A Vernon, B.C., man who pleaded guilty to the 2018 killing of his former girlfriend is expected to be sentenced Friday.
Shaun Ross Wiebe, 45, was scheduled for sentencing in the manslaughter death of Heather Barker Monday but the matter was put back four days, when a full day of sentencing arguments will be heard by a B.C. Supreme Court justice.
Wiebe was charged in 2021 and there’s been little information about what occurred that day in March 2018. His sentencing should cast some light on what happened.
To date, what’s known is that Barker, 37, was found unresponsive inside her Cordon Place home, in the Rise neighbourhood of Vernon, in March of 2018. The mother of three was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital, where she died.
In 2018, a construction worker, at a site across the street from Barker’s home, told Global News he witnessed something unusual days before her death when a woman came out on the deck.
“I heard some yelling. It kind of sounded like she said, ‘Help me,’ and then the guy came out,” Jacob Sparling said in 2018. “Then, I was told, she was brought back inside.”
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When Wiebe was arrested for manslaughter, he was also facing a second allegation that predated the killing. Court documents indicated he assaulted Barker and caused her bodily harm the month before her death.
The violence that Barker was subjected to has become an increasingly common occurrence the Archway Society for Domestic Peace explained.
“Our hearts go out to Heather’s children, her family and her friends. Since Heather’s murder in 2018 the wheels of justice have turned slowly. This often impacts the healing journey for people who were close to the victim,” the organization said in a press release.
“We know that a guilty plea and sentence will not bring Heather back and there can be mixed feelings about pleas and sentencing. It is a heartbreaking loss for our community and is difficult for everyone involved. Heather is yet another woman lost to femicide, which is defined as the killing of a female simply because they are female.”
A new report on femicide in Canada shows a dramatic increase in the killing of women and girls from before the pandemic, with one dying every two days.
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, mainly at the hands of men during this time, equalling one every two days.
In 83 per cent of cases, the accused killer was male.
Online records show Wiebe also had his registration with the College of Pharmacists of B.C. suspended in December 2019, just over a year and a half after Barker’s death.
The college said at the time that Wiebe was being suspended until an investigation could be completed because there was initial evidence that Wiebe suffered from a substance addiction that made him unfit to practise.
For those experiencing violence, there is free, confidential support provided by Archway Society for Domestic Peace, formerly the Vernon Women’s Transition Society.
This includes emergency safe shelter, counselling programs, support through the justice system and assistance with housing options for when a woman chooses to leave her partner.
For anyone seeking information, support or resources, please contact http://www.archwaysociety.ca or call 250-558-3850.
Those in crisis, who need immediate support, can call their 24-7 number at 250-542-1122.