Parole board revokes statutory release for man convicted of killing two First Nations women

The man convicted of killing two First Nations women in Winnipeg over a decade ago is back in custody less than a year after he was granted statutory release. The Parole Board of Canada revoked 66-year-old’s Shawn Lamb’s statutory release last week. In the board’s written decision, it noted Lamb breached multiple conditions of his release. It also highlighted issues about his behaviour and conduct, ultimately determining he posed an “undue risk” to society. “There are concerns that you have re-entered your offence cycle,” it states. Originally charged with second-degree murder in the killings of Carolyn Sinclair, 25, Lorna Blacksmith, 18, and Tanya Nepinak, 31, Lamb pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Sinclair and Blacksmith’s deaths. The charge in Nepinak’s death was stayed due to a lack of evidence. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2013, minus two years’ credit for time served. By law, most federal inmates are released on statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Similar to parole, offenders serve the remaining third of their sentence in the community under supervision. Lamb was released on statutory release in November 2025. At the time, the board imposed special conditions on his release, including that he reside at a community-based residential centre, not consume drugs and report relationships. According to the decision, Lamb committed multiple breaches of those conditions, including associating with vulnerable people, particularly vulnerable women who fall “into his victim pool,” and information that he was selling drugs. “Your risk in the community is no longer considered manageable,” the board said. A member of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Ontario, Lamb was placed in a foster home during the Sixties Scoop where he claims he experienced severe abuse. The decision details his long-standing history of substance use and severe drug addiction, as well as his lengthy criminal record, which includes incidents of domestic violence against women and female partners. Lamb said he was high on drugs when he killed Sinclair and Blacksmith. Lamb killed Sinclair in December 2011 with multiple blows to the head with an axe handle while they were using drugs together in his home. He later disposed of her body in a garbage bin. Sinclair was pregnant at the time of her death. Lamb strangled Blacksmith to death in January 2012 in his home following an argument over drugs, disposing of her body behind a garage. The decision describes Lamb, a five-time federal recidivist, as having a “dismal” record of community supervision due to numerous breach-of-trust charges. “You continuously reoffended while on recognizances and probation terms by breaching release conditions,” it states, noting Lamb failed to complete conditional sentence orders in 1997 and 2009. “You reoffended each time,” it says. It also describes how Lamb had prior statutory releases revoked in 1995, 1996 and 2002. Those revocations include violations for failing to abstain from drugs and alcohol, failing to report his whereabouts, incurring new criminal charges and not attending a required treatment program. The decision details how in the months following his most recent statutory release, Lamb volunteered at a hospital, despite not being eligible to do so. He was also observed by police to be lying about his whereabouts and “engaging in hand-to-hand transactions” with multiple people. The decision states he handed a white substance to “unknown people” in small plastic bags and received cash in return. Staff at his residential support home also noted that multiple people stopped by asking for him. Police then issued a warrant for his arrest.  Lamb was found to be in possession of $500 cash upon his arrest. A search of his room found a second cellphone, an empty dime bag, Tylenol 3 pills, receipts for a motel room and storage units, condoms and an envelope with pictures of nude women. Lamb ultimately wasn’t charged as he didn’t have drugs in his possession. The decision states Lamb denied selling drugs, instead claiming he “might have” handed out cigarettes, money and gift cards to the homeless and that they “might have” given him apple cards. Lamb was subsequently reclassified from a minimum to a medium-security offender. “Your actions are not beyond your control, yet you continue to wilfully make poor decisions that place the public at risk,” the decision states. Read more: Indigenous Winnipeg killer Shawn Lamb granted statutory release by Correctional Service of Canada Calls for justice system reform follow release of man who killed two Indigenous women If Lamb is released again, Correctional Service Canada recommends he be subject to special conditions, including a telecommunication restriction, sharing his financial information and additional maintenance programming. Continue Reading