MalahatTwo7
11-14-2007, 08:56 AM
I posted something on this story some years ago as it was and has continued to be a very large event in the Victoria area. It was brought closer to home for me, when through Pfire and some of her contacts, I actually Mrs Virk and had opportunity to speak with her for a while. The description given here, of her demeanour is spot on. When I met her, she was a very quiet, but very dignified lady and inspite of all that has happened in her family, she continues to be very strong. Would that we could all share some of that wisdom and dignity.
The killing of Reena Virk, 10 years later. Teen's murder brought worldwide media focus
Richard Watts, Times Colonist Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Ten years ago today, on Nov. 14, 1997, 14-year-old Reena Virk was beaten and killed underneath the Craigflower Bridge.
The circumstances of her murder -- she was mobbed by a group of mostly female schoolmates, punched, kicked and then drowned -- catapulted a private family nightmare into worldwide media focus on Victoria.
Reena's parents, Suman and Manjit Virk, are now travelling in India and unavailable for comment. But their story is familiar to most Victorians.
Reena was a mixed-up teenager who had drifted into a friendship with young people routinely described as "at risk." On the night of Nov. 14, the Grade 9 student at Colquitz Junior High was invited to party near the Gorge waterway. When she got there, she was surrounded by seven girls and one boy and beaten. Someone put a cigarette out on her forehead.
The toughest girl in the pack eventually declared a stop to the assault. Reena walked away. But two people in the group returned to Craigflower Bridge, beat Reena again and dragged her to the water, where her head was held under.
No one reported the incident to the police. Her body washed ashore eight days later. Police attention soon turned to a group of teenagers. And as they started making arrests, the most powerful media in the world were gathered in Vancouver for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation conference. Media giants like CNN, on hand to follow politicians like U.S. president Bill Clinton, leapt on the story of girl-on-girl violence.
Within weeks, police arrested six girls for the original assault on Reena. All of them were eventually convicted, receiving sentences ranging from 60 days to one year.
Two other teens, Warren Glowatski, then 16, and Kelly Ellard, then 15, were charged with second-degree murder.
Police investigators concluded that Glowatski and Ellard had returned to Craigflower Bridge to resume Reena's beating. Together, they dragged her into the water, and Ellard held her head under.
Glowatski was convicted in June 1999 and sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for seven years.
But with one successful appeal and one mistrial, Ellard had three trials before she was convicted and sentenced to life without parole for seven years.
Last June, Glowatski was allowed day parole and has even made some peace with the Virk family. Ellard still maintains her innocence and is in prison, reportedly in Nova Scotia.
Meanwhile, a tree planted by the Virk family in 1998 in Reena's memory and marked by a plaque was vandalized last month. Suman Virk said she didn't think the vandals were malicious.
"It was probably something cool to do," she observed. She said she doubted another tree would be planted to remember Reena.
rwatts@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
The killing of Reena Virk, 10 years later. Teen's murder brought worldwide media focus
Richard Watts, Times Colonist Published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Ten years ago today, on Nov. 14, 1997, 14-year-old Reena Virk was beaten and killed underneath the Craigflower Bridge.
The circumstances of her murder -- she was mobbed by a group of mostly female schoolmates, punched, kicked and then drowned -- catapulted a private family nightmare into worldwide media focus on Victoria.
Reena's parents, Suman and Manjit Virk, are now travelling in India and unavailable for comment. But their story is familiar to most Victorians.
Reena was a mixed-up teenager who had drifted into a friendship with young people routinely described as "at risk." On the night of Nov. 14, the Grade 9 student at Colquitz Junior High was invited to party near the Gorge waterway. When she got there, she was surrounded by seven girls and one boy and beaten. Someone put a cigarette out on her forehead.
The toughest girl in the pack eventually declared a stop to the assault. Reena walked away. But two people in the group returned to Craigflower Bridge, beat Reena again and dragged her to the water, where her head was held under.
No one reported the incident to the police. Her body washed ashore eight days later. Police attention soon turned to a group of teenagers. And as they started making arrests, the most powerful media in the world were gathered in Vancouver for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation conference. Media giants like CNN, on hand to follow politicians like U.S. president Bill Clinton, leapt on the story of girl-on-girl violence.
Within weeks, police arrested six girls for the original assault on Reena. All of them were eventually convicted, receiving sentences ranging from 60 days to one year.
Two other teens, Warren Glowatski, then 16, and Kelly Ellard, then 15, were charged with second-degree murder.
Police investigators concluded that Glowatski and Ellard had returned to Craigflower Bridge to resume Reena's beating. Together, they dragged her into the water, and Ellard held her head under.
Glowatski was convicted in June 1999 and sentenced to life in prison with no parole eligibility for seven years.
But with one successful appeal and one mistrial, Ellard had three trials before she was convicted and sentenced to life without parole for seven years.
Last June, Glowatski was allowed day parole and has even made some peace with the Virk family. Ellard still maintains her innocence and is in prison, reportedly in Nova Scotia.
Meanwhile, a tree planted by the Virk family in 1998 in Reena's memory and marked by a plaque was vandalized last month. Suman Virk said she didn't think the vandals were malicious.
"It was probably something cool to do," she observed. She said she doubted another tree would be planted to remember Reena.
rwatts@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007