Convicted killer Kelly Ellard’s day parole extended six more months

Editor’s note: This article contains some disturbing details.

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The woman who killed teenager Reena Virk near Victoria 24 years ago will be allowed to continue her day parole for at least six more months.

Kelly Ellard, who has since changed her name to Kerry Sim, is allowed to spend five nights per week in her home. She spends the other two nights at a community residential facility.

Sim was 15 when she and other teens beat 14-year-old Virk. Sim and an accomplice then followed the injured girl, beat her again, and drowned her in the Gorge waterway in 1997.

Reena Virk, 14, is shown in this undated handout photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Victoria Times Colonist)

In its decision Thursday, the Parole Board of Canada said “the attack was described as brutal and the victim tried to escape.”

“The victims drowned. You pushed the victim’s body further into the water and left. Her body was not discovered for several days. File information indicates that you bragged about what you had done, but when questioned by the police you only admitted being in a small fight with the victim,” the Board added.

In 2005, Sim was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The case was appealed and was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009.

Virk was beaten, then drowned in the Gorge waterway.

Sim, who is now a mother of two young children, must spend two nights a week at a community residential facility and the other five in her home.

She also remains barred from having any contact with Virk's family.

— Marcella Bernardo (@MBernardoNews) July 29, 2021

The Parole Board’s decision notes during the first part of her sentence, Sim’s behaviour was “poor,” saying she intimidated other inmates and “demonstrated serious behavioural problems.” It says she did not follow rules and behaved aggressively, though her behaviour improved over time.

The Board also says Sim’s family history was considered, noting she had a “difficult childhood, witnessed violence and experienced emotional abuse.”

“The Board remains concerned with the severity and brutality of the index offence in which a young woman violently lost her life at your hands,” the Parole Board stated in its decision.

Related article: 24 years after Reena Virk’s murder, parole board continues Kelly Ellard’s release

However, the Board added since she is staying sober, working to live a better life, and relying on her family support network, “it has sufficient reliable and persuasive information to determine that day parole continued in your case will not constitute an undue risk.”

Sim, who is now the mother of two young children, remains barred from using alcohol or non-prescription drugs. She is not allowed to have any contact with Virk’s family and must take part in counselling.