Convicted British Columbia killer Kelly Ellard to ask for parole again

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – Convicted killer Kelly Ellard is expected to once again ask for escorted releases today, nearly 20 years after she killed a teenage girl near Victoria.

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.

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

A media report said last October that Ellard was eight-months pregnant following a conjugal visit from her boyfriend.

At an initial parole hearing last May, she took responsibility for Virk's death following years of repeatedly denying her involvement.

But parole board members said at the time that Ellard came across as "very entitled" when asking for release, and her request was denied.