Canadian serial killer's victims found in landfill
The remains of two indigenous women murdered by a serial killer have been found after a search of a landfill in the Canadian province of Manitoba, police say.
The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were recovered at the Prairie Green Landfill, north of the city of Winnipeg, said officials. Authorities had been searching for the bodies of Ms Harris and Ms Myran, both of Long Plain First Nation.
The two victims were among four indigenous women killed in 2022 by convicted murderer Jeremy Skibicki.
The search of the Prairie Green Landfill began late last year following a lengthy pressure campaign by indigenous leaders.
Ms Myran's remains were officially identified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Manitoba on Monday, while the remains of Ms Harris were identified earlier this month.
In a news release, the Manitoba government said Ms Myran's family has been notified of the discovery and has asked for privacy.
Cambria Harris, Morgan Harris's daughter, said in a Facebook post earlier this month that the discovery of her mother's remains was a "very bittersweet moment".
"Please keep our families in your hearts tonight and every day going forward as we trust this process," she said.
Police and province initially declined to search the landfill for the remains of the women, and a federal government study concluded that a search could take three years and cost up to C$184m (£100m; $128m), with workers exposed to hazardous chemicals.
Following pressure from the families and a change in government, Manitoba's new premier, Wab Kinew, eventually pledged C$20m for the search. The funds were matched by the federal government.
The search officially began in December. In late February, search crews recovered human remains, later identified as that of Ms Harris and Ms Myran.
The Manitoba Progressive Conservatives, who had rejected a landfill search when they formed government, issued a formal apology in the legislature to the families this month.
"Our government erred. It's as simple as that," said interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko.
Premier Kinew has said that "many Canadians always understood that this was the right thing to do to search the landfill".
"But now, we can also say with confidence, that this was also the realistic and reasonable thing to do," he added.
Skibicki was convicted last July of the murders of Ms Harris,39, and Ms Myran,26, as well as of killing a third woman, Rebecca Contois, 24, of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation. A fourth victim is still unidentified, and has been given the name Buffalo Woman.
Their murders went undetected for months until a man looking for scrap metal in a bin outside Skibicki's apartment found partial human remains, identified as belonging to Ms Contois.
Canada has long faced a crisis of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, indigenous women make up 10% of the population of missing women in Canada and 16% of female homicides. Indigenous women make up about 4% of the female population in Canada.
Source: BBC
