WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government has begun its "test phase" search of a Winnipeg landfill for the remains of a victim of a convicted serial killer.
Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday the preliminary search of the city-run Brady Road landfill for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose started this week.
"We began the pilot test phase ... this is basically the excavation and taking a look at the material to try and figure out what is the actual process of the search going to look like," he said.
A small team has also been conducting ground-penetrating radar tests to narrow down a search area, said Kinew.
He said a proper search of the landfill could happen later this year.
Shingoose was one of four First Nations women killed by Jeremy Skibicki in Winnipeg in 2022.
His trial heard he targeted the women at homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins.
Skibicki admitted to the slayings but argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental illness. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced last year to life in prison.
At the time of the trial, Shingoose had not been identified and was referred to in court as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given to her by Indigenous grassroots community members.
Months later, police announced that interviews with Skibicki after the trial, along with DNA evidence, led them to identify the woman as Shingoose and to believe her body was taken to the landfill.
Police first became aware of Skibicki's crimes after the remains of Rebecca Contois were discovered in a garbage bin in May 2022. More of her remains were found at the Brady Road landfill.
Kinew committed to searching Brady Road for Shingoose after a similar dig at a different landfill for the two other victims.
The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were discovered at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg. The search there concluded this summer.
It took crews months to prepare for that search. The same is expected at the Brady Road landfill, said Kinew.
He said the work this week will help with design safety and health protocols and shed light on the scale of what needs to be done.
Garbage trucks that go to the Brady site are equipped with GPS tracking, providing data on where a load was picked up and where it was dumped. Kinew said the city has been providing support.
"We are going to trial a few alternate test methodologies for the Brady Road landfill search. We just want to kind of go back to base principles and make sure that we're choosing the right approach that's going to give the maximum chance of success, while also being delivered in a fiscally responsible approach," he said.
The premier said he has been in contact with the Shingoose family throughout the summer.
"We've had some pretty heart-wrenching conversations."
He also said the province is making plans to search the Brady Road landfill for the remains of Tanya Nepinak but conversations with her family are still ongoing.
The First Nations woman last seen in Winnipeg in September 2011, and police believe her body was dumped in a garbage bin and taken to the site.
Investigators searched a small portion of the landfill for her remains in 2012 but were unsuccessful. They called off the search after a week.
Shawn Lamb was charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of Nepinak and two other women. He was convicted of manslaughter in the slayings of Lorna Blacksmith and Carolyn Sinclair but charges against him in Nepinak's death were stayed.
Nepinak's family holds yearly vigils to honour the mother who had ties to Minegoziibe Anishinabe, formerly known as Pine Creek First Nation, northwest of Winnipeg.
Shingoose's family is expected to be in court Friday for a special hearing, where they will be able to read victim impact statements. Because Shingoose had not been identified at the time of Skibicki's trial, her family did not get to address the court.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2025.
Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press
