ABBOTSFORD – Indo-Canadian Teen Reena Virk’s killer Kelly Ellard, who was 15 when she participated in the brutal killing of Virk, failed to convince a parole board panel that she should be allowed escorted absences to care for her young child, whom she recently gave birth to in prison.
Instead, the panel issued a split-decision Wednesday and referred Ellard’s case to a new hearing.
Ellard, who is serving a life sentence at Fraser Valley Institution in Abbotsford, east of Vancouver, argued she needed the escorted absences to care for her child, who is housed at the facility with her. Ellard’s partner is also incarcerated, reported Globe and Mail Newspaper.
Ellard had requested the escorted absences so she could take her child to routine and unforeseen appointments and help the child socialize. Her case management team had recommended the two-person parole board panel approve the plan for 90 days.
But the panel issued a split-decision. It’s not clear when Ellard will receive a new hearing.
Ellard was tried as an adult and her second-degree murder conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009, ending a legal odyssey that spanned three trials and more than a decade.
