Morgan Beatrice Harris was a woman with the soul of a fighter, a loving mother and grandmother whose life was marked by both fierce resilience and immense challenges. A 39-year-old member of the Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba, her family remembers her as happy-go-lucky, funny, and a woman who fought for what she cared about, undeterred by the opinions of others. Her daughter Cambria described her as "feisty," with a spirit like a UFC fighter, whose opinion mattered deeply.
Another daughter, Elle, cherished memories of her mother teaching her to play cards, doing crossword puzzles together, and nurturing her love for reading. Morgan would often sing the Savage Garden song "Truly Madly Deeply" to her children, a testament to her love for them.
Despite this love for her family, Morgan's life was not easy. She faced the intergenerational trauma that has affected so many Indigenous people and struggled with addiction and homelessness in Winnipeg. These vulnerabilities were cruelly exploited in the spring of 2022. Around May 1, Morgan encountered Jeremy Anthony Micheal Skibicki, a man who preyed on vulnerable Indigenous women at homeless shelters. He lured her to his apartment, where he murdered her by strangulation and drowning. Morgan was one of four women Skibicki killed between March and May 2022, a series of brutal acts that sent shockwaves through the community.
The investigation into the disappearances of several women led Winnipeg police to Skibicki. After the partial remains of another victim, Rebecca Contois, were discovered in a local landfill in May 2022, the investigation intensified. On December 1, 2022, police announced they had charged Skibicki with first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan, Marcedes Myran, and an unidentified woman community elders named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, in addition to the previous charge for Contois's murder. Police revealed the devastating news that they believed Morgan's and Marcedes's remains had been disposed of in the privately-run Prairie Green Landfill, north of Winnipeg.
Initially, authorities deemed a search of the vast landfill unfeasible, a decision that sparked outrage and profound grief among the families and the wider Indigenous community. Refusing to accept that their mother would be left in a garbage dump, Morgan's daughters, particularly Cambria and Kera, channeled their pain into powerful advocacy. They became relentless voices for justice, demanding a search and highlighting the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). "We are not meant to be forgotten. We are sacred," Kera declared in a powerful address to the Assembly of First Nations. Their fight garnered national attention, leading to protests and the establishment of "Camp Morgan" at another landfill to maintain pressure on officials.
The family's unwavering determination eventually yielded results. After a change in the provincial government, a humanitarian search of the Prairie Green Landfill was approved. The painstaking effort began, and in February 2025, searchers discovered human remains. On March 7, 2025, the Manitoba government confirmed that the remains of Morgan Beatrice Harris had been identified. "We found my mother," Cambria posted online. "She's coming home just like we said from the very beginning…we fought with our hearts and now her spirit can rest."
In July 2024, Jeremy Skibicki was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Morgan Harris, Rebecca Contois, Marcedes Myran, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe. He received four concurrent life sentences with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The trial brought to light his violent, misogynistic, and white supremacist ideologies.
While the legal chapter has closed, the fight for Morgan's family and community continues. Her daughters have transformed their personal tragedy into a public call for action, ensuring their mother is remembered not for how she died, but for the love she gave and the powerful movement for justice she inspired. Their advocacy has led to tangible change and a renewed focus on protecting vulnerable women, turning their profound grief into a lasting legacy of action and hope.
