Where Is Reena Virk’s Killer Kelly Ellard Now? Inside Her Life 28 Years After Murdering Her Classmate

NEED TO KNOW

• The 2024 Hulu series Under the Bridge brought new attention to the case of Reena Virk

• The teenager was brutally murdered by two of her peers on Nov. 14, 1997, after being bullied and attacked by a larger group

• Ellard was convicted of second-degree murder in 2005

Kelly Ellard’s name was all over Canadian newspapers in 1997, and after Hulu’s Under The Bridge premiered in 2024, questions about “Killer Kelly” rose again.

Her infamy began on Nov. 14, 1997, when 14-year-old Reena Virk was invited by a group of her peers to attend a party under a bridge in Saanich on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. After arriving, the group severely beat Virk. While she tried to escape, two of her abusers, including 15-year-old Ellard and 16-year-old Warren Glowatski, followed Virk and murdered her.

Authorities were shocked by what they learned in the weeks that followed.

“Every time new information came to light, it opened your eyes a little wider and it was shocking,” retired Victoria Police Sgt. Rob Dibden shared with the Vancouver Sun in 2016. “Even as police officers, I think most of us were taken aback by the savagery of it and the absolute senselessness of it.”

Ellard was convicted of second-degree murder in 2005, but it took her nearly 19 years after the crime to confess. After her admission of guilt in 2016, Virk’s grandfather told the Times Colonist, “This was the first time they asked her if she was responsible for Reena’s death. She said ‘Yes.’ And she’s never admitted it before … At least she admitted she did it and she’s responsible for it. But she’s still never said she’s sorry.”

So, where is Kelly Ellard now? Here’s everything to know about her life 28 years after she beat and killed Reena Virk.

Who is Kelly Ellard?

Ellard, who changed her legal name to Kerry Marie Sim in 2018, per CTV News, became infamous at the age of 15 after murdering Reena Virk, a 14-year-old peer from school.

Ellard and other teenagers invited Virk to a party after the 14-year-old had allegedly stolen one of their journals and spread rumors. Based on a phone call Ellard’s mom later admitted to overhearing, it seemed like the invite was an intentional ploy to get revenge on Virk, per Vice.

After the party was broken up and a smaller group relocated to under the Craigflower bridge, Ellard assaulted Virk along with a group of teens, including Glowatski, and later drowned her after the other attackers had gone home.

According to Vice, Ellard had a penchant for violent stories, bonding with the friend who Virk allegedly spread rumors about over their interest in serial killers and figures like former Mafia boss John Gotti.

What did Kelly Ellard do?

On Nov. 14, 1997, Ellard and a group of friends — sometimes referred to as the “Shoreline Six” — beat Virk after a party. Eight days later, her body was found dead in the waterway.

While most teens fled the scene after the initial beating, Ellard and Glowatski followed Virk. While it was long thought that Ellard held Virk’s head underwater after she beat her, the convicted murderer attempted to correct the record in 2016.

Ellard, who cried during her statements, denied holding Virk’s head under. “She was unconscious. I didn’t need to hold her head underwater. There would have been no point,” she shared in a parole hearing, per the Times Colonist.

As for her decision to put Virk into the water, “I was only thinking of myself,” said Ellard. Glowatski, who was drunk at the time, suggested calling a car for help, but Ellard didn’t want to. “I pushed her in … It’s like almost I just thought in my mind, it would just carry the problem away,” she said.

What was Kelly Ellard’s sentence?

In the aftermath of Virk’s killing, Ellard was charged with second-degree murder. In March 2000, she was tried and convicted as an adult. In February 2003, the British Columbia Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, per the Supreme Court of Canada.

There was a second trial in June 2004, but jurors were deadlocked, leading the judge to rule a mistrial.

In her third trial in April 2005, Ellard was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for seven years. Ellard was granted day parole in November 2017, allowing her to participate in activities during the day, and return to prison or a halfway house at night, per the CBC. In 2019, Ellard’s parole was extended to overnight stays outside of prison.

What has Kelly Ellard said about her crime?

After nearly two decades, Ellard finally took responsibility for Virk’s murder. Until 2016, she had denied her role in her peer’s brutal death.

Per the Times Colonist, in a parole hearing, Ellard told a two-member panel she had “omitted” details about Virk’s death from her testimony.

In October 2016, she went before the Parole Board of Canada in Abbotsford, British Columbia, to request release. Reportedly, Ellard told the board members that she was eight months pregnant with her second child. She added that her experiences had changed her, permitting her to “see the world with different eyes.”

She admitted that had she not participated in the attack on Virk, her peer would likely be alive today, according to the Times Colonist. “I was 15 years old. I was a child,” Ellard shared with the board. She noted that her key priority for release was to receive treatment for substance abuse. “I’m not that child anymore,” she added.

Reportedly, Ellard acknowledged that admitting guilt is not enough in and of itself and stated her belief that “success and redemption” can only happen if she’s given the opportunity to re-enter the community. “I want a chance to go out there and grow … to be the best person I can be,” Ellard said.

What has Kelly Ellard said about Under the Bridge?

Almost three decades after killing Virk, the CBC reported that Ellard has expressed “some remorse and victim empathy” for Virk in response to the release of the Hulu series Under the Bridge.

Reportedly, Ellard believed the crime was so “horrendous” that the TV show may further traumatize Virk’s family, as she told corrections officials.

Where is Kelly Ellard now?

During her time in prison, Ellard has given birth to two children. She became pregnant with her first child while in prison (due to intimate visits with a fellow inmate out on day parole, per the Vancouver Sun) and gave birth to her second while on day parole, per CBC.

In January 2020, the Parole Board of Canada wrote that Ellard was maturing and demonstrating increased stability: “This report referenced some of the challenges you were then experiencing as a single parent but indicated that, overall, parenthood had a positive impact on you,” they wrote.

The report also stated that Ellard’s partner, who fathered both of her children, is employed in the community.

In March 2024, the board extended Ellard’s day parole, but in January 2025, she was arrested by the Surrey Police Service (SPS) for breaching her agreement. Five months later, after multiple positive drug tests and behaviors the board described as posing “an undue risk to society,” Ellard’s parole was revoked, per CBC.

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