The Parole Board of Canada has revoked day parole for Kerry Sim, the woman convicted of the 1997 murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk, concluding that she presents “an undue risk to society.”
According to parole documents, the decision follows a series of positive drug tests and troubling behaviours. Sim, formerly known as Kelly Ellard, had her limited community release suspended last January after testing positive for methamphetamine. Although she initially denied using drugs and blamed prescribed medication for a false positive, she again tested positive for a non-prescribed substance in April and later admitted to taking another offender’s medication.
In its ruling, the parole board told Sim, “you present with an anti-social or delinquent value system, that you have an unwillingness to accept responsibility for your own actions and your rebelliousness puts you at a high risk for future delinquent behaviour.” The board noted that when confronted about disregarding supervision expectations, she became “hostile, argumentative, antagonizing, lacked accountability and deflected blame.”
Sim, 42, is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder in the killing of Reena Virk, a case that continues to resonate nationally. After being swarmed and beaten by a group of teens, Virk was followed by Sim and Warren Glowatski, who then drowned her in Victoria’s Gorge waterway. The murder has inspired books, plays, and a recent Hulu television series, Under the Bridge.
Sim’s history with the parole board has been turbulent, standing in stark contrast to her co-accused, Glowatski, who expressed remorse to Virk’s family. Sim was convicted after three separate trials, a verdict ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2009. Since first being granted day parole in 2018, she has been brought back before the board for multiple violations, including domestic violence and positive drug tests. Staff at her community residential facility recently described her behaviour as “antagonizing, threatening and insulting.”
The parole decision also noted Sim has “struggled emotionally” with single-parenting, substance abuse, and legal custody disputes. She reportedly expressed safety concerns following the release of the television series, which she described as “disrespectful” to the victim’s family. Her final apprehension in January was contentious; she refused to leave her room, made “vague suicidal comments,” and was “screaming and kicking” before being taken into custody.
While the board acknowledged that Sim has demonstrated positive behaviour as a cleaner since returning to prison, it ultimately determined the risk of reoffending was too high. “Despite the time you have had for self-reflection since returning to custody,” the decision concludes, “the board finds you continue to engage in behaviours and thinking that contributed to your suspension.”
