Kelly Ellard resumes day parole after suspension, loses expanded privileges

A memorial for Reena Virk, two decades later Twenty years after the brutal and shocking murder of Reena Virk, many people are still trying to heal from the tragedy.

Victoria — The woman convicted of killing teenager Reena Virk near Victoria in 1997 has been allowed to return to day parole after her parole was suspended this summer.

Kelly Ellard, who now goes by the name Kerry Sim, had her parole suspended in August after domestic abuse was reported between the 39-year-old and her partner, the father of her two children.

At first, Sim denied any violence, but after her parole was suspended she admitted violence had occurred in a post-suspension interview.

"In the post suspension interview on August 16, 2021, you were emotional and denied any violence in your relationship," reads the decision from the Canadian Parole Board, completed on Oct. 28.

"Your parole officer challenged you because of the reliable information that there had been violence on two occasions."

Sim later said the violence, which included "pushing each other," was due to a dispute over how Sim's partner was disciplining their son, she said.

"When asked about any other violent incidents that were not reported, you admitted that the eyebrow laceration that you reported as an accident was in fact a result of your spouse's physical violence towards you," reads the decision.

Sim told the parole board that the injury was a result of being punched several times in the head, "resulting in a cut that required a hospital visit."

She explained that she did not report the incident because she did not want to speak with police, and because she did not want her partner to get in trouble.

During the same post-suspension interview, Sim admitted to drinking wine "approximately two years ago," which is barred under her parole conditions.

However, the parole board says that Sim has taken responsibility for the recent incidents and that it believes she has a "realistic and sustainable plan to address the concerns and maintain (her) stability long term."

Sim has lost her expanded parole privileges and new conditions have been imposed on her parole.

Sim must follow new psychiatric treatment and has to report all new relationships and friendships to her parole supervisor.

Contact with the father of her children will also be limited moving forward, with the parole board saying that Sim cannot see him in-person unless the meeting is supervised, or she has written permission from her supervising parole officer.

Sim was first granted day parole in 2017, and it has been extended seven times since then.

"The board finds your demonstrated stability for the majority of your time in the community is more reflective of the manageability of your risk when compared to the risk associated to the circumstances related to your suspension," reads the decision.

Sim was 15 years old when she was convicted of second-degree murder after she beat Virk with a group of teens, and then later following the injured girl and drowned her in the Gorge waterway along with an accomplice.