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I have info on 5 cases: Lamb

Accused serial killer says police ignoring his offer to solve cases

By: Mike McIntyre

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 at 10:44 AM

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Shawn Lamb (CBC)

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Carolyn Marie Sinclair (HANDOUT / POSTMEDIA)

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Tanya Nepinak's body has not been found. (HANDOUT / FACEBOOK)

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Lorna Blacksmith (POSTMEDIA)

Accused Winnipeg serial killer Shawn Lamb is claiming to have specific information that could help police solve at least five more cases of missing and slain women.

Lamb, 52, was arrested last summer and charged with three counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of Lorna Blacksmith, 18, Tanya Nepinak, 31, and Carolyn Sinclair, 25. He remains in custody without bail. He has not entered a plea.

None of the allegations has been proven and he is presumed innocent.

Lamb recently gave a series of interviews and statements to both Winnipeg police and a Free Press reporter, which form part of the ongoing, cross-Canada investigation.

He has also expressed growing frustration that homicide investigators and a joint task force involving the RCMP, dubbed Project Devote, haven't acted on his claims quickly.

Lamb said he is willing to co-operate and police are denying closure and justice for several grieving families.

"Homicide doesn't seem interested in finding some more bodies," he said.

Threatens to call families

On Monday, Lamb threatened to go public to local aboriginal leaders and even begin calling families personally from the remand centre if immediate action wasn't taken.

"I'm sure the cops don't want that to happen," Lamb said.

"I told them I want to clear this up, for myself and to give closure to these people. Today would be ideal."

Police and justice officials declined to comment Monday, citing the sensitive nature of the probe.

But several sources say there remains much work to be done to verify much of the detailed information that's come their way.

On Monday, for the first time, Lamb provided the Free Press with the first names of five women he claims are also homicide victims.

Lamb said he has shared similar information with police.

"This will kind of ignite things," a justice source said Monday.

However, officials are proceeding cautiously because there is also concern that Lamb -- an intelligent man who admits to enjoying the public spotlight -- may be trying to take advantage of the high-profile case.

Lamb has repeatedly told a reporter he believes homicide investigators have "serious tunnel vision" as it pertains to some of the cases of missing and slain women.

"They're not interested in veering off the path they think... even if it means closure," he said earlier this month.

Dismissed lawyer, plans to represent self

Lamb has also dismissed his lawyer, Evan Roitenberg, and is planning to represent himself.

Lamb and Roitenberg have repeatedly clashed in recent months because of Lamb's continued desire to speak to a reporter.

Last month, he invited the reporter to sit down with him at the remand centre. The interview was abruptly cut short when another member of Roitenberg's office showed up at the jail and ordered Lamb to stop talking.

Lamb first spoke to a reporter days after his arrest last summer and denied suggestions he could be linked to any other unsolved homicides in Winnipeg or across Canada.

"I've given them voluntary DNA, not to include myself but to exclude myself," he said at the time. "The police are going to say what they're going to say."

Police discovered the body of Lorna Blacksmith in a yard on Simcoe Street last June. She was allegedly killed in January 2012. Lamb has also been charged with the December 2011 killing of Carolyn Sinclair, whose body was discovered in March 2012.

The third victim, Tanya Nepinak, was reportedly killed in September 2011. Her remains haven't been found, despite a search of the Brady Road Landfill, where investigators believe her body is located.

These developments in the case come days after police shut down a national tip line into the ongoing investigation of Lamb and any possible connection to 28 other cases of missing and slain Manitobans.

Investigators decided the tip line had run its course.

In the absence of the hotline, the public is asked to call Crime Stoppers (204-786-8477) or the homicide unit (204-986-6508) with information.

www.mikeoncrime.com