Vernon killer sent back to halfway house after drinking on release

Shaun Ross Wiebe, a former Vernon pharmacist, has been ordered to return to a halfway house after violating his statutory release conditions by drinking alcohol. The Parole Board of Canada revoked his day parole in November 2025 after learning he was consuming large amounts of alcohol daily.

Wiebe is serving a sentence of a little more than three years and five months for the manslaughter of his common law partner, Heather Barker, in The Rise neighbourhood in Vernon. He killed Barker in March 2018 after accusing her of taking narcotics from his pharmacy safe.

“The board has been satisfied, given your actions while in the community to drink alcohol and spend time with a female in your residence, that your risk in the community did become unmanageable and that your actions were within your own control.”

According to the board's decision, Wiebe grabbed Barker by the hair and repeatedly smashed her head against the floor during a rage. The attack put her in a coma, and she later died in hospital.

The board noted that Wiebe had attacked Barker on other occasions before the fatal assault. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter after her death.

Wiebe was first granted day parole in June 2024, only one year after receiving his sentence. The board expressed concern that he quickly entered a relationship with a woman and suggested he could live with her upon release.

The board stated that Wiebe's ongoing inability to maintain sobriety puts another female at risk due to his tendency for domestic violence and attacks linked to stress and alcohol abuse. Officials concluded that his risk in the community had become unmanageable and that his actions were within his own control.