Accused serial killer speaks in interview

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Shawn Lamb (CBC)

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Police and sniffer dogs search the back lane of Simcoe Street near Notre Dame Avenue for evidence. (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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Lamb's alleged victims Tanya Jane Nepinak (from left), Carolyn Marie Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith.

Accused serial killer Shawn Lamb says he knows what triggered a massive Winnipeg police sweep of downtown and West End yards, buildings and Dumpsters.

"I imagine they're out there looking for one thing. They're looking for bodies," Lamb told the Free Press Thursday in an exclusive 20-minute telephone interview from the remand centre. "They have a list with so many names on it."

But Lamb -- who was charged this week with killing three young Winnipeg women in the past nine months -- 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. "The police are going to say what they're going to say."

Lamb, 52, was arrested last Thursday on a sex-assault charge against a 36-year-old woman. He spent more than 48 hours in custody, going through a grilling marathon interrogation with homicide investigators, before the three charges of second-degree murder were laid.

"The main thing for me is the victims. There are many people who are suffering out there," Lamb told the Free Press. He said police likely also want to show "their goodwill" to the community by making such a public display of their search.

Police discovered the body of one of Lamb's alleged victims, Lorna Blacksmith, 18, in a yard on Simcoe Street last Thursday. She was allegedly killed in January. Lamb has also been charged with the December 2011 killing of 25-year-old Carolyn Sinclair, whose body was discovered in March.

The third victim, Tanya Nepinak, was reportedly killed last September. Her remains haven't been found.

Lamb said police also confronted him with the names of dozens of other young Manitoba women who have been killed or have gone missing.

There are also ongoing investigations in other provinces to determine whether Lamb, a drifter, could be connected to any cold cases.

"I hope everyone who's responsible will be caught," said Lamb. He was asked to clarify if that meant there are many killers still walking the streets.

"Exactly," he replied. "It's a sad thing for the victims and their loved ones. There are so many questions."

Lamb was specifically asked if he plans to fight the allegations he killed Blacksmith, Sinclair and Nepinak. He refused to give a direct answer.

"I'm definitely going to fight to make sure this is done properly," said Lamb. He said that means his "charter rights" must be upheld, but he offered no further details.

Lamb said he was speaking to the Free Press without the consent of his defence lawyer, Evan Roitenberg. He decried the conditions at the remand centre, where he is confined to a maximum-security segregated cell 23½ hours per day.

"I know I'm not getting out of here any time soon," said Lamb. "I don't have a radio, I'm last on the list to get a newspaper. I get out for half an hour a day to shower and use the phone, that's it."

His conversation with the Free Press had to be cut short because his daily allotment of time outside the segregated cell was about to expire.

Still, Lamb expressed concern about some of the limited news coverage he's been able to catch, wondering why media outlets are focusing so much on his tragic background.

As reported earlier this week, Lamb has 99 prior convictions dating back to 1976 in four provinces and 11 cities. They include multiple acts of violence, meaning he has spent much of his adult years in and out of custody. His most serious sentence was four years for a sexual assault in Peace River, Alta., in 1992.

The Free Press has also published excerpts of Lamb's various writings, parole reports and court-ordered assessments into his background.

They paint a picture of a highly intelligent man with bipolar disorder who harbours anger over neglect and abuse he says he experienced at the hands of several important women in his life.

Lamb also expressed interest in writing a self-help book and working with at-risk youth to steer them toward a better life. He admits to struggling with drug and alcohol abuse.

Lamb was seized from his now-deceased biological mother's care at the age of two as part of the Sixties Scoop, taken from his First Nations community and raised by a white family in Ontario. He claims his foster mother, who is no longer alive, sexually and physically abused him while also introducing him to alcohol when he was nine.

He makes similar claims against his estranged stepsister, saying she molested him as a young child.

Lamb told the Free Press Thursday he was recently able to visit the grave of his birth mother for the first time during a visit to Ontario last month.

"I found the closure I was looking for," he said.

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