Convicted B.C. killer Shawn Merrick misses parole hearing, board to decide without him

Convicted killer and bank robber Shawn Merrick did not attend his scheduled parole hearing on Wednesday.

The Parole Board of Canada says a decision will now be made without a hearing, and it has up to 15 days to determine whether Merrick will stay behind bars or not.

Merrick is serving a life sentence for the 2006 murder of Shelley Devoe, a 42-year-old mother and grandmother. He shot Devoe, believing she had stolen some cocaine.

Her body was found on Burke Mountain in Coquitlam.

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“She was absolutely gorgeous and beautiful,” Devoe’s daughter Melinda Russell told Global News on Tuesday.

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In 2015, Merrick escaped from the Mission Institution and committed six bank robberies during a six-week manhunt.

Merrick was arrested after being found hiding on the roof of a Langley house. He was subsequently sentenced to 11 additional years in prison.

Devoe’s daughter, Melinda Russell, is deeply concerned that Merrick is now up for parole.

Russell says she has reviewed the reports from Correctional Service Canada and doesn’t believe Merrick has changed.

“I don’t see any significant progress there on the inmate’s part or any significant interventions that might say this fella is better,” Russell said.