Day parole extended for woman who killed Victoria teenager Reena Virk 25 years ago

Kelly Ellard and her father, Lawrence, leave the Vancouver courthouse for dinner, March 30, 2000. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Day parole has been extended for a woman convicted of murdering Victoria teenager Reena Virk almost 25 years ago.

A Parole Board of Canada decision says 40-year-old Kerry Sim, who was formerly known as Kelly Ellard, has been authorized to remain on day parole but with numerous conditions.

Sim was 15 years old when she and a group of teenagers swarmed and beat Virk, and her trial heard she and a co-accused later followed the 14-year-old girl to continue the beating and drown her in the Gorge waterway.

The parole board's decision released Friday says Sim has remained focused on her two sons since her parole was revoked in August last year over drug and alcohol use and indications of violence with the father of her children.

Day parole was reinstated last October and the two-member panel now says Sim has made progress in her reintegration, although there's concern that when she's faced with multiple stressors it can result in poor decision-making.

In addition to conditions imposed not to consume drugs or alcohol and not to have contact with certain people, the board ordered Sim to follow psychiatric treatment to address her anxiety and other mental health issues.

The board also suggests that she look for employment, saying in the decision that she seems reluctant to move ahead with the steps necessary to find work.

Sim's case management team also recommended her day parole be extended, the decision says.

“You have positive community support from your mother, (community residential) staff, and the family of your partner. The same special conditions currently in place are recommended for this new period of day parole.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2022.