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Convicted teen killer Kelly Ellard seeking day parole today

Convicted teen killer Kelly Ellard denied day parole

Kelly Ellard is scheduled to appear this morning at her first hearing for day parole since her conviction for beating and drowning 14-year-old Reena Virk near a Victoria bridge nearly two decades ago.

The hearing, before a two-person panel, will take place at the Fraser Valley Institution in Abbotsford, B.C., where Ellard is serving a life sentence.

Ellard was 15 in November 1997, when she smashed Virk's head into a tree and held her underwater until she stopped moving.

At today's hearing, parole board members will try to determine if Ellard is at risk of re-offending or poses a threat to the community, said Patrick Storey, a regional spokesman for the parole board.

Ellard has previously waived her right to a full parole hearing four times while serving her life sentence.

The murder happened late in the evening after Virk joined a group of teens gathered outside a local school to drink and smoke pot.

Teens beat Reena Virk

The girls assaulted Virk, who then crossed a bridge, pleading to be left alone.

Successive trials heard that Ellard and another teen, Warren Glowatski, followed Virk across the bridge.

Glowatski, was was also found guilty of second-degree murder in Virk's death, was granted day parole in 2007 and full parole in 2010.

Ellard, now 33, was convicted in 2005 after her third trial. She was found guilty during her first trial in 2000, but the verdict was overturned and a new trial ordered when the B.C. Court of Appeal determined the Crown had improperly cross examined her.

Lawyer Peter Wilson, who represented Ellard at trial, said she deserves a chance to start her life outside prison.

"Kelly Ellard has been in custody or under virtual house arrest since November of 1997 when she was 15 years old," Wilson said in an interview.

"Anybody who believes in redemption should recognize that after all this time, Ms. Ellard deserves the chance to make something of her life outside of a prison."

Virk's grandfather, Mukand Pallan, said he doesn't believe Ellard can redeem herself.

"Kelly, she never admitted anything, she never (said) sorry, so that's what I say," said Pallan, 86. "I hope she stays in jail for the rest of her life. I won't be happy if she's released."

But even if Ellard's parole request is denied, it won't heal the pain, Pallan said.

No healing for Virks

"Even if she spends the rest of her life in jail, it's not going to help any."

Virk's parents will not be attending the hearing. Pallan said they left town to avoid the media attention.

Ellard has run into other trouble since Virk's death. Her bail was revoked in 2004 while she was living in a halfway house awaiting trial. She was charged with assault causing bodily harm of an older woman in a New Westminster park.

The charges were stayed after she was found guilty in the Virk trial. Should Ellard's request for parole be granted, she would be placed under a release plan that includes a requirement she live in a halfway house, a parole official said.

A release plan usually includes a series of conditions attached to the parole board's risk assessment, such as abstaining from intoxicants and avoiding criminally active peers.

with files from the Canadian Press and Deborah Goble