Convicted B.C. killer Kelly Ellard has 2nd child; day parole further extended

Convicted island killer gets day parole extended Kelly Ellard, an island woman convicted of killing a classmate when she was a teen in 1997, has had her day parole privileges extended.

Vancouver — The woman convicted in the brutal killing of a Victoria teenager in 1997 has been "making continued progress" in the eyes of the Parole Board of Canada, which has extended her day parole for another six months.

Kelly Ellard, who has changed her name to Kerry Marie Sim, is currently serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of Reena Virk in 1997.

Sim was first granted day parole in 2017, and last year was granted the right to spend nights away from the "community residential facility" where she lives.

In its most recent decision, the parole board expanded this right, allowing Sim to spend up to four nights per week outside of supervised custody.

"Leave is a privilege, not a right," the parole board wrote in its decision, addressing Sim directly. "The board finds that extended leave will give you the opportunity to demonstrate you are capable of maintaining positive change within a less restrictive leave structure in a very gradual and supervised manner."

The board notes that Sim spends her overnights with her "intimate partner," the father of her children, the second of which she gave birth to while on day parole.

Part of the rationale for granting extended overnight privileges is to allow Sim to reside in her own home and "better provide a normal upbringing" to her children, according to parole documents, which also note that parenthood has "had a positive impact" on her life.

At the same time, the board writes that it "remains concerned with the level of violence you have demonstrated a capacity for committing."

On Nov. 14, 1997, Ellard and several other teenagers swarmed and beat Virk underneath Victoria's Craigflower Bridge. Ellard and Warren Glowatski then followed Virk and drowned her in the Gorge Waterway. Glowatski was also convicted of second-degree murder and later granted full parole.

In addition to the limits placed on overnight leave, the parole board continued the imposition of several conditions that have been in place since Sim was first granted day parole.

She must not purchase, possess or consume drugs or alcohol; must not associate with anyone known to be involved in criminal activity or substance abuse; must follow a treatment plan arranged by her parole supervisors; and must not have any contact - either direct or indirect - with any member of Virk's family.

Sim will continue living with her partner when not at the community residential facility. Parole documents suggest that Sim intends to apply for full parole "in the near future."