike brings the number of UN colleagues killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 to at least 280,” the statement noted.

Guterres emphasised that all military operations must respect and prioritise civilian protection.

“The Secretary-General stresses the need for the ceasefire to be respected to bring an end to the suffering of the people.

“Humanitarian aid must reach all people in need. The hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally,” he said.

UN staff member killed in central Gaza blast, five others injured

(NAN)

International

US judge suspends ban on transgender people in military

Published

3 days ago

March 19, 2025

Trends Admin

US judge suspends ban on transgender people in military

A US federal judge on Tuesday suspended the Trump administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military, citing the principle of equality and dealing a blow — if only temporary — to the US president’s agenda.

Referencing the US Declaration of Independence, which states that all humans are “created equal,” Judge Ana C. Reyes suspended President Donald Trump’s late January order that excluded transgender people from the armed forces.

That suspension, however, will be put on pause until March 21 to give the government time to file an emergency stay at a higher court, according to Reyes’ decision.