Expert to testify in Winnipeg trial about mental state of admitted serial killer

An admitted serial killer's mental state is expected to be the focus of a murder trial that resumes in Winnipeg.

An admitted serial killer's mental state is expected to be the focus of a murder trial that resumes in Winnipeg.

Jeremy Skibicki, who is 37, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of four Indigenous women in Winnipeg in 2022.

Crown prosecutors have said the killings were racially motivated and Skibicki preyed on the vulnerable victims at homeless shelters.

Skibicki's lawyers admit he killed the women but argue he should be found not criminally responsible due to mental illness.

They are expected to start calling evidence, including their own expert, about Skibicki's state of mind at the time of the slayings.

Manitoba Court of King's Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal also ordered Skibicki undergo a mental health assessment last month with a Crown-appointed expert.

The trial has so far heard that Skibicki assaulted his victims, strangled or drowned them and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood. Two were dismembered.