MURDER UNDER THE BRIDGE

THE TRUE STORY BEHIND REENA VIRK'S DEADLY BASHING IS REVEALED

-  Kylie Walters

On November 14, 1997, Reena Virk headed out for what she thought would be a fun night with friends. Instead, the 14-year-old was savagely beaten and drowned in a case that shocked the quiet suburbs of Victoria, British Columbia.

Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness by her IndianCanadian parents, with whom she had a difficult relationship, Reena spent a little time in foster care while growing up. She was often bullied at school and had trouble making mates. So on that fateful night, when Reena was invited out by some girls at her school, including two she had met through the foster care system, she was eager to join, heading off to join the party at a local hangout near the Craigflower Bridge in Saanich.

“Every time new information came to light, it opened your eyes a little wider and it was shocking,” retired Victoria Police sergeant Rob Dibden told the Vancouver Sun of the investigation into her death. “Even as police officers, I think most of us were taken aback by the savagery of it and the absolute senselessness of it.”

The events that took place that evening and in the aftermath have recently been brought to the small screen in Disney+ series Under the Bridge. The drama is based on journalist Rebecca Godfrey’s book of the same name, which she wrote after dedicating six years to unravelling the truth of what happened to Reena.