UNDER THE BERIDGE

 UNDER THE BRIDGE 

 

Reena Virk was a 14-year-old girl living in Saanich, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, in 1997. She was the daughter of an Indian immigrant father, Manjit, and an Indo-Canadian mother, Suman, and the family were Jehovah's Witnesses.

Virk had struggled with bullying all her life and wanted to fit in, eventually becoming drawn to a group of outsiders who she found smoking in a park.

To fit in, she reportedly started smoking cannabis and cigarettes, while also listening to East Coast hip hop, painting her nails blue and changing her clothes.

Virk also started to argue with her parents and, at one time, ran away from home. In 1996, she accused her father of physical, sexual and mental abuse and was placed into foster care. Still, she later withdrew the allegation and, after her death, a report said that social workers had not investigated the veracity of her claim thoroughly enough before moving her.

Just before her death, Virk's new friends accused her of spreading rumours and stealing someone’s boyfriend. Then, on 14th November, she was invited to join them at a local field for a party. A large group attended, but at one point a smaller group moved to another spot, with Virk going with them.

Riley Keough as Rebecca and Lily Gladstone as Cam on the poster for Under the Bridge stood next to each other

Riley Keough as Rebecca and Lily Gladstone as Cam in Under the Bridge. Hulu

Eight teenagers took part in the attack, which started when one of them tried to stub out a cigarette on her forehead. When she tried to run away, some of them surrounded her.

They then brutally attacked her, with one trying to set her hair on fire, another smashing her head into a tree, and a number of them kicking her in the head and body multiple times.

At some point, most of the teenagers left, but as Virk stumbled home, she was attacked for a second time, at which point she fell unconscious. The pathologist later said she would have likely died from these injuries, but several of the killers also dragged her to the river and drowned her in it.

It took a week for the police to locate her body, but they eventually found her submerged in the river.

They quickly started questioning the teenagers, who accused one another. Virk's jacket, covered in saltwater stains, was found in one of their closets. Eventually, the only male involved in the killing, Warren Glowatski, confessed, while six of the girls later pleaded guilty to assault.

 In total, it took over 12 years for the legal processes to complete, due to complexities surrounding the perpetrator's ages, who were all aged between 14 and 16.

Who killed Reena Virk?

The main two perpetrators, Glowatski and Kelly Ellard were charged as adults due to the severity of the crimes.