It will be a few more days before a former Vernon pharmacist finds out his fate for pleading guilty to manslaughter.
Shaun Ross Wiebe was to have been sentenced in Supreme Court in Vernon Monday morning, June 5, in connection with the March 15, 2018 death of Heather Barker, 37.
However, an agent acting on behalf of Wiebe’s lawyer asked for sentencing to be put over until Friday, June 9, with no objection from Crown counsel or Justice Alison Beames.
Wiebe’s matter will begin at 10 a.m. Friday and a full day has been scheduled for sentencing.
He entered a guilty plea on May 1.
Barker, a former Langley resident and mother of three, was found unresponsive in a home at The Rise. She was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital where she died of her injuries.
Wiebe was arrested in January 2021 and later released on bail.
He formerly operated Wiebe’s Pharmacy in Vernon’s Discovery Plaza, but in December 2019, the Inquiry Committee of the College of Pharmacists suspended his licence due to his substance abuse issues.
Ahead of Wiebe’s sentencing, Vernon’s Archway Society for Domestic Peace issued a news release commenting on the case, while referring to a new report on femicide in Canada that shows a “dramatic increase” in the killing of women and girls since before the pandemic.
“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. 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.”
READ MORE: Vernon group highlights rising femicide ahead of local manslaughter sentencing
READ MORE: Guilty plea on manslaughter charge entered by former Vernon pharmacist
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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