A decision from the Parole Board of Canada says a woman convicted in the murder of Victoria teenager Reena Virk has had a second child while on day parole.
The details are contained in a ruling made earlier this month that slightly relaxes release conditions for Kelly Ellard, who now uses the name Kerry Marie Sim, and allows her a further six-month period of day parole.
Ellard, who is in her late 30s, is serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of her 14-year-old victim in 1997.
She was released on day parole in 2017, shortly after the birth of her first child, which was conceived during a conjugal visit with her boyfriend who the parole board says is also the father of Ellard’s second child.
The board says parenthood has had a “positive impact” on Ellard and adds that she has handled recent challenges with “maturity,” but it rejected a recommendation that she spend five days in the community and two days at a halfway house.
Instead, the board has imposed a more gradual release plan, allowing Ellard to spend a maximum of four days in the community, while requiring her to return to a community residential facility for a minimum of three days every week.
“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 decision says.
Ellard is also subject to several conditions, including abstaining from alcohol or drugs, and having no contact with Virk’s family.
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