Day parole extended for killer of B.C. teen Reena Virk

Victoria -

The 38-year-old woman convicted of murdering teenager Reena Virk near Victoria in 1997 will be allowed to continue her day parole.

The Parole Board of Canada ruled on July 14 that Kelly Ellard, who now goes by the name Kerry Sim, will continue to spend two nights a week at a community residential facility and five nights at her private home.

The board says Sim, who is now the mother of two young children, has recently fallen under personal and financial stress due to her spouse's loss of employment and struggles with substance abuse. Despite that, the board found Sim's "motivation level and reintegration potential are high."

Sim's day parole was expanded last August, extended in January and has now been extended for another six months.

Sim was 15 when she and a group of teens beat Virk and then she and an accomplice followed the injured girl, beat her again and drowned her in the Gorge waterway.

She was tried as an adult and had three second-degree murder trials before 2009 when the matter was addressed by the Supreme Court of Canada and her life sentence for Virk's murder was upheld.

The parole board is maintaining conditions linked to Sim's release, including an order against the use of alcohol or drugs and a requirement that she have no contact with Virk's family.

In its six-page report, the board says it expects Sim's continued parole "will not constitute an undue risk and will continue to facilitate your reintegration into the community as a law-abiding member of society."

With files from The Canadian Press