Vancouver Sun

Jailed killer Kelly Ellard is expecting.

Father of Kelly Ellard’s child back in prison after his parole was revoked

- KIM BOLAN kbolan@postmedia.com blog: vancouvers­un.com/tag/realscoop twitter.com/ kbolan

She is one of B.C.’s best-known killers — found guilty of brutally beating and drowning a teenage girl under a Victoria bridge in 1997.

Now, Kelly Marie Ellard is about to become a mother.

Despite serving a life sentence in prison for killing 14-year-old Reena Virk, Ellard is now about eight months pregnant, The Vancouver Sun has learned.

The father is a man with gang links who was out on day parole when he was allowed the intimate visits with Ellard in the spring.

Darwin Dorozan, 41, was granted full parole in August, but it has since been revoked after an alleged breach.

The Parole Board of Canada said in its Aug. 3 ruling releasing Dorozan that “there are concerns about your relationsh­ip with your girlfriend, who is pregnant.”

Ellard, 33, isn’t identified as the girlfriend in the documents, but Postmedia News has confirmed with several sources that she is Dorozan’s pregnant girlfriend.

Dorozan was given credit by the two-person panel for being “open and accountabl­e about the relationsh­ip,” the parole ruling says.

But the ruling also said Dorozan “will likely face significan­t stress relating to the birth of your child.”

Dorozan is serving a seven-year, two-month sentence after plead- ing guilty in 2012 to 11 counts of break-and-enter and break-andenter with intent. Dorozan broke into several homes in 2010 and 2011 to steal things to finance a heroin addiction, the board noted.

“Some of the residences were occupied and during a confrontat­ion with a male victim, you sprayed him in the face about five times with bear spray.”

Ellard had three trials before she was convicted in 2005. She was first found guilty in 2000, but the B.C. Court of Appeal ordered a new trial.

The second time around, the jury couldn’t reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. She was convicted of second-degree murder after her third trial.

Though she was 15 when she killed Virk, Ellard was raised to adult court and was sentenced to life with no hope of parole for seven years.

Last May, the Parole Board of Canada denied Ellard day parole, saying that while she was finally admitting some responsibi­lity for Virk’s death, there was “ongoing minimizati­on” of her crime.

And the two board members told Ellard that they were concerned about her admitted drug use inside prison, as well as “your lack of insight into why you committed the murder and your sense of entitlemen­t with respect to parole.”

The ruling made reference to El- lard’s relationsh­ip with Dorozan, though he wasn’t named.

“You have family support and the support of your boyfriend,” the board members said. “Your boyfriend is a federal parolee, but in community assessment No. 6 he is assessed by (the Correction­al Service of Canada) as a positive source of support.”

The parole board did note the progress that Ellard has made in recent years in jail — quitting her drug habit, improving her educa- tion and working in the prison’s library.

The Sun has learned that Ellard and Dorozan got to know each other as pen pals, writing for more than a year before being allowed to have a private family visit.

The Correction­al Service of Canada refused to comment on Ellard or her pregnancy.

“The Privacy Act prevents us from discussing the specifics of an offender’s case,” Correction­al communicat­ions adviser Audrey Jacques said.

But, speaking generally, she said all federal inmates are eligible for private family visits if they and their visitors meet certain criteria.

The visits take place in a separate building within the confines of a prison complex and can occur every two months for up to 72 hours at a time.

No one is commenting on what will happen to the baby once it’s born, given both parents are in prison.

Ellard’s mother, Susan Pakos, refused to comment when contacted by The Sun.

“I have no comment on that whole subject and I would appreciate it if no one ever contacted me or my family again,” Pakos said. “I am not confirming whether it is true or not.”

She said both her family and the Virks “have been through a lot and should be left alone.

“I wish the media and everyone would just let this case rest and everybody just get on with their lives,” Pakos said.

The Correction­al Service provides pregnant inmates with prenatal and postnatal care, Jacques said.

Some of that care takes place within the prison. But the Service “relies on community services to provide other specialize­d care, including the services of obstetrici­ans and gynecologi­sts. Arrangemen­ts are made at an outside hospital for childbirth,” she said.

Babies can stay with their incarcerat­ed mother under the “mother-child residentia­l program,” which began in 1997, Jacques said.

“The program is intended to foster positive relationsh­ips between federally incarcerat­ed women and their children by providing a supportive environmen­t that promotes stability and continuity for the mother-child relationsh­ip and to assist in the rehabilita­tion and successful reintegrat­ion of these women offenders,” she said.

She said cases are assessed on an individual base.

“The best interests of the child are the pre-eminent considerat­ion in all decisions relating to participat­ion in the mother-child program, including the safety, security and health of the child,” Jacques said.

Jacques said that inmate visits with family members and friends can be limited “if there are risks to the security of the penitentia­ry and the safety of staff, inmates and visitors.”

“Positive contact with family and friends is very important in the successful reintegrat­ion of offenders,” she said.

Now that Dorozan is back in jail, he and Ellard would not be allowed to meet because a Correction­al Service policy says, “an inmate is not eligible to participat­e in private family visits with other inmates.”

Dorozan’s parole was revoked in mid-August, with police alleging they spotted him with a criminal associate in violation of his parole conditions.

 ?? IAN LINDSAY/FILES ?? Kelly Ellard, now 33, serving a life sentence for the 1997 murder of Reena Virk, is about eight months pregnant. She was allowed intimate visits with Darwin Dorozan, 41, the father, a man with gang ties, when he was out on day parole in the spring. He...
IAN LINDSAY/FILES Kelly Ellard, now 33, serving a life sentence for the 1997 murder of Reena Virk, is about eight months pregnant. She was allowed intimate visits with Darwin Dorozan, 41, the father, a man with gang ties, when he was out on day parole in the spring. He...
 ??  ?? Darwin Dorozan
Darwin Dorozan

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