WINNIPEG — For years, she was known as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, an Indigenous woman who disappeared from the streets of Winnipeg and was determined to have been the victim of a serial killer.
On Wednesday, Ashlee Christine Shingoose had her name and identity restored.
"We have never stopped in our efforts to identify Buffalo Woman," Cam Mackid, deputy chief of investigations with Winnipeg police, told a news conference.
"For the Shingoose family, my hope is that the news they received yesterday, along with a path forward that we discuss in the coming days and coming weeks, will provide at least a small measure of closure."
Police confirmed 30-year-old Shingoose from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation was one of four women killed by Jeremy Skibicki in 2022.
Mackid said investigators received new information in December during a prison interview with Skibicki. The details established that Shingoose's remains were taken to the Brady landfill in Winnipeg, he said.
They also revealed other information that led investigators to seek further forensic testing. A pair of pants taken either from Skibicki's home or a garbage bin nearby contained Shingoose's DNA, said Mackid.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew promised Shingoose's family that there would be a search of the 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," said Kinew.
"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."
The city-run landfill is the same place where the partial remains of another Skibicki victim were found.
Remains of Rebecca Contois were first discovered in a garbage bin in Skibicki's neighbourhood in May 2022. More of her remains were later found at the Brady landfill.
The remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran were recently discovered at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg.
During Skibicki’s trial last summer, Shingoose had not yet been identified and was referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name given to her by Indigenous grassroots community members.
A ceremonial buffalo headdress sat on the Crown's table during the trial to symbolize that the woman had not been forgotten. It was on display again Wednesday next to a picture of Shingoose.
The trial heard that Skibicki targeted his victims — all First Nations women — at homeless shelters in Winnipeg and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood.
He admitted to the four slayings but argued he was not criminally responsible due to a mental illness. However, a judge found him guilty of first-degree murder and he was sentenced to life in prison.
Police were close to identifying Shingoose at the time.
Investigators released photos of a Baby Phat branded jacket they believed belonged to the unidentified victim. Testing was done on the jacket and a portion of DNA was found on a cuff.
Court also heard DNA found on a cigarette butt in Skibicki's home belonged to Shingoose but was not a match to what was on the jacket.
Mackid said the jacket turned out to be a dead end.
When asked if there could be more victims, Mackid said officers went through historical missing person files, traced Skibicki's life and spoke with many of his acquaintances.
"I would never stand here and tell you I can guarantee you there isn't another victim out there. I can tell you we scrubbed everything that we possibly could, and we didn't find any other ones," he said.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham also pledged support to bring Shingoose home.
"Ashlee Shingoose, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran, Morgan Harris ... these women are not statistics. They're daughters. They're sisters, mothers, aunties and friends. They're members of our community.
"Their lives mattered and the loss continues to be felt deeply within our own city and throughout the entire province and indeed beyond, throughout our nation," he said.
Police initially refused to search the Prairie Green landfill for Harris and Myran over safety concerns. The former Progressive Conservative government also said it wouldn't support the search and touted its decision during the 2023 provincial election campaign.
Kinew, however, promised a search. After his NDP won the election, the province and the federal government put up $20 million each to fund it.
Wayne Ewasko, interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives, apologized in the legislature earlier this month, saying the party had lost its way.
Families of the three other women attended Wednesday's announcement. Myran's grandmother Donna Bartlett said she was happy Buffalo Woman had finally been identified.
"My heart goes out to all the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls," said Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak.
She said Shingoose left her home on the reserve in northeastern Manitoba because of overcrowding. She called for an inquiry into the investigation of the women's deaths.
"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?"
Winnipeg's new police chief, Gene Bowers, said the force's initial decision to forgo a search for Harris and Myran has had a significant impact on the women's families and the larger community.
"We have had time for reflection, almost nearly three years. While we cannot undo the past, we can learn from it," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2025.
— With files from Alessia Passafiume in Ottawa
Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press
