UNDER the BRIDGE-Detailed Account of Teens Murder of Classmate in Canada

Unthinkable, the heinous murder of a teenage girl by her classmates.  Tragically, the unthinkable, the deliberate killing of 14-year-old Reena Virk by her peers occurred in 1997, in Canada capturing the fascination of the public, making international headlines and resulted in  murder convictions of two teens. Journalist and author, Rebecca Godfrey, spent six years researching and interviewing 7 teens ages 14-17,  involved, their families, the investigators and prosecutors assigned to the case.   The massive media attention of the shocking and senseless killings demands answers to try and make sense of these brutal killings.  Furthermore, what can be learned to prevent a similar catastrophe.  Godfrey died last year at age 54 from lung cancer.  Godfrey mapped out the details of Reena's murder, cover-up and the trials or her tormentors in excruciating details.  The interviews with the young people and adults affiliated affords a thorough examination of what took place.  The melee and mayhem turned into a cause celebre' in Canada.  Godfrey relies heavily on verbatim interviews and court recordings to relay events from numerous perspectives.  The numerous people involved leads to some confusion.   The three teens explicated are m Kelly, the only girl convicted of murder, Warren, the only male indicted and convicted of murder and Syreeta, Warren's steadfast sweetheart.  Perhaps, confusing the mob of girls involved in the brutally  beating Reena explains, in part, mob mentality, the omnipotence of friendships and the desire to fit in for adolescents.  When considering how these young teens were caught up into being so cruel as to pummel Reena, kicking her in the head and putting a cigarette out on her face, an analogy can be drawn with the mania of Mega Hat Heads who followed the call to insurrection on our US Capitol.  Kelly is the ruthless svengali leader, able to sway impressionable minds to her callous bidding.  Still, how could one predict a gathering of girls would turn so ugly and could arouse such fury that could amount to murder?  It's imperative to question what socio-economic, family dynamics and violent warning signs as factors.  Sgt. Bond, a the lead detective on the case, noted "The kids in the beating and murder, none of them came from an intact family."  Manji Virk, Reena's father lamented, "It was like evil took over everyone."   The District Attorney thought, "Maybe it was just peer pressure, just teenagers."  It just should never happen and never, should these agonizing behaviors be swept under the bridge.