Convicted killer Kelly Ellard allowed temporary escorted prison release

By The Canadian Press

Convicted killer Kelly Ellard has been granted temporary escorted absences from prison to attend doctor’s appointments and parenting programs for her baby.

Parole board member Alex Dantzer says it’s disturbing that Ellard continues to minimize her crime, but in light of her good behaviour in prison she should be allowed the absences.

Ellard has spent about 15 years in prison after she was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1997 beating and drowning death of 14-year-old Reena Virk near Victoria

Ellard, who was 15 at the time of the crime, was tried three times and has recently taken more responsibility for her part in the murder, saying that she rolled Virk’s unconscious body into the water.

However, her trials heard that Ellard held Virk’s head under the water, and Dantzer says he finds her current version of events to be a minimization.

The parole board’s decision means Ellard will be allowed up to four escorted absences a month for up to four hours over a three-month period.

Ellard made the same request last month, saying she wanted to leave a prison in Abbotsford, B.C., to attend medical appointments and parenting programs following the birth of her child.

The two-member parole board panel was split in its decision and the request was denied.

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