Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
A Hulu true-crime series titled Under the Bridge premiered on April 17, 2024. The eight-episode series follows the events that preceded and followed the brutal murder of 14-year-old Reena Virk. Virk was assaulted by a group of teenagers who were her peers and was killed by two of them.
Of the seven teenagers who were found responsible for Reena Virk’s assault, Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatski were found guilty of murdering her. Glowatski was 16 years old at the time of the murder and was convicted of second-degree murder. Kelly Ellard was 15 at the time and was also convicted of second-degree murder in 2000. Although her conviction was initially overturned because of an appeal that she had made, she was again found guilty in 2005, TIME reported. With them, the other teenagers were convicted of assault.
According to People Magazine, Reena Virk had been accused of spreading rumors about the girls in her school. She allegedly stole Nicole Cook’s phonebook and contacted her friends. She also told them that Cook wore colored contact lenses. Reena also added that Cook had AIDS and that her breasts were not real. This reportedly angered Cook who confronted her at a party that they all were at on November 14, 1997.
Subsequently, Nicole Cook and her friends, including Kelly Ellard, Courtney Keith, Nicole Patterson, Gail Ooms, and Missy Pleisch attacked Reena and put a cigarette on her forehead. They were accompanied by Warren Glowatski and they continued assaulting her for a long time. After the others left, Glowatski and Ellard reportedly drowned Reena Virk and killed her.
How much prison time did Reena Virk’s killers get?
Warren Glowatski and Kelly Ellard were both tried as adults even though they were 16 and 15 respectively when they committed the crime. Glowatski was sentenced to life in prison but was made eligible for parole only seven years after his sentence began. Kelly Ellard was also sentenced to life in prison and reportedly turned down an opportunity for parole in 2022.
Kelly Ellard reportedly changed her name to Kerry Sim while in prison and had two children while in prison. An assessment in 2016 reportedly suggested signs of possible violence from her end in the future. The court then mandated medication and psychological help for the victim, according to CBC News. Meanwhile, Glowatski was granted full parole in 2010 and has reportedly engaged in restorative programs and openly apologized to Reena’s family.
The court said that Kelly Ellard took a longer time to come to terms with her actions and express remorse. When Reena Virk’s body was found on November 22, 1997, she denied any involvement. Even after the police found Reena’s jacket from her closet (which was stained with the water of the gorge where she was found), Kelly Ellard claimed that she owned the jacket and that Nicole Cook might be blaming her for it.
Reena Virk’s autopsy revealed several blows to her body and determined that she died by drowning. Prior to that, Reena was having a tough relationship with her parents and had been staying at a foster home. This led to her parents believing she willingly did not go home. However, their suspicions grew with time.
Under the Bridge is currently streaming on Hulu and is based on a 2005 book of the same name written by Rebecca Godfrey.
