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Warren
Paul
GLOWATSKI
Classification:
Homicide
Characteristics: Juvenile
(16)
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder:
November 14,
1997
Date of arrest: 1
week after
Date of birth:
April 26,
1981
Victim profile: Reena
Virk (female, 14)
Method of murder:
Drowning
Location: Saanich, British Columbia, Canada
Status:
Sentenced to life in prison with no chance
of parole 7 years on June 18, 1999.
Released on parole June 23, 2010
Warren
Glowatski (born
April 26, 1981 in Medicine Hat, Alberta) is a Canadian man
convicted in the high-profile murder case of Reena Virk.
Glowatski's
parents were never married, but stayed together in order to
raise him. His mother, however, was an alcoholic which caused
Warren's father to leave her in 1996. When they were together
Warren and his parents moved around frequently; he lived in
Estevan and Regina, Saskatchewan, and Castlegar, British
Columbia etc.
In 1996, with
his father only, Warren moved to Nanaimo, British Columbia on
Vancouver Island. By 1997 they finally settled, in a trailer
home, near the southern tip of the Island in Saanich, British
Columbia. At 15 Warren fell in love with his classmate Syreeta
Hartely.
But in the
summer of 1997, Warren's father married a woman he met in Las
Vegas, Nevada. She had a home in southern California and
Warren's father was going to move into it. He invited Warren to
move with him, but Warren didn't want to leave his girlfriend
behind. His father left for California as Warren lived alone in
the trailer. His father would send him cheques several times a
month to live on. Syreeta's mother would cook meals for him and
wash his clothes.
The Crime
On Friday
November 14, 1997 teenagers, mostly those attending Shoreline
Secondary School, had gathered around for a party underneath the
Craigflower Bridge. The bridge was near an inlet locals dubbed
the Gorge. Suddenly a group of seven girls start punching and
kicking on a girl, whom Glowatski did not know.
For unknown
reasons, Warren approached the fight and twice kicked the victim
in the head. A friend of Warren's told him to stop it "this
isn't your fight" as he would tell the court. The fight lasted
3-5 minutes, until one girl finally called for the beating to
stop. The victim, Reena Virk, bruised and bleeding staggered
across the bridge to make her way home.
The group of
girls, who were beating her, took her backpack away from her.
They dumped its contents into the water and street. Most of the
crowd went home, however, Warren and another girl Kelly Ellard
stayed behind and followed Virk. It's unknown what kind of
exchange they had, but a second and fatal beating ensued.
According to
Glowatski, Ellard smashed Reena's face into a tree knocking her
out. With Glowatski's help Ellard dragged Reena into the water,
but Reena awoke and started fighting with Ellard. Ellard held
her head beneath the water drowning her until she stopped
fighting. Warren and Kelly left the crime scene without speaking
a word.
Conclusion
Glowatski and
the seven girls were arrested one week after the beating and
murder. Six of the girls were convicted of assault causing
bodily harm and aggravated battery with sentences ranging from
two months to a year depending on their involvement. In 1999,
Warren was convicted of second degree murder and given a life
sentence. But because Warren was 16, at the time, he comes up
for parole every 7 years. In November 2004, he was denied his
first chance at parole. The Virks did not contest the parole,
because Glowatski has expressed remorse and responsibility for
his part of the murder.
Notes
Glowatski
was into gangster rap and affiliated himself with the local
Crips. He was initiated into the group, in 1996, by enduring
a beating the gang members gave him. Around school he was
known for wearing the gang's trademark colors.
Glowatski
now admits that his gang affiliation and love for violent
music most likely fueled his partnership with Kelly Ellard.
Syreeta
Hartley, Warren's girlfriend, was also underneath the bridge
that night but she felt sick and left before the first fight
took place. Warren offered to take her home, but she
declined. She regrets not telling him yes.
In 2000
for Kelly Ellard's first trial Warren refused to testify
against her citing that doing so would endanger his life in
prison. The judge charged him with one count of contempt of
court. Warren received an extra five years for the charge.
He later testified in her second and third trials.
Reference
Godfrey,
Rebecca Under the Bridge Publisher Simon & Schuster
2005, September 20.
Wikipedia.org
The murder of Reena Virk: A
timeline
CBC News Online
April 13, 2005
July 7,
2005
Justice Robert Bauman sentences Kelly Ellard to life in prison,
calling Reena Virk's death a senseless and remorseless crime.
Ellard must serve seven years before she can seek parole.
April 12,
2005:
Third trial finds Kelly Ellard guilty of second degree murder in
the death of Reena Virk.
April 7,
2005:
A third jury begins deliberating the fate of Kelly Ellard.
April 6,
2005:
Final arguments wrap up in Ellard's third trial. Ellard's lawyer
attacks the testimony of key crown witnesses, saying almost
every one of them described new memories after being prodded by
the police and the Crown. The Crown prosecutor argued that as a
whole, the testimony points to Ellard as a murderer.
March 17, 2005:
The crown's key witness – Warren Glowatski – describes how he
and Ellard followed Virk as she staggered away from a group of
teens. He testified that he and Ellard beat Virk and left her
for dead in a waterway.
Feb. 21, 2005:
Kelly Ellard goes on trial for a third time, accused of killing
Reena Virk. It is more than seven years after Virk was swarmed
and beaten by a group of teenagers. Ellard was 15 when she was
first charged. She's now 22.
Nov. 19,
2004:
Warren Glowatski is denied day parole.
July 18, 2004:
Justice Selwyn Romilly declares a mistrial in Ellard's second-degree
murder trial after jurors says they are deadlocked. "All things
must come to an end. That time is now," the jury wrote.
July 14,
2004:
Jury begins its deliberations in the murder trial of Kelly
Ellard, accused of killing Reena Virk in 1997, when they were
both teenagers.
July 9,
2004:
Ellard defence rests its case after its last witness testifies
that Warren Glowatski, convicted of second degree murder in the
case, paid her to spread stories that Ellard had killed Virk.
July 8, 2004
:
Ellard finishes her third day of testimony, still denying she
killed Virk, but saying, "I'm obviously going to be convicted.
You've got what you want, my life is ruined."
July 6,
2004:
Ellard admits to punching Virk, but says she did so because she
thought Virk was going to hurt one of her friends. She denies
drowning her in the tidal inlet.
June 30, 2004
:
A pathologist testifies that Virk's death was due to drowning.
He also says that if Virk had not drowned, she may not have
survived because of a serious head injury.
June 29,
2004:
Glowatski, convicted of second-degree murder in Virk's death,
denies killing her, but says he watched Ellard drown her. Ellard
lawyer says Glowatski lied repeatedly in his initial statements
to police and at his own trial.
June 16-22, 2004
:
In five days of testimony, several witnesses come forward to say
Ellard admitted to killing to Virk.
June 14, 2004:
A second trial opens for Kelly Ellard, charged with second-degree
murder in the swarming death of 14-year-old Reena Virk almost
seven years earlier.
March 4,
2004:
Ellard's bail is revoked a month after she is charged with
assault causing bodily harm in connection with the beating of a
58-year-old woman in a Vancouver park. Ellard is ordered back
into custody.
Feb. 4, 2003:
The B.C. Court of Appeal orders a new trial for Ellard, now 21
years old. The court ruled the Crown failed to give her a fair
trail by asking Ellard 18 times why witnesses would give false
testimony against her. Ellard was testifying in her own defence.
Ellard – freed on bail pending her appeal – had served 18 months
of a life sentence for second-degree murder.
Nov. 29, 2001:
Warren Glowatski, the second teen to be convicted of second-degree
murder in Virk's death, loses his appeal. The B.C. Court of
Appeal rules Glowatski actively took part in Virk's killing.
Nov. 15,
2000 :
Reena Virk's parents sue the teens arrested in connection with
the attack on their daughter, the B.C. government and several
others. "Society doesn't make people take responsibility for
their actions. This is one way to make them responsible," Manjit
Virk, Reena's father, said.
April 21,
2000:
A judge rules Ellard must spend at least five years behind bars
before she can apply for parole. Ellard was 15 when she was
arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The case was
tried in adult court. Had she been 18 or older when she took
part in Virk's killing, she would have had to serve at least 10
years before being eligible for parole.
March 31,
2000:
Ellard is convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Virk.
The 17-year-old-girl is led from the courtroom before she can
say good-bye to her parents, to begin serving a life sentence.
Prosecutors had described Ellard as the most aggressive in the
group of girls who attacked Virk. The defence portrayed Ellard
as the victim of a conspiracy by a group of young girls who were
out to protect themselves.
March 9, 2000:
The second-degree murder trial of Kelly Ellard opens in
Vancouver. It's the third trial connected to the killing of
Reena Virk.
June 18, 1999
:
Warren Glowatski is sentenced to life in prison with no chance
of parole seven years for second-degree murder in the death of
Reena Virk. Justice Malcolm MacAuley says Glowatski would have a
better chance at participating in programs and receiving an
education at the federal institution of Matsqui than he would at
a youth facility.
June 2, 1999:
Warren Glowatski is convicted of second degree murder in the
death of Reena Virk.
May 13, 1999
:
The Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear an appeal by Kelly
Ellard's lawyers to have her case tried in youth court. She will
be tried as an adult.
May 3, 1999:
Warren Glowatski admits he took part in the beating of Reena
Virk but insists he did not kill her.
April 12,
1999:
Trial of Warren Glowatski opens in Vancouver. He was 17 when he
was accused of second-degree murder in the killing of Reena Virk.
The judge rules against a publication ban on the details of the
case.
April to May 1998:
Six girls - aged 14 to 16 - receive sentences ranging from 60
days conditional to one year in jail for their parts in the
initial beating of Reena Virk.
Feb. 13,
1998:
Three teenaged girls are convicted of lesser charges of assault
causing bodily harm.
Feb. 9, 1998:
The first of the trials in beating and drowning of Reena Virk
opens in Vancouver. Three teenaged girls plead guilty to charges
of assault causing bodily harm. Three other teenaged girls go to
trial on charges of aggravated assault.
Nov. 22,
1997:
Police divers find the body of Reena Virk in a shallow tidal
pool, about one kilometre from where she was last beaten.
Nov. 21, 1997:
Warren Paul Glowatski is arrested and charged with the murder of
Reena Virk. Seven teenaged girls also face charges ranging from
assault to murder.
Nov. 14, 1997 :
Reena Virk, 14, is swarmed and beaten under a bridge in Saanich
on Vancouver Island by a group of teenagers, mainly girls.
Battered and bloodied, she manages to get up and stagger across
the bridge toward a bus stop to make her way home. Two of the
original attackers drag her back and beat her again and leave
her in Victoria's Gorge waterway. That's where police find her
body eight days later. Witnesses later testified that one of the
accused bragged that she had one foot on Virk's head and smoked
a cigarette as Virk lay in the water.
Reena Virk (March 10,
1983 – November 14, 1997) was a resident of
Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Her bullying
and murder attracted substantial media attention
in Canada.
Virk was first swarmed by
seven females and one male. Moments later the
single male and one of the females administered
an additional beating and murdered her. The
Globe and Mail commented at the time that
her case had been "elevated into a national
tragedy".
Canadian sociologists have
described the case as a watershed moment for a
"moral panic" over girl violence by the Canadian
public in the late 1990s. Kelly Ellard and
Warren Glowatski were given life sentences after
being convicted of Virk's second-degree murder.
The names of the six girls involved in Virk's
first beating are concealed.
The murder case has been the
subject of an award-winning and bestselling book,
Under the Bridge (2005) by Rebecca
Godfrey, and partly inspired a monologue play,
The Shape of a Girl (2001), by Joan
MacLeod. and The Beckoners by Carrie Mac.
The film rights for the book Under the Bridge
have been purchased by Type A Productions
for adaptation into a movie.
The victim
Reena Virk was a girl who
came from a large extended family who had
emigrated from India to Canada. An article in
Saturday Night described her immediate
family as "a minority within a minority", as
they were of the Jehovah's Witness religion in
the local East Indian community of 3,000 which
was predominantly Sikh. Reena Virk was a heavy
girl, so Warren and Kelly had both had to be
part of her dragging and could not have been
possible without the help of them both. Virk has
also been described as a girl who was desperate
for acceptance amongst her peers, but was teased
and/or ostracized by these girls whose
subculture was influenced by Los Angeles street
gangs.
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. She
began to smoke, disobey family rules and spent a
few days at a group foster home where she first
came into contact with the local youth gang
culture to which she became attracted. There
also had been allegations that she may have been
sexually abused by her father though the charges
(filed in January 1996) had been stayed in court
and after leaving home for six weeks, Virk
returned home.
The crime
On the evening of Friday
November 14th, 1997, Reena Virk was invited to
"party" at a location used for gatherings of
teenagers near the Craigflower Bridge, which is
located west of the city of Victoria. Virk, who
had already been having difficulty fitting in
with her schoolmates, decided to accept the
invitation.
While at the bridge, it is
claimed that teenagers talked amongst themselves,
drank, and smoked marijuana. Virk was swarmed
upon by eight adolescents, seven girls and one
boy.
Witnesses said that one of
the girls stubbed out a cigarette on Virk's
forehead, and that while seven or eight others
stood by and watched, Virk was repeatedly hit,
punched and kicked. She was found to have
several cigarette burns on her skin, and
apparently attempts were made to set her hair on
fire.
The fight ended when one of
the girls told the others to stop. Virk managed
to walk away, but was followed by two members of
the original group, Ellard and Glowatski. The
pair dragged Virk back under the bridge, made
her remove her shoes and jacket, and beat her a
second time. It is believed that Ellard forced
Virk's head under the water and held it there
with her foot until Virk stopped struggling.
Despite an alleged 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, 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.
Possible motives
"Under the Bridge" details
some of the motives that may have led to Virk's
death. Two of the girls convicted in the initial
beating allege that Virk stole one of the girl's
phone book and started calling her friends and
spreading vicious rumors about her. The girl
stubbed her cigarette on Virk's forehead. The
other girl was angry with Virk for stealing her
boyfriend. Virk, who once lived with the two
girls in a youth group home, may have done those
things in order to assert herself as a "tough
girl".
The book also reveals Virk
was initially considered a runaway when her
mother first reported her missing to the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police. Two Russian sisters,
who lived in the youth group home, were prompted
to call the police upon hearing that Virk was
most likely dead.
The murder case of Reena Virk: A 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
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.
June 14, 2004 The second
murder trial begins.
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 in the witness box while denying
her part in the crime. In one infamous
instance during the second trial, Ellard
said to the proscecutor "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, 2005 Ellard was
found guilty of second degree murder. She
was given an automatic life sentence. Her
lawyers are considering filing an appeal.
July 20, 2006 After
serving nearly 9 years of a life sentence,
Warren Glowatski is granted unescorted
temporary passes by the National Parole
Board, moving him a step closer to becoming
part of society. The Virk family support the
decision.
August 9, 2006, Ellard
appealed her conviction, asking for a fourth
trial or an acquittal.
