WINNIPEG — Ashlee Christine Shingoose had her name and identity restored on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, three years after she disappeared and died anonymously at the hands of a serial killer. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew also promised her family there would be a search of a Winnipeg landfill for her remains. "I cannot promise you that we will bring her home, but I can promise you that we are going to try," Kinew told a news conference.
Police confirmed that the 30-year-old Shingoose, from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation, was the fourth victim of Jeremy Skibicki in 2022 and that her remains are believed to be at the Brady landfill. It’s the same landfill where the partial remains of another victim of Skibicki were found. The remains of two other women, Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran, were recently discovered at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.
"Please start the search as soon as possible," Shingoose’s mother, Theresa Shingoose, said in a statement read by St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation Chief Raymond Flett. "I need to bring her home." During Skibicki’s trial last summer, Ashlee Shingoose had not been identified and was referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given to her by an Indigenous grassroots group.
Court hearings revealed that Skibicki targeted his victims — all Indigenous women — at homeless shelters in Winnipeg before disposing of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighborhood. He admitted to the four slayings but argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental illness. A judge ultimately convicted him of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison.
Deputy Police Chief Cam Mackid stated that investigators received new information in December 2024 during a prison interview with Skibicki that established Shingoose’s remains were taken to the Brady landfill. This information also prompted further forensic testing to confirm her identity.
Police had previously found the remains of Rebecca Contois in a garbage bin and at the Brady landfill in May 2022. Meanwhile, the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were recovered from the Prairie Green site earlier this year, 2025.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak expressed her condolences to Shingoose’s family and highlighted the broader tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. "My heart goes out to all the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls," she said, noting that Shingoose left her home on the reserve in northeastern Manitoba due to overcrowding.
Nepinak called for an inquiry into the investigation of the women's deaths, questioning why the police service did not assist these families sooner. "Why didn’t the police service help these families right off the bat, and why didn’t the previous provincial government want to help these families right off the bat?" she asked.
Initially, police had refused to search the Prairie Green landfill for Harris and Myran due to safety concerns. The former Progressive Conservative government also opted not to support the search, a decision they touted during the 2023 provincial election campaign. However, after Kinew's New Democratic Party (NDP) won the election, both the province and the federal government pledged $20 million each to fund the search for the victims.
Wayne Ewasko, interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, recently apologized in the legislature, acknowledging that the party had "lost its way" regarding its treatment of these cases.
The identification of Ashlee Shingoose marks a significant moment in the ongoing struggle for justice and recognition for Indigenous women in Canada. The community's grief is palpable, and the calls for accountability in the investigations surrounding the deaths of these women continue to grow louder.
As police prepare to initiate a search of the Brady landfill for Shingoose's remains, her family and community are left grappling with the pain of her loss while also advocating for systemic changes to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 26, 2025.
