On November 14, 1997, Reena Virk was a 14-year old girl of East Indian descent, raised in a highly religious (Jehovah's Witness) family. She lived outside Victoria, BC, in Saanich; a quiet, little Vancouver Island community, where she attended Shoreline Secondary School. She questioned the religious teachings of her parents, and lived a more secular lifestyle, similar to other girls in her school. She has been described as wanting acceptance from her peers, but instead faced "harassment and name calling."² She was ridiculed for being a larger girl, reportedly called "pudgy" and "overweight.^"3 She was humiliated for alleged body-hair, reportedly called names such as "beast? or "the bearded lady. "

Reena was living in a foster home, under the care of BC's Ministry of Children and Families, when her life was cut short on November 14, 1997. The allegations that caused her to be taken under the care of the Ministry were ultimately recanted, but irreparable damage to the Virk family had already been done. As said by Reena's father, Manjit Virk, ever since Reena "went into the hands of outsiders, nothing worked from that day.^"4

In November, 1997 Kelly Ellard was a 15-year old girl, perhaps a "bit of a partier," but by no accounts a bad girl, having had no known run-ins with the law. Ellard was more popular than Reena. Ellard also disliked Reena, profusely.

At that time, Warren Glowatski was a 16-year old, living alone in a trailer in Saanich. He was supported by money sent by his father who had left Saanich to marry a woman in Las Vegas. Warren was somewhat of a "wannabe-gangsta."

On what proved to be her last night on Earth, Reena had been invited to a party by girls from her school, ostensibly to enjoy a good time, but really as a ploy to teach her a lesson for (possibly) being interested in a boy that other girls considered off-limits. The party travelled to various locations. Ultimately Reena was attacked, "swarmed", at the south end of the Craigflower Bridge in Gorge Park by eight teenagers - seven girls including Ellard, as well as Glowatski.

During the brutal assault, "Nicole Cook" stubbed out a cigarette on Reena's forehead, and someone attempted to ignite her hair on fire. Mercifully, an onlooker persuaded the group to set Reena free, and she was able to flee to the north end of the bridge. Ellard and Glowatski (at Ellard's request) followed and resumed the attack, punching and kicking Reena in the abdomen, face and head. This second assault, and young Reena's short life, ended shortly thereafter when Ellard and Glowatski dragged Reena into the Gorge Waterway, where further blows and stomps were administered. Then, as Glowatski watched, Ellard held Reena's head under water until she drowned. (One witness reported, Ellard later bragged she smoked a cigarette as she stood on Reena's head, drowning her.)

For the following week, rumours proliferated around Shoreline Secondary School, heard by students and faculty alike. No one contacted Saanich Police, who were investigating Reena's unexplained disappearance. The police detained Ellard on November 22, 1997, interrogating her for more than three hours, in the presence of her mother and step-father, Susan and George Pakos.

Although Ellard initially denied knowing Reena, eventually she admitted to taking part in an assault upon her.

Reena's murder received considerable attention in the media and the courts.

The six girls, apart from Ellard, who took part (dubbed by the media the "Shoreline Six") were convicted of assault and sentenced in fairly short order in British Columbia Provincial Court. Each served up to one year in jail.

Glowatski was tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder on June 2, 1999. He served seven years of a life-sentence, and has since been paroled. (He has also since made contact with and gestures of amendment toward the Virk Family.)

The prosecution of Ellard, also as an adult, however, consumed more than a decade of litigation. This included three trials including a conviction, various applications and voir dires, an appeal to the British Columbia Court of Appeal overturning the conviction, and an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada heard September 5, 2008, with judgment released June 12, 2009 restoring the conviction. She was sentenced to life in prison, with eligibility for parole after seven years.

The Virk family, in an attempt to obtain further justice, also commenced a civil lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1999 naming approximately 20 parties as defendants, including the parents of all involved teenagers, the Greater Victoria School District, and the Province of British Columbia. They pleaded that all were liable for the wrongful death of Reena. Ultimately, the lawsuit was discontinued against all but three parties - the parents of Ellard and Glowatski, and the Ministry of Children and Families. The Virks believed the Ministry was acting as Reena's parents at the time of the murder, and thus owed a fiduciary duty to her.⁵ Manjit Virk said of Reena that at the time she was taken by the Ministry, "Our concern was always for her safety. We knew she would not be safe out of the home.)"⁶

The lawsuit was dismissed by Madame Justice Dorgan on March 26, 2008 for "inordinate delay." This may be ironic as the plaintiffs have since maintained their failure to proceed with the action was due to awaiting the conclusion of all criminal proceedings. Thus, if this is true, Ellard has avoided civil proceedings against herself and others, by prolonging her own criminal prosecution. Manjit Virk has since written a book about the death of his daughter, so that her story and that of her family can be told to the world. A feature film is also apparently in the works.

_________________________________________________________