A former Vernon, B.C., pharmacist who killed his partner after accusing her of stealing narcotics from his safe will be on day parole just a year after starting his prison sentence.
Shaun Wiebe, 46, was sentenced to three years and five months of prison in June 2023 for the 2018 manslaughter death of Heather Barker. Earlier this month the Parole Board of Canada granted him partial release for a six-month period, while denying full parole.
Conditions relating to his newly-regained freedoms include having to live in a community-based residential facility on Vancouver Island as well as sobriety, abstinence from steroids and family violence treatment.
Otherwise, he will be largely free to try to start his life again, regain his career, or find a new one. He’s indicated electrician work would hold some appeal.
“After weighing the aggravating and mitigating factors …the board is very mindful of the nature of (his) index offence and the harm caused, as well as (his) history of intimate partner violence, the board finds he has made sufficient progress to move to the community under a highly structured and closely monitored day parole release,” reads the decision.
The board also found that day parole is the least restrictive determination consistent with the protection of society. It’s a significant shift for the man who the parole board said still needs structure and support and has a history of domestic abuse.
The nature of Wiebe’s final act of abuse against Barker was highlighted during his 2023 sentencing. Said to be on steroids and other injectables, Wiebe knocked Barker the ground on March 15, 2018, for allegedly stealing narcotics from his pharmacy’s safe.
He said the last thing he remembered was Barker saying “Stop it, you’re going to end up killing me.”
Her words turned out to be prophetic.
As she lay on the ground, beaten, he called a family member and told them Barker had been breathing “weird” before stopping altogether.
He called 911 and was instructed to perform CPR, which he did, then Barker was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
She was in a coma and died the following day when life support was removed. She had numerous injuries, including bruising, broken ribs and brain injuries.
During a “Mr. Big” operation, the parole board said Wiebe told the undercover officer that he had grabbed the victim by her hair, thrown her to the ground, jumped on her, and repeatedly struck her head on the floor.
These days he doesn’t entirely agree with the official version of the offence and claims Barker wouldn’t let her handbag you let it go and she fell backwards and hit her head.
He’s also claimed that on the night of the offence, Barker sent him a text message stating she had hit her head on the tub.
That said, he ultimately acknowledged his involvement in the offence and accepted his sentence.
The report by the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability found that the number of killings of women and girls in Canada was up 27 per cent in 2022 compared with before the pandemic in 2019.
The report, which looks at the number of killings of women and girls from 2018 to 2022, showed that more than 850 women and girls had lost their lives. In 83 per cent of cases, the accused killer was male.
For those experiencing violence, there is free, confidential support provided by Archway Society for Domestic Peace, formerly the Vernon Women’s Transition Society.
For anyone seeking information, support, or resources, please contact http://www.archwaysociety.ca or call 250-558-3850.