Kelly Ellard says she has seen the world through different eyes since the birth of her child. But that wasn’t enough to convince a member of Canada’s Parole Board to grant the convicted murderer an accompanied temporary release from prison.

After about 20 minutes of deliberation, board member Catherine Dawson said she and fellow board member Kim Polowek were unable to reach consensus on Ellard’s request for trips to fulfill her parental responsibilities.

“She required up to five supervised absences per month and up to four hours for each absence,” said Patrick Storey, regional director of the Canadian Parole Board for the Pacific.

“She would be accompanied by a trained escort at all times.”

The two-hour hearing took place at the Fraser Valley Institution in Abbotsford, BC, where Ellard is serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of Victoria teenager Reena Virk nearly two decades ago.

Need for connection

Ellard told the parole board that the birth of her baby was “the best therapy I could have asked for” and the best thing that ever happened to her.

“I need to build a bond with this child,” Ellard said.

“I have to grow just like this child. I have to learn how to be a parent.”

Ellard said she has big plans for the future to do things with her child, but did not want to reveal the baby’s gender.

Ellard and the newborn are part of the prison’s mother-and-child program.

Baby’s father in prison

Polowek questioned Ellard about her baby’s father, who had been convicted twice in federal court and whose probation had recently been revoked.

What happened “was very disappointing,” Ellard replied, wiping tears from his eyes.

“He and I don’t have an average relationship.”

Dawson asked Ellard about her recent behavior in prison.

Ellard said she has been incident-free for 18 months and has not used drugs since failing a urine test in June 2015.

Reena was beaten

In November 1997, Virk was lured to a secluded area under a bridge in the Victoria area and beaten by a group of youths, including Ellard.

Virk was able to walk away, but Ellard and co-defendant Warren Glowatski followed Virk and found her lying on the ground.

Ellard held Virk underwater until she stopped moving.

Virk was 14.

Ellard was 15 at the time and is now 34.

Parole hearing on the day

Wednesday’s hearing was Ellard’s second request for parole since she was tried and convicted as an adult in 2005.

In May 2016, another two-member panel of the Canadian Parole Board denied Ellard day release.

It turned out that while she eventually admitted some responsibility for Virk’s death, she still “downplayed many aspects of the crime.”

Ellard would have to wait a year before she could apply for parole again, but her next full parole hearing is automatically scheduled for February.

Ellard had already waived her right to a parole hearing four times during her prison sentence.

New hearing

According to Storey, it is rare for a parole board to fail to make a decision.

A new hearing on Ellard’s supervised temporary absence will be scheduled in the not too distant future, he said.

“Two different board members will study the file and come to the facility to interview Ms. Ellard and review her request for supervised temporary absence.

“And they will make their own decision,” Storey said.

Ellard says she needs permission to leave prison to attend medical appointments and educational programs.