Opinion poll of alleged Winnipeg serial killer sparks questions
CBC
A poll that seeks public opinion of a Winnipeg man accused of killing four Indigenous women has raised questions about why it's being conducted and whether the findings will be useful.
The online survey, conducted by national polling firm Mainstreet Research, examines public attitudes toward Jeremy Skibicki, 36, who is scheduled to face a jury trial this spring after pleading not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder in November.
Skibicki is charged in the 2022 deaths of three First Nations women — Marcedes Myran, 26, Morgan Harris, 39, and Rebecca Contois, 24 — and a fourth, unidentified woman, who has been given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by the Indigenous community.
Respondents of the survey are first asked if they're a Manitoba resident, at least 18-years-old, and if they work in the justice system, before being asked questions such as whether they recognize Skibicki's name and if they've formed an opinion about his guilt.
Quito Maggi, president of Mainstreet Research, confirmed to CBC News on Tuesday that the poll was commissioned by Legal Aid Manitoba, which is where Skibicki's lawyers work.
Maggi would not share how much Legal Aid Manitoba paid for the poll or whether the final results would be made public, but said Mainstreet has conducted similar polls more than once in the past.
Nearly 90 per cent of Legal Aid Manitoba's 2023 operational funding came from the province.
Peter Kingsley, Legal Aid Manitoba's executive director, declined to comment.
The poll goes on to present three criminal defences: not criminally responsible due to a mental disorder, problematic DNA evidence, and self-defence. It asks respondents about their general view of each defence and how acceptable they would find a not-guilty verdict for Skibicki based on them.
Anthony Robinson, a Vancouver-based criminal defence lawyer, says those questions could suggest the defence's path forward, after Skibicki was denied a judge-alone trial in late January.
"Are they feeling out the waters with respect to a substantive defence? Or are they trying to renew their application to re-elect the judge-alone [trial] because they feel that Mr. Skibicki would not get a fair trial in the presence of a jury?" Robinson said.
"I don't think the defence is obligated to tell anybody."
He's never seen this type of survey used in Canada before but says that doesn't mean they don't exist, adding mock juries are sometimes conducted in the United States to explore which defences might have a greater impact on jurors.
Robinson said Legal Aid Manitoba may be putting money into Skibicki's case since it is "highly unusual" and the serious allegations against him mean the stakes are high.
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