- 2 days ago
In November 1997, Reena Virk was invited to a party by a group of her peers. What started out as a regular Friday night in Victoria, BC quickly took a sinister turn. The 14-year-old teen would be brutally ambushed and attacked by the group, most of them girls. Schools were abuzz with gossip that someone had been murdered but there was no body and only rumours to go on. Join reporter Christa Dao as she shares how investigators deciphered fact from fiction and revealed ruthlessness and evil in teen girls, unfathomable at the time.
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00:00This program is rated 14 plus and contains scenes of violence and mature subject matter.
00:08Viewer discretion is advised.
00:15She said, I'll be home soon, Dad.
00:18I'm just leaving the party and I'm coming home.
00:20At 11 o'clock, if you didn't come back to the group home, you were automatically reported missing.
00:26I had this feeling that she's lying dead somewhere in a ditch.
00:30I don't know why, but it just came to me.
00:33It wasn't until the Monday when students started arriving at school that there was lots of chatter amongst the students.
00:39So it's like, okay, this is this crazy rumor that a 14-year-old's been murdered.
00:44The rumors about the attack is close to the bridge, so very, very close.
00:49On any given evening, you would find kids in and around the area.
00:52And they started talking to kids about whether they had been there the previous Friday night.
00:56Investigators are digging for clues under the Craigflower Bridge.
01:02Clues to reveal what happened nine days ago when a 14-year-old girl was attacked along the banks of the Gorge waterway.
01:08It was shocking to me how inconsequential those events seemed to be to so many of the kids that we talked to.
01:15Rina was very innocent, spontaneous, believing person-friendly.
01:23So sometimes these good qualities can go against you.
01:30Welcome to Crime Beat. I'm Antony Robart.
01:32Tonight, on a clear, crisp November evening in Saanich, B.C., a group of teens gathered near a bridge to hang out.
01:41What began as an ordinary night soon took a dark and sinister turn, culminating in an attack so brutal it shocked the world.
01:53Here now is Krista Dow with Rumors and Lies.
01:58The murder of Rina Virk.
02:02The city of Victoria, located along the west coast of British Columbia, is renowned worldwide for its picturesque setting, pristine waterways, and romantic charm.
02:16Just outside the capital, nestled along the shoreline, is the district of Saanich, a quaint and quiet community.
02:30It was a nice seaside community.
02:33It looked like normal, kind of any town in Canada.
02:37At the time, I would say Saanich was predominantly a bedroom community to downtown Victoria.
02:46If you're in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, there's no way you're going to be at a street coming into downtown and you don't see anything in terms of movement.
02:54There's no cars, there's no people.
02:56It's just a sleepy town.
02:58And Saanich was even more so.
02:59In the late 1990s, Saanich's population was just slightly over 100,000.
03:08The crime rate considered low.
03:10I had migrated here in 79 and life was pretty quiet.
03:16Population was small.
03:18People were still family oriented.
03:23Canada offered peaceful environment, basically.
03:26And it was a good place to live.
03:29That same year, Manjir Virk met and married Suman Palin.
03:35Four years later, their first child, Rina, was born on March 10, 1983.
03:42Rina, because Rina means queen in some cultures.
03:47So I like that name.
03:48I picked it.
03:49When she was born there, she had lots of hair, dark hair.
03:53And she revealed up little child.
03:55So I picked her up right away.
03:57Rina was the first child.
03:59So I had equal participation in raising her.
04:04She became so close to me.
04:06And everywhere I go, she wanted to be with me.
04:09That is a little girl.
04:13Rina's father says she was outgoing and a social butterfly.
04:16I wish George had a lot of happy wishes.
04:20This is video of her in happier times, attending a wedding.
04:25Up until about 10, 12, she was very bubbly, very close to me.
04:29But then 13, 14, she started to change.
04:32Then she was really mixed up.
04:33She didn't know where she belongs.
04:35Her father says she became self-conscious by the time she got to junior high.
04:41When she came into the puberty, I think her outlook changed a little bit.
04:47Because now she's got pimples and stuff.
04:50And when she was growing up, 13, 14, she got very conscious.
04:54And that's why other people bullied her.
04:56They wouldn't accept her.
04:58And that was very hard for her.
05:00We told her, don't worry about those kids there, you know, just stay away.
05:04She was hungry for friendship and approval.
05:07That was the bottom line.
05:09That's why she was so desperate to go and make friends.
05:13In response, Rina did something very drastic.
05:17She was told, if you want the same freedom like we have,
05:20if you want to hang out, just go in the foster care.
05:23And she said, how do I do that?
05:25They said, just blame your dad for something.
05:27Either he's beating you or something, or he's molesting you.
05:32She met these girls who smoked and drank.
05:35And she found that attractive because her family were Jehovah's Witnesses.
05:39She even made up a story that she'd be sexually abused by her father,
05:43which wasn't true.
05:44But she wanted to get into this group home where some of these girls were.
05:48They were fabricated only to join these girls who she wanted to be part of.
05:55After those allegations, Rina was placed into a youth group home
06:00where she'd been living on and off for the latter part of the year.
06:05The motivation was really heartbreaking because Rina really wanted to fit in with this crowd.
06:11So Rina, without thinking that it's going to hurt my dad,
06:15she didn't know what's going to happen.
06:17So she thought, oh, really?
06:18Then she'll get to stay with the foster care?
06:21And they said, yeah, you'll be like us.
06:24You'll have fun all night.
06:26She was trying to impress them.
06:28And she was a little bit out of step with them because, you know,
06:31she grew up in this pretty strict parents.
06:36And no drinking, no smoking, no drugs.
06:41And living in a group home could pretty well do anything outside the group home, right?
06:46She didn't really fit in with these girls, but she wanted this peer group for whatever reason.
06:53She wanted these girls to like her.
06:56Rina later recanted.
06:58The charges against her father were stayed by the crown.
07:02She wrote a letter, too.
07:03She was very apologetic, too.
07:05After that, she realized what she put her dad through.
07:07I think what happened is she didn't quite figure out there that it's going to become that serious one thing.
07:14She thought, it's just, okay, go out and blame the dad there.
07:18She'll get the freedom.
07:20But later, she was actually regretful, and she recanted it, too.
07:24How much of that speaks to her wanting this to fit in, that she went to that extreme?
07:31She was hungry for approval, and she wanted to be accepted by her peers.
07:35She couldn't figure out why they don't want her or like her.
07:41Could be a little culture thing there, or maybe they thought she's from a different country.
07:46Who knows what it was?
07:48More she wanted the friendship there, more they pushed her away.
07:53So when those girls invited Rina to a party, it was too enticing for her to turn down.
07:59On Friday, November 14th, 1997, they called her to join them.
08:08At the time, she was still living at the group home, but was visiting her parents, and had planned to stay over that night.
08:15The call came around that time, too, 8.39, and she right away got so excited.
08:20They said, we are having a party here.
08:22She said, I'm just going to go, and just a little party, and I'll be back.
08:26They wanted her out of the home.
08:28They were having, I think, having a big dinner the night she left.
08:32And, you know, she sort of left in a hurry, and they kind of weren't even sure where she was going.
08:37We didn't want her to go, but she said, oh, they're my friends, they're there, don't worry, I'll be back soon.
08:46It's just something, intuition came there that she should not go.
08:51But she said, no, no, I really need to go, and it was a rush there.
08:56I wish I could have stopped her.
09:07Welcome back to Crime Beat.
09:14A troubled Rina Virk accepts a party invitation from her peers, and heads out to meet them, despite her parents' objections.
09:22What happened next was both unexpected and tragic.
09:27We now return to Krista Dow with Rumors and Lies, the murder of Rina Virk.
09:37The Friday night party was seemingly short-lived, and around 10 p.m., Rina called home.
09:50She said, I'll be home soon, Dad.
09:52I'm just leaving the party, and I'm coming home.
09:55But as the hours passed, there's no sign of the 14-year-old.
10:00At 11 o'clock at that time, if you didn't come back to the group home, you were automatically reported missing.
10:07So it's the group home, representing the Ministry of Children and Families, that reports the teen is missing.
10:14Three days go by, and Rina's mother shared her worst fears with the media.
10:19I had this feeling that she's lying dead somewhere in a ditch.
10:22I don't know why, but it just came to me.
10:28By the following week, rumors were swirling around the schoolyard about a fight under a bridge.
10:34It wasn't until the Monday, when students started arriving at school, that there was lots of chatter amongst the students.
10:42The file started out as rumors, and we've been following up those.
10:45I mean, we're probably into the hundreds, as far as tips, rumors, people said this, people said that.
10:50We have over 20 detectives working on this file.
10:52Locations were being given, such as the gorge, which is the waterway separating Saanich and Esquimalt View Royal, the bridge.
11:02There was certainly a pattern of repetition there, and it was cause of alarm.
11:08Police said they were hearing high school gossip of an assault or two, and then possibly a murder.
11:15So it's like, okay, this is this crazy rumor that a 14-year-old's been murdered.
11:20It took a few days to start to, you know, a bit like peeling an onion.
11:24We can call it rumors, but obviously raising the alarm that perhaps this just wasn't someone who was staying somewhere else
11:31and not going back to the group home for a few days, but in fact, something bad had happened to them based on the rumors we're hearing.
11:38On any given evening, you would find kids in and around the area, and they started talking to kids about whether they had been there the previous Friday night,
11:46and those that said they had, they were brought back to the Saanich police station.
11:52Given the proximity and location of the rumored attack, a joint team of police officers and investigators from three police jurisdictions,
12:02Saanich, Esquimalt, and View Royal, were working together on the case.
12:07We got to a point in time where we actually interviewed someone who was present at the assault of Rina Virk, which took place under the bridge.
12:19A dive team was brought in to comb the gorge waterway, along with members of the Saanich police,
12:26on board a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter to search the inlet from the air.
12:30We're probably only 100 metres beyond the bridge, and looking down on the right side of the helicopter,
12:40there was a body floating in the water, and it was incredibly obvious.
12:45Like, the water was dark, there was a bit of a ripple on it, but there was no way, if you were looking down,
12:50that you would have missed this.
12:51And I was shocked.
12:54I got on the air, and I said, you know, hey, right side, right below us.
13:00Just 10 minutes later, and a major break in the case, a body had been found.
13:06It was so clear, it looked like the body was floating.
13:09It turned out it was just below, like maybe a foot below.
13:13Clearly obvious from the air, but not so from the shoreline.
13:16And you wouldn't have noticed.
13:17How far was the body from where the rumours were about where the attack happened?
13:24The rumours about the attack is close to the bridge, so very, very close.
13:28You're looking at maybe 100 metres to the bridge, and 100 metres more to where the body was located.
13:33Although we believe the body had been in the water for up to a week,
13:37hadn't really moved very far, had been there the whole time.
13:42A forensic examination is scheduled for Monday morning.
13:45It'll take place here in Victoria.
13:46But as of this time, we do not have an exact cause of death,
13:49and the body has not been positively identified.
13:52And because of that, we are not releasing the name.
13:54While investigators work below the bridge, people are placing bouquets of flowers on it.
13:59They may not know the name of the girl, but they're still mourning her death.
14:05Even from the helicopter, you know, I believe the ethnicity was correct.
14:10And knowing the description of Rena, hair colour, body weight,
14:14in my heart, I knew it was her right away.
14:15The body was confirmed to be Rena, and was recovered on November 22nd.
14:21Everything fell on my head, dark, dark.
14:27I couldn't believe it, that she actually died.
14:31And then from then on, the grief started.
14:35She had been in the water for eight days.
14:38The whole thing was the big turning point in the investigation, right?
14:48Investigators are digging for clues under the Craigflower Bridge.
14:52Clues to reveal what happened when a 14-year-old girl was attacked along the banks of the Gorge waterway.
14:57Over the course of the next two weeks, we probably interviewed 150 people.
15:03We were faced with almost every interview that we did initially was a potential suspect interview.
15:10So we had to treat it like that.
15:12How old were some of the kids?
15:1414, 15 years old, most of them.
15:16It was shocking to me how inconsequential those events seemed to be to so many of the kids that we talked to.
15:25It didn't seem to faze them that someone that they knew had been murdered.
15:29They talked about the assaults, matter-of-factly.
15:31I mean, some of the description of the assault was quite dramatic and quite graphic.
15:38Does that surprise you at all, that girls would be that violent?
15:41No.
15:42No.
15:43I'm surprised there was a guy with them. Usually it's just bitch fights.
15:48Saanich at the time averaged about one homicide per year.
15:52There's always disputes at high schools and there's always sometimes, you know, things that end up with some sort of violent fight on the school grounds.
15:59But by and large, there was nothing that was of a nature that would even begin to sort of hint towards what happened.
16:07Through dozens of witness interviews, police began to unravel the mystery surrounding the brutal attack on Rina Virk.
16:19Rina was very innocent, spontaneous, believing person friendly.
16:25So, sometimes these good qualities can go against you.
16:41Welcome back.
16:42With the discovery of Rina's body in the gorge waterway, investigators begin retracing her steps to uncover who was responsible and why.
16:52We now return to Krista Dow with Rumors and Lies, the murder of Rina Virk.
17:01There was a large group of teenagers that were all hanging around the area of Shoreline School at the time.
17:11You know, Rina met up with her friend there.
17:12She thought it was going to be a party.
17:15And there was going to be drinking and they were going to smoke some pot.
17:18And she was looking forward to it.
17:21She thought it was going to be fun.
17:23She was going to have a fun night with her buddies.
17:24Despite Rina's reluctance, the group of teens eventually made their way from the school down to the Craigflower Bridge.
17:36She wanted to come home then because when they were just kind of taking her arm to arm, she said,
17:41OK, I'm not going to go, you know, it's OK, now I want to go home.
17:45And they just said, I saw a little bit more there, you know, we'll have fun there.
17:48It turns out, in trying to fit in, Rina apparently had tried to start some trouble of her own.
17:57She had been spreading some rumours about one of the girls, whether they were malicious or just in jest, I'm not sure.
18:04But I think that in that world, that was seen as being a serious slight.
18:10And they were going to seek retribution for that.
18:12They turned on her and beat the crap out of her because she had stolen a phone book of one of the girls
18:24and phoned out one of the girls' boyfriends.
18:27The beating took place here under the Craigflower Bridge at night.
18:30Rina Virk was sitting here on a retaining wall.
18:32She was surrounded by seven other girls, two of whom were alleging she was spreading rumours about their personal lives.
18:37One of them put her cigarette out on Rina Virk's forehead.
18:40Now, Rina Virk tried to escape.
18:42She tried to walk up these stairs here.
18:44And once again, halfway up, she was surrounded by those same girls, forced over the railing,
18:48and again, beaten about the head and the face.
18:51The beating only stopped when two other kids stepped in and had them broken up.
18:55Basically, she just started trying to fend off the blows that were coming at every angle.
19:00It was like a group frenzy of a fight.
19:04It was a very brutal beating that she got.
19:07I mean, she took real hard blows, kicks, punches.
19:13A badly beaten and bloodied Rina stumbled across the bridge trying to escape to catch a bus and make her way home.
19:22But she's not alone.
19:23And she enters into the park there where the schoolhouse is.
19:29Two persons follow her across.
19:31And it's at that park that she then succumbs to another attack.
19:35She was dragged out into the gorge and then stood on her while she drowned.
19:44They said there was one fight, there was two fights, and then they said she went into the water at the end.
19:56And he said then she got drowned.
19:59I couldn't believe it.
20:02Could not believe that.
20:06Investigators believed they knew who the two perpetrators were early on.
20:10The teens apparently not tight-lipped about what had happened.
20:15They weren't keeping their mouths shut.
20:17They were talking to their friends and to other people they knew about what they'd done.
20:21In Victoria, a teenage boy and seven teenage girls are under arrest tonight following the murder of a 14-year-old girl.
20:29Police are providing little information other than saying they are beginning an astronomical investigation
20:34that could lead to the arrest of other teens.
20:37Six girls were arrested for the initial assaults of Rina Virk.
20:42Because of their ages at the time, their names and identities were sealed under a publication ban.
20:51The two individuals identified as having followed Rina across the bridge
20:56and then brutally assaulted her in the park were charged with her murder.
21:00Their cases were elevated to adult court, which allowed their names and identities to be made public.
21:0916-year-old Warren Glowatsky and 15-year-old Kelly Ellard were both charged with second-degree murder.
21:16It was shocking.
21:18It would be shocking in any community because you see kids all the time and you don't expect girls to act like that.
21:25They don't do that kind of violence to other girls.
21:29I mean, there might be a fight, but not a death.
21:33And that's what was shocking.
21:34We have a group of junior high students who potentially have murdered another, you know, 14-year-old peer.
21:41Pretty shocking stuff.
21:42I mean, certainly nothing that I think we've ever dealt with before and, you know, in Saanich.
21:49On February 9th, nearly three months after Rina's death, the trial for the 16th charged in the initial attack got underway.
21:58So the girls were hard-bitten, menacing, angry, intimidating, and we're talking about, you know, 14, 15, 16-year-old girls, and none of them very big.
22:14I'll never forget the first court appearance of her classmates, girls, basically.
22:21But you could tell they were tough and they were detached from us.
22:25It was like we weren't even there.
22:26I'll never forget there was one she was very, like, tiny.
22:31But I was actually intimidated by her because she just was this, let off this menacing air.
22:38And so did her classmates.
22:40And I thought, oh, my God.
22:40I mean, these people, these kids are in a completely different world.
22:44Three teenage girls had pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm in the beating of Rina.
22:49Three more now have been found guilty of the same charge.
22:52Their sentences range from 60 days conditional to one year in jail for their role in Rina's assault.
23:03Some of them seemed very upset, probably wishing they would have never got involved.
23:08I can remember some of them crying.
23:10I think they just felt horrible that things had ended the way it did.
23:17Rina's mother says the sentences are fair.
23:20She was angry at defense lawyers' suggestions the girls not serve any jail time.
23:24If you do a crime, you serve a sentence.
23:27In April 1999, nearly a year and a half after Rina's death, the lone male charged in the case went to trial.
23:39Warren Glowatsky pled not guilty to second-degree murder.
23:43One of the things I remember about the Warren Glowatsky trial is that his head barely came above the witness box.
23:50And we were kind of shocked about how small he looked and how young he looked and vulnerable.
23:57Do you remember his demeanor during the course of his trial?
24:01He was very nervous.
24:04The place was packed full of media.
24:06He wasn't the tough guy we expected.
24:09Didn't look like he'd be a fighter even.
24:13He really had no business being even kicking Rina.
24:17He had no reason to do it.
24:18He hardly knew her.
24:19Come on, guys.
24:20Let us have some privacy.
24:21Let us wait for that.
24:22Sarita Hartley was Glowatsky's girlfriend.
24:25She told police at the time of the murder, the accused man referred to violent music,
24:30a song called 187, when talking about Burke.
24:34The music refers to a homicide.
24:37Testimony indicated Glowatsky said that's what happened to her, referring to Rina Burke.
24:43The Crown's case relied on statements made to police at the time of the murder, including
24:50from Warren's friends and his girlfriend.
24:53He admitted to her that he was involved.
24:58Yeah, and I think she felt really horrible testifying against him, because she liked Warren.
25:03And she knew what a tough time he was having in life.
25:07You know, his parents had both moved away and left him sort of to fend for himself.
25:11Basically, he had bragged about it, trying to be the tough guy, right?
25:15Kind of false bravado it came across as, but kind of a desperation to be accepted by some other kids,
25:23much like Rina, right?
25:25Warren Glowatsky testified in his defense and pointed the finger at Kelly Ellard,
25:31his co-accused in the murder, saying she was the one responsible for Rina's death.
25:37He blamed Kelly going after Rina, going, let's go across the bridge, give her another beating.
25:43And Kelly banged her head against a tree and then said, she basically was unconscious.
25:48And Kelly said, help me drag her in the water.
25:51And Warren helped her drag her in the water.
25:53And he said, Kelly held Rina's head underwater.
25:57Well, she smoked a cigarette.
25:59And it was just the most heartless image.
26:03Rina sustained at least 12 blows to the face and head from kicks and punches.
26:13A pathologist testified she was so violently assaulted she possibly could have died from those injuries.
26:20Her actual cause of death was drowning.
26:24I always remember this one little scene where the pathologist came and she had this little evidence bag.
26:31She emptied it out, emptied it out in her hand.
26:34And the prosecutor said, what is that?
26:36And she goes, it's 16 pebbles from the ocean floor.
26:40And he said, what does that represent?
26:43And she said, that was her final breath of life.
26:4718-year-old Warren Glowatsky is charged with second-degree murder in the Burke case.
27:0814-year-old Rina Burke's badly beaten body was dumped into a Victoria waterway where she drowned in November 1997.
27:15I could see he was just a young teenager, just really a kid that fell into this situation.
27:25The trial is expected to end this week.
27:28A 16-year-old girl also charged with murder will face trial in November.
27:33In June 1999, a judge found Warren Glowatsky guilty of second-degree murder.
27:43He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.
27:48We were there at the sentencing and he came back and he said, sorry.
27:54He just came and gave us a hug and then they led him away.
27:58I think she was the mastermind.
27:59And he was stupid enough to just follow her for some reason.
28:05That alleged mastermind was Kelly Ellard, the person police believe ultimately ended Rina's life.
28:11And in March 2000, the eighth and final person accused in the case began her second-degree murder trial.
28:21Kelly always looked scowling.
28:26It looked like she was angry all the time.
28:30Kelly was just a piece of work that she'd been, her life had been interrupted by this proceeding.
28:36And why was she dragged into this, you know?
28:40And she was declaring her innocence.
28:44She was defiant.
28:48You must be looking forward to it finally being over.
28:51Oh, yes, yes.
28:53We'd like to see it over and go on with our lives.
28:57There's anger, there's rage, there's hurt.
29:00There's a whole mixture of different feelings towards her.
29:05And I'm just glad that this trial is finally happening.
29:11And hopefully justice will be served.
29:15In her opening address to the jury, Crown Prosecutor Ruth Pica outlined Rina Virk's final moments on November 14, 1997.
29:24Pica says the jury will hear evidence that Ellard held Virk's head under the water.
29:29And then bragged about the crime to her friends.
29:32I spoke to a few witnesses that had been at a party on Saturday night where Kelly was at.
29:38And she was telling people at the party that she'd murdered somebody the night before.
29:42The Crown Prosecutor called 30 witnesses to the stand.
29:46Many of them teens who testified they saw Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatsky follow Rina across the Craigflower Bridge.
29:54The defense was arguing these kids.
29:57You can't rely on the testimony of these kids because that's just false bravado of a teenager, right?
30:04Their lawyer said the rumors were flying fast and furious.
30:08And that's what teenagers do.
30:10And stuff gets taken out of context.
30:13And some of them are on drugs and drinking.
30:16And, you know, their memories are impaired.
30:21After more than two years of heartbreak and endless court proceedings, there is now some relief for the Virk family.
30:29Kelly Ellard today stood quietly looking straight ahead in court as the verdict was read.
30:35A few tears did appear on her cheek, but generally she seemed calm.
30:39A Vancouver jury found Kelly Ellard guilty of second-degree murder.
30:45She was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for five years.
30:50It's a very disappointing result.
30:53Our client is obviously very upset.
30:55And we'll look at what other remedies we may have for her at this point.
30:58In 2001, just two years into her sentence, Kelly Ellard appealed her guilty conviction
31:08and was released from prison pending a decision.
31:13It feels like we're going back to square one where she will be home with her family,
31:18enjoying, you know, the comforts of home while we have nothing.
31:25While out on bail, Kelly Ellard was arrested and charged with assault
31:31in the beating of a 58-year-old woman at a new Westminster park.
31:36Her bail was revoked and she was back behind bars.
31:41That assault charge was later stayed.
31:43The bullying is not going to stop.
31:46They aren't getting the message.
31:47You can bully somebody and kill them and still go home
31:51and your parents are going to take care of you.
31:53It's okay with mom and dad.
31:54You can do these horrible crimes and, you know,
31:57they're going to pay money to a big lawyer to help their little girl get out of trouble.
32:03Kelly convinced the appeal court that there was some impropriety
32:07and questioning and won a new trial.
32:12So the new trial was the same witnesses all over again, the same people.
32:17A second trial for Kelly Ellard began in June 2004.
32:24This time, Kelly's co-accused and the Crown's star witness, Warren Glowatsky, testified.
32:31Warren had refused to take the stand during her first trial,
32:35saying it wasn't in his interest because it could jeopardize his appeal.
32:39He also said he was fearful for his life.
32:43When asked today by the Crown, why now?
32:46Glowatsky said, quote,
32:47I feel I have an obligation to the Virk family to tell the truth.
32:51But the defense said this has nothing to do with the truth
32:53and everything to do with Glowatsky's parole opportunities.
32:59Glowatsky testified he was watching from the shore
33:01when Ellard waded waist-deep into the water and drowned Virk.
33:06The convicted killer told a packed courtroom he's not lying anymore
33:09as he points the finger at co-accused Kelly Ellard.
33:13I appreciate that you've been through a difficult ordeal.
33:18This has not been pleasant for any of us.
33:21But you have not experienced the pain of a dead child and we can't compare the pain that we've suffered.
33:37I realize that and I said it right from the start that we're all victims of all this
33:43and it has not been hard or easy for all of us.
33:46The Virks aren't the only family suffering in this whole seven-year ordeal.
33:51Do you think my family's devastated, as is Kelly?
33:56And I don't know where everybody gets this thing where Kelly shows no emotions.
34:00I see lots of emotions on the stand.
34:04The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision and a mistrial was declared.
34:10It was a hung jury.
34:11It was 11 against her to convict and one who couldn't convict felt that she should be acquitted.
34:21The judge said, well, we have to have another trial and do it all again.
34:26It's very disappointing and crushing.
34:30I was prepared for guilty or not guilty, but this, you know, never entered my head.
34:35I am willing to go through anything to make sure that true justice is done, even if it means going through another.
34:59Welcome back.
35:00The final teen charged in the devastating murder of Reena Virk is back in court for a third time.
35:07Crown prosecutors are determined to convince the jury once again that she was the ringleader behind the tragedy.
35:15But this time, startling new revelations about Kelly Ellert's alleged violent past had a chilling layer to the story.
35:21We now return to the conclusion of Rumours and Lies, the murder of Reena Virk.
35:34In April 2005, Kelly Ellert's third trial got underway.
35:39No, we don't have nothing to say.
35:42By now, patience was wearing very thin.
35:45Kelly Ellert's family has been at the trial every single day and throughout it all, remain convinced she is not the murderer.
35:55Do you still support her?
35:57Of course I support her, just as we have been for almost eight years.
36:02The trial lasted five weeks.
36:04The prosecution called the same slate of witnesses, teens who testified they saw Kelly Ellert before or after the brutal attack,
36:13including the Crown's key witness, Warren Glowatsky.
36:17He, once again, blamed Kelly.
36:20The defence argued some of the teens' memories lapsed, suggesting they were reconstructed over time.
36:28For this Victoria family, the parents of Reena Virk, it's finally over.
36:34After three trials, seven and a half years, they have justice in the bullying murder of their daughter.
36:39The killer, Kelly Ellert, is guilty of Reena's second-degree murder.
36:45When the verdict came in, Kelly Ellert didn't move.
36:48She didn't even flinch.
36:50Her mother and father sat there stone-faced in disbelief.
36:54The Virk family cried tears of joy.
36:57For both families, it's been seven and a half years of hell.
37:00There is no victory here today.
37:04There are no winners.
37:08We are all losers.
37:14I lost a child.
37:18My parents lost a grandchild.
37:22And the Ellerts lost their daughter as well on November 14, 1997.
37:34None of our lives will ever be the same again.
37:39At her sentencing hearing, the court heard new details about Kelly Ellert's alleged violent history,
37:46including allegations of a previous swarming attack.
37:49They are trying to paint a picture of Ellert as a hardened criminal with a violent past.
37:55But the most explosive words came from Ellert's grade 8 home ec teacher.
37:59Colleen Calderwood testified she saw Ellert hold a chef's knife to another student's throat.
38:04Ellert was just 13.
38:06Calderwood testified Ellert had, quote,
38:08serious, genuine, and violent intent.
38:12The Crown is also planning to introduce these two disturbing pictures as evidence.
38:16One of the drawings by Ellert depicts a violent bank robbery.
38:20The other shows flames coming out of a woman's head and says someone is going to die.
38:25According to former RCMP Staff Sergeant Bruce Brown,
38:28the details of this picture actually happened to a classmate of Ellert's just three and a half months before Burke's death.
38:35The girl was swarmed and kicked up to 20 times.
38:38Her hair was also set on fire.
38:41Ellert and two other girls were charged in this incident,
38:44but the charges against Ellert were eventually stayed.
38:48I'm glad it will be over and I can see that finally the justice has been served.
38:54And if I wished, I hope she was locked up forever.
38:59This time, Kelly Ellert was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for seven years.
39:08There's no closure.
39:09There never will be because nothing will bring Rena back.
39:13Our healing is not going to be an easy one
39:16because she was so close to my heart and my mind
39:20and she was our first grandchild.
39:24And again, it was not cut and dry.
39:27There was more disappointment for Rena Virg's family.
39:32In 2008, the BC Court of Appeal overturned Kelly Ellert's murder conviction
39:38and ordered a fourth trial,
39:41saying the trial judge erred in his instructions to the jury over testimony.
39:46When you see something drags for 11 years, 12 years,
39:49I could not believe that it could happen in this case.
39:52I could call it a legal system
39:54because it covers a whole big umbrella,
39:57but justice system, when you use the word justice,
40:00well, we all have to stop and think,
40:02is it really being served?
40:04The Crown challenged that ruling
40:06and the following year, the case reached Canada's highest court.
40:11Remember that there was a trial of the six teenage girls
40:15involved in the initial swarming.
40:17There were prelims for Glowatsky and the respondent.
40:20There was a trial for Glowatsky
40:22and there have been three trials for Ellert.
40:26The Supreme Court of Canada reinstated
40:28the second-degree murder conviction.
40:31The decision ended an almost 12-year legal saga.
40:36She should have learned a lesson there
40:37and the sad thing is that she never learned anything.
40:40She's still agitated till the end.
40:42As for Warren Glowatsky,
40:45he was granted day parole a few years earlier in 2007.
40:50They based their decision on a couple of factors.
40:53One was that he had a very strong understanding
40:56of why he committed the crimes that he did.
40:59Glowatsky says he deeply regrets what he did to Virk.
41:04Rina's parents travel from Vancouver Island
41:06to attend the hearing
41:07and support the young man convicted
41:09of murdering their daughter.
41:11You lost your daughter.
41:12I know that's the hard part.
41:15It was difficult.
41:16But then, you know,
41:17you have to move on from that aspect.
41:18And when somebody is remorseful
41:20and they turn around
41:22and they convince you
41:24that they are really repentant,
41:27then what are you going to do?
41:28Hold the grudge for life against them?
41:30In 2010, Warren Glowatsky was granted full parole.
41:35A psychology report noted
41:36that he had no personality characteristics
41:39for future violence
41:41and appeared to be committed
41:43to giving back to the community.
41:46Other factors,
41:47that he demonstrated remorse
41:48and accepted responsibility.
41:53It's at odds with Kelly Ellard
41:56who for many years claimed her innocence.
41:58With the parole system,
42:00unless you admit your responsibility,
42:03you don't get out.
42:05We're not too far away here.
42:07And 19 years after
42:08Rina Virk's brutal killing,
42:10for the first time,
42:12Kelly Ellard had taken responsibility
42:14for her murder.
42:15She admitted that
42:16if she hadn't participated in the attack,
42:20Rina would probably be alive today.
42:23I think she agreed
42:24that she helped drag Rina's body
42:26into the water.
42:28Rina's death
42:30was one of the first
42:31high-profile murder cases
42:32in Canada involving teen girls.
42:36It wasn't just about
42:37the murder of Rina.
42:40It became about
42:41youth violence in general.
42:42It became about
42:43the state of violence
42:45in the city of Victoria
42:46and in Saanich.
42:47So it took on
42:48this whole persona, you know.
42:50Well, I think it was a wake-up call
42:52because it was girls.
42:53This felt like it was bigger,
42:55that it was unusual,
42:57that it was spreading.
42:57I think it's also helped
42:59that this is no longer thought of
43:01as just bullying,
43:02that it changed the perspective
43:04from bullying to assault and to murder.
43:07These are huge problems
43:09where people are getting hurt,
43:11assaulted, and in this case, murdered.
43:13So things can be very dangerous
43:15at this age,
43:16and prevention is badly needed.
43:19Since Rina Virk's death,
43:22her parents have been vocal advocates
43:24against violence and bullying.
43:27The fact that Rina's parents
43:29were so available to talk
43:32and to talk about Rina,
43:34and their message was one of healing
43:36and forgiveness
43:37rather than anger and vengeance.
43:39We just basically thought there,
43:43let's put our energies
43:44into educating now
43:46other kids in other schools.
43:48Her legacy is that
43:49I think she has become now
43:50a figure there
43:52in the world
43:53of schools,
43:55young people,
43:56police,
43:57everybody knows her name,
43:59and we sincerely hope
44:00that people have learned
44:02from that tragedy.
44:03She gave up her body
44:04to that horrible incident,
44:06and I just don't want
44:08any other child
44:09to go through that.
44:11She wanted to be a nurse.
44:14That was her dream
44:15when she grows up.
44:17She never got to live her dreams.
44:23Kelly Ellert
44:24has since changed her name
44:26to Carrie Sim
44:27and has had two children.
44:29After years of fighting
44:30for justice,
44:31Rina Virk's mother
44:32sadly passed away in 2018
44:34following an accident.
44:36She was just 58 years old.
44:39Her father continues
44:40to keep Rina's memory alive,
44:43writing a book
44:44about the tragic death
44:45of his daughter.
44:46And since Rina's murder,
44:48schools across British Columbia
44:50have launched
44:50several anti-bullying programs,
44:53part of a growing effort
44:54to tackle violence among teens.
45:00Thank you for joining us
45:02tonight on Crime Beat.
45:03I'm Anthony Robart.
45:06Want more episodes
45:07of Crime Beat?
45:08Listen to the Crime Beat podcast
45:10now for free
45:11on Apple Podcasts,
45:13Spotify,
45:14or wherever you find
45:15your favourite podcast.
45:16And for past episodes
45:18of Crime Beat,
45:19go to the Global TV app,
45:21visit globaltv.com,
45:23or check out
45:24our Crime Beat YouTube page.
45:26I'm a great guy.
45:28I'll see you next time on
45:29the NCA page.
45:29I'll see you next time on
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