A Canadian man serving a life sentence for the sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl has been granted 60 days of unescorted leave from prison, despite being denied parole last year.
Shane Ertmoed was due to leave prison on September 2 to work with a Red Seal chef as part of what was described as personal development for rehabilitative purposes. The start date has since been postponed for an unclear reason.
Ertmoed was convicted in 2002 over the killing of Heather Thomas, who disappeared while riding her bicycle outside her father’s townhouse complex in Cloverdale, British Columbia, on October 1, 2000.
Her body was found three weeks later in a hockey bag recovered from Alouette Lake. Ertmoed, then a 24-year-old construction worker from Surrey, had lured her into his flat on the pretence of looking at bird pictures before killing her when she resisted a sexual assault.
At the time of the verdict, Justice Wally Oppal described the crime as “the most horrific crime known in law”. He told Ertmoed: “You murdered a ten-year-old simply to satisfy your sexual desires… You are 220 pounds and she weighed 70 pounds.”
Restrictions imposed on unescorted leave
The Parole Board approved the temporary absence after concluding that Ertmoed “will not pose an undue risk” of reoffending. His case management team had opposed the application.
The decision came only a year after parole was refused because he was considered to remain a risk of serious harm to the community.
He will live in a community residential facility under 24-hour supervision while continuing counselling and other rehabilitation programmes. He is expected to work four-and-a-half-hour days, five days a week, with a chef holding the Canadian Red Seal qualification.
The conditions include having no contact with Heather’s family or friends and staying away from more than 30 municipalities in British Columbia, as well as several other provinces.
Ertmoed is also prohibited from possessing or accessing sexually explicit material, and may not spend time with girls under 18 unless supervised. He cannot have a personal internet-capable device without prior approval and must report any relationship with a woman to his supervisor.
The board acknowledged the severity of the crimes but said Ertmoed had made progress in treatment and self-betterment. He has also begun taking medication intended to reduce sexual arousal, after previously declining the treatment.
Family opposed to prison leave
Heather’s family opposed the temporary absence, as they have at every parole hearing, saying they feared Ertmoed could reoffend and harm another child. A summary of their evidence said they believed he should remain in prison until he died.
Heather’s mother, Jody Aspin, told a 2025 parole hearing: “I know everything and re-live it in my head daily… Just imagine for one moment before you make any decisions, what if this had been your child?”
She said Ertmoed had continued to victimise her family and that each new request for a privilege left her “paralyzed with fear”. In a victim impact statement, she said she relived her daughter’s death and cried daily at home, at work, in shops and in her car.
During the hearing, Ertmoed said his sexual attractions had begun when he was 13. He also acknowledged that he had been arrested at 19 after sexually assaulting a sleeping seven-year-old girl he was babysitting with his girlfriend, although the charges did not proceed.
He said one of his biggest regrets was failing to continue counselling after that incident. Asked about Heather’s murder, he said he had not planned to kill her but “decided to murder her” when she fought back.
The board refused his parole application in 2025, finding that he still lacked understanding of the factors behind his crimes and had been “less than vividly honest”. Ertmoed apologised at the hearing, saying: “I never want to put anybody else through this process ever again. I just don’t want to hurt anybody else again.”
He had previously been granted escorted absences in 2021 to volunteer with a non-profit organisation cleaning parks and trails.
