A man formerly of southwest Saskatchewan has entered a guilty plea five years after Vernon, B.C. resident Heather Barker was found unresponsive inside her home. 

Shaun Ross Wiebe pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Supreme Court in Vernon on May 1. 

Barker was admitted to the hospital in the early hours of March 15, 2018, before succumbing to her injuries. 

Three years later, after extensive investigation, the 45-year-old was charged with manslaughter and assault causing bodily harm. 

The man from the southwest was released on bail in April of 2021. On Monday, he appeared in court via video call to submit his plea. 

The assault causing bodily harm charge predated Barker's death. Court documents indicate he assaulted Barker and caused her bodily harm the month before her death. 

Initially from the Herbert area, Wiebe moved to British Columbia to pursue his career as a pharmacist and at one point owned and operated his own pharmacy in Vernon. He graduated from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Saskatchewan in 2002. 

A December 2019 statement from the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia shows that the college ordered a suspension Wiebe’s registration with the organization due to an unspecified substance addiction and as a result was temporarily barred from working as a pharmacist. 

Wiebe is currently not in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced in June.