Reena Virk
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The Victim
Reena Virk was a girl who came from a large, close knit, extended family who had immigrated to Canada from India. Her family was considered a minority within a minority, as they were of the Jehovah's Witness religion while the rest of the family remained Hindu.
At the beginning of her adolescence, Virk had become estranged from her family. She began to rebel against her immediate family and their strict religious beliefs. After allegations surfaced that she may had been sexually abused in her home, Virk had been placed in foster care, and also lived with various relatives. She was sometimes described in the media as a girl caught between two cultures
Virk has also been described in the media as a girl who was desperate for acceptance amongst her peers, but because of her body size and physical appearance, she was considered by some standards unattractive and was either teased or ostracized by others in her age group. In her efforts to "fit in", she, like a great many teenagers, began to identify and associate with street youth and gang values and culture. She began to smoke, drink and experiment with drugs and sex.
The Crime
On the evening of Friday November 14th, 1997, Reena Virk was invited to "party" at a popular teen hangout near the Craigflower Bridge, which is located west of the city of Victoria. Virk, who had been already having difficulty fitting in with her schoolmates, decided to accept the invitation in the hope that she would make new friends. She was unaware that it was a set up.
While at the bridge, the teenagers talked amongst themselves, drank, and smoked marijuana. Suddenly Virk was swarmed upon by eight adolescents, seven girls and one boy. One of the girls stubbed out a cigarette on Virk's forehead. While seven or eight others stood by and watched, Virk was repeatedly hit, punched and kicked. Some of the assailants burnt cigarettes on her skin. One girl tried to set Virk's hair on fire. No one intervened on her behalf. Virk managed to get away, but was followed by two members of the original group, Kelly Marie Ellard and Warren Glowatski. The pair dragged Virk back under the bridge, made her remove her shoes and jacket, and beat her a second time. It was alleged that Ellard forced Virk's head under the water and held it there with her foot. While Virk struggled, Ellard chatted with Glowatski and smoked a cigarette.
Despite a pact amongst the people involved not to "rat each other out", by the following Monday, rumors of the alleged murder spread throughout Shoreline Secondary school, where Virk was a student. Several students and teachers had heard the rumors, but no one came forward to report it to the police. The rumors were confirmed eight days later, on November 22, 1997, when police divers found Virk's partially clothed body washed ashore at the Gorge Inlet, a major waterway on Vancouver Island.
The coroner ruled the death was by drowning. However, an autopsy later revealed that Virk had sustained several fractures from the beating, and that the head injuries were severe enough to have killed her if she had not been drowned. Virk was 14 years old at the time of her death.
This murder became front page news that shocked the whole of Canada. There was a nationwide outpouring of sympathy and grief, along with calls to educate students about preventing youth violence. The Virk murder is considered a particularly shocking example of youth violence because there were so many girls directly involved in the beating and murder. Despite well-publicized news reports of the increase in girl against girl bullying and violence in the US and the UK, many people still continue to believe the stereotypes that girls are less capable of committing acts of bullyism and violence than boys.
Possible Motives
Two of Virk's friends were upset with her and wanted revenge. The first girl was angry because Virk had stolen her address book. Allegedly, Virk spread rumours about her through embarrassing telephone calls to the girl's friends. The second girl was upset because she believed that Virk had had sexual relations with her boyfriend.
Contrary to popular belief, racism likely did not play a role in the murder. It is generally assumed that just because Ellard and Glowatski were white, that the others were as well. This is not the case; roughly half of the eight attackers were of coloured themselves.
Trial Timeline
- February 9, 1998, three teenaged girls plead guilty to assault causing bodily harm for their roles in the attack.
- February 13, 1998, three more teenaged girls were convicted of assault causing bodily harm.
- Between April and May 1998, six teenaged girls were sentenced for their roles in beating Virk. All of the names are withheld due to the ages they were when the crime was perpetrated.
- June 1999, Warren Glowatski, the only male involved in the crime, was tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.
- March 9, 2000, Kelly Marie Ellard was tried and convicted of second-degree murder; her case was raised to adult court where she was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of full parole for five years.
- November 15, 2000, 3 years and 1 day after the murder of Reena Virk, her parents, Manjit and Suman Virk, sued the teenagers who took part in the beating, the BC government, and several other people.
- February 4, 2003, the BC Court of Appeal announced that due to [1] (http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/03/00/2003BCCA0068.htm)improprieties in the way Ellard was questioned during her first trial, a new trial would be ordered.
- March 4, 2004 While awaiting the second trial in the Virk murder, Ellard was charged in an unrelated assault and beating of a 58 year old Vancouver, BC woman. Because of the bail violation, Ellard's bail was revoked and she was taken back into custody.
- Between June 16 and June 22, several witnesses including Glowatski testified that Ellard had admitted to killing Virk. It was said that Ellard bragged about "finishing (Virk) off" and had actually conducted tours to the murder scene.
- July 6, Ellard admitted to taking part of the initial beating but only for self-defense. Throughout the trial, Ellard was given to sarcasm or throwing tantrums on the witness stand while denying her part in the crime. In one infamous instance during the second trial, Ellard said to the proscecuter "I'm obviously going to be convicted," She then dissolved into tears saying "My life is over. You got what you wanted. I'm going to be convicted."
- July 18, 2004, a mistrial was declared in Ellard's second trial after the jury declared it was deadlocked 11-1.
- February 21, 2005, Kelly Ellard's third trial re-opens.
- April 12, Ellard was found guilty of second degree murder. She was given an automatic life sentence. Her lawyers are considering filing an appeal.
See also
External Links
- News about verdict from the third trial (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/04/12/Ellardverdict-050412.html)
- Murder of Reena Virk Timeline/Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) (http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/virk/)
- C News Law and Order Reena Virk news archive (http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw/virk.html)
- A Toronto-based South Asian civil rights website and their prespective on the Reena Virk's murder and Kelly Ellard's trial (http://www.rajweb.com/cassa/eMag/Articles/Articles3.htm)
- Article about the Virk murder,and addresses the issue of girl on girl violence (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/articles/stereotyping/bad_girls.cfm?RenderForPrint=1)
- Canadian Government Resource on aggressive girls (http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ncfv-cnivf/familyviolence/html/nfntsaggsr_e.html)