Red dresses, hung in honour of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit individuals, line fences at Brady Road Resource Management Facility, where the body of Linda Mary Beardy was discovered, in Winnipeg, on April 4.SHANNON VANRAES/Reuters
A First Nations woman whose body was discovered at a Winnipeg landfill this week was not a victim of a homicide, police said at a press conference Thursday.
The body of Linda Mary Beardy, 33, from Lake St. Martin First Nation, was discovered by staff at the city’s Brady Road landfill Monday afternoon. Police initially described her death as “suspicious.”
Partial remains of another Indigenous woman were found at that same landfill less than a year ago. She is believed to be the victim of an alleged serial killer in a case involving the deaths of two First Nations women whose bodies are believed to be at a different landfill north of the city, and a fourth victim, also believed to be Indigenous but whose identify and whereabouts aren’t known.
Chief Danny Smyth told a news conference that security footage shows Ms. Beardy entered and exited a store on Pembina Highway Monday morning. Then, around 11:14 a.m., she climbed into a nearby dumpster alone. He said there were no obvious signs of foul play.
The footage shows the bin was not closed and there was some movement after Ms. Beardy climbed inside, but “after a period of time, that stops,” Chief Smyth said, noting it was not a clear vantage.
Shortly after 2 p.m., a commercial truck was seen picking up the bin and emptying its contents into the tailgate before proceeding to Brady landfill. Her body was discovered shortly afterward.
Winnipeg should permanently close landfill where women were found, First Nations leader says
Chief Smyth said an autopsy concluded the woman’s injuries “were consistent with that of a truck handling the bin.” He could not say whether she was alive prior to the bin being dumped into the truck.
“I don’t know why Linda chose to attend that bin,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll learn a little bit more about that as time goes on. But we’re satisfied that this is not a homicide.”
Chief Smyth said police are still looking into what happened in the days and hours before Ms. Beardy’s death, as investigators await more information from the medical examiner.
The family of Ms. Beardy, who had four children, have described her as a devoted mother and fierce supporter of her loved ones. Lake St. Martin First Nation Chief Christopher Traverse said she was displaced more than a decade ago after flooding devastated the First Nation and never returned from Winnipeg.
“Had our people had the chance to return home to our traditional lands, Linda Beardy may still be here today, however she’s returning home in a casket,” Mr. Traverse said during a Thursday afternoon press conference outside of the landfill.
“Normalizing having their bodies found in dumpsters is disgraceful. We need to hold authorities accountable in addressing crimes [and] protecting Indigenous women, girls and men.”
He said the community is traumatized by her death and is calling for the closing of Brady landfill to be made into a memorial site.
The discovery of Ms. Beardy’s body was made as the community awaits a feasibility study of the search of a different landfill, Prairie Green, for the remains of Morgan Harris, 39, and Marcedes Myran, 24, both members of Long Plain First Nation.
Police withheld the potential location of their bodies for six months and, last December, said it was too late to recover their remains as it would be dangerous because of contaminants at the site, including asbestos. The decision sparked outrage from the victims’ families and Indigenous leaders in Manitoba.
The study is expected to be completed in the next four to six weeks.
Jeremy Skibicki, 35, is facing first-degree murder charges in four deaths, including Ms. Harris, Ms. Myran and an unidentified woman. First Nations elders have named her Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. Her remains have not been located.
He was first charged last May after the partial remains of Rebecca Contois, 24, a member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation, were discovered in a garbage bin outside a Winnipeg apartment building and then at Brady landfill.
With a report from The Canadian Press