Shingabis pleads guilty

 
WARNING: Graphic content

A Thunder Bay man pleaded guilty Friday to murdering his common-law girlfriend and having intercourse with the body.

Michael Shingabis, 31, pleaded guilty in Superior Court Friday morning to second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body. The charges were laid after the death of 37-year-old Sybil Stoney in January 2009.

Thunder Bay Police Service officers responded to a call asking them to investigate 126 Bethune St. on Jan.22, 2009 by Stoney’s mother, Elsie. Stoney’s mother had called police after she had not heard from her daughter for several weeks.

Elsie Stoney went to the south-side apartment herself earlier that afternoon to speak with her daughter but Shingabis had not allowed her in to the apartment. Shingabis told Elsie that Stoney was not in.

When police arrived with Elsie Stoney, a landlord let them in after several knocks on the door went unanswered. Police discovered Stoney under a pile of clothes in a state of decomposition.

The courtroom heard that officers noted a window in the residence had fresh tracks in the snow leading away from the apartment. After being sought as a person of interest, Shingabis called 911 from the ATAC building at Lakehead University the following morning.

When police arrested him, Shingabis gave them what appeared to be a confession.

"I did something very bad," Shingabis told officers during his arrest, although police cautioned him that because of his rights he could remain silent.

But the court heard that when officers asked if he had anything to say, Shingabis told police "I did something very bad, I killed my girlfriend. I punched her in the face, I put a pillow over her face."

Following the confession, Shingabis began to cry and went silent.

The court heard that earlier in January of 2009, Shingabis and Stoney had argued. He began punching her in the head even though she told him to stop. Stoney did not fight back. Shingabis then put a pillow over Stoney’s face for more than 10 minutes like he remembered seeing someone do on a television program.

For the next eight days Shingabis continued sleeping with Stoney’s body, saying he would never leave her.

Shingabis later performed sexual intercourse with the remains after visiting a website about the practice, the court heard.

Shingabis had been convicted of assault against Stoney twice previously in 2007, once causing bodily harm.

He will appear in court for a sentencing hearing on Mar.22.