A parole hearing for a man who killed his spouse and buried her body in the basement of the family’s home was held at the Bowden Institution on Tuesday.

Allan Shyback, 42, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the death of his common-law spouse Lisa Mitchell.

Mitchell was last seen alive in 2012 at her Ogden area home and her body was discovered two years later in a plastic tub cemented into the wall in the basement.

During his trial, Shyback said that he was a victim of domestic abuse and strangled Mitchell in self-defence.

He admitted to disposing of Mitchell’s body by incasing it in the wall.

The judge in the case rejected his claim of self-defence and he was convicted in May of 2017 on the lesser charge of manslaughter and causing an indignity to a human body.

Shyback was originally sentenced to seven years but the sentence was increased to 10 years by the Alberta Court of Appeal.

His first parole hearing took place in Bowden on Tuesday to assess any risks he may pose to the community if he is released.

The board said it’s not about ‘being a good inmate anymore, it’s about being a good neighbour’ and that it would carefully weigh the negative aspects of Shyback’s life and look at ‘measurable and observable changes’ in making its decision.

Shyback said he caused a lot of pain to a lot of people including his own two children and that he will need to work on relationship issues through counselling.

He said he needs the structured support of day parole to help him slowly reintegrate back into the community.

“I have no excuses, nothing can justify what I did,” he said. “I regret the loss of her life.”

Shyback was granted day parole and will be moved to a half-way house in Red Deer when space is available.

His release comes with a number of conditions including;

  • Abstaining from alcohol
  • No direct/indirect contact with victim’s family
  • Report any relationships to the case management team
  • Attend counselling with a psychologist to deal with grief and relationship counselling

Shyback has been in custody since 2014.