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awards. Only at Sleep Number stores

1:02

or sleepnumber.com. Hey

1:07

everyone, it's Graham here from True North True Crime.

1:09

And this month we've joined up with Kathy Kinzora

1:11

and her podcast, The History of the 90s. Together

1:15

we've put together a gripping two-part series on

1:17

the tragic murder of Rina Verk in 1997.

1:21

Kathy is an exceptional journalist and researcher,

1:23

and her podcast dives deep into the

1:25

pivotal moments and trends of the 90s

1:27

and beyond. So if you're

1:29

hungry for more history of the 90s, check out

1:31

Kathy's podcast on your favorite platform. Now

1:34

without further ado, let's dive into this

1:36

captivating two-parter on the tragic life and

1:38

murder of Rina Verk. It

1:43

was a gray fall day when Officer

1:45

Chris Horsley boarded a Coast Guard helicopter.

1:48

As he buckled in, he thought to

1:51

himself, conditions were perfect for a search.

1:54

The doors on both sides of the bright red

1:56

helicopter were wide open as it took off and

1:58

flew up the dark water. The of the

2:01

Gorge on Vancouver Island. Officer

2:03

Horse late looked right while another

2:05

constable looked left. Hello, They saw

2:08

police divers who were also part

2:10

of the search. As the helicopter

2:12

travelled further up the waterway and

2:14

over a bridge, Officer Horsley saw

2:16

what they were looking for: the

2:18

body of a teenage girl who'd

2:21

been missing for over a week.

2:24

I'm Kathy Cans or Up and this

2:26

is history of the Ninety's a podcast

2:28

about a decade that change the world.

2:31

Over the next two episodes I'm joined

2:33

by Caitlin and Graham Duffy, the cohosts

2:35

of the podcast True North True Crime

2:37

as we look back at a Canadian

2:40

murder that drew international attention. And

2:42

brought the issue of seen violence and. Bullying

2:44

into the spotlight, this is the

2:46

murder of Ring of Hurts. When.

2:55

Rina work was a toddler. Her dad said

2:57

she looked like a princess which was sitting

2:59

for a little girl whose name means clean

3:02

in Hindi. Meant she was

3:04

a doting father to his first for

3:06

you read or books and sang lullabies

3:08

cherishing every moment with his young daughter.

3:12

Screeners Dad came. To Canada from

3:14

India in Nineteen Seventy Nine. His

3:16

original plan was to stay for

3:18

two months while visiting his sister

3:20

in Victoria. I'm British Columbia, Vancouver

3:23

Island. But while. He was there he

3:25

fell in love and married. Rena Mum

3:27

Suman. Another daughter and

3:29

son soon followed. Rename The family

3:31

enjoyed the beauty of B C,

3:33

camping and swimming at local beaches

3:35

and they took fun road trips

3:38

to places like Disney and Baja

3:40

California. They were a typical

3:42

family. Living and ordinary life.

3:45

But man, seat. For says, when Rena was

3:47

around ten or eleven, the family entered

3:50

what he calls Rough Waters In his

3:52

two thousand and eight memoir work writes

3:54

that his daughter began talking back and

3:56

picking fights with her mom. She.

3:59

withdrew and refuse to go to

4:01

church or any other family outings. According

4:04

to Caitlin Duffy, who co-hosts the podcast

4:06

True North True Crime alongside her husband

4:08

Graham Duffy, Reena felt like

4:10

she didn't fit in with her peers. When

4:13

Reena was in grade six, she was growing quite

4:15

fast and felt trapped in a

4:18

bigger body. She was bullied

4:20

by other kids who teased her and excluded her.

4:22

And because she was so unhappy, she stopped caring

4:24

about her appearance and her hair

4:26

was often unkempt, which made obviously this

4:28

ridicule worse. These kids are mean

4:30

in middle school. So

4:32

by the time Reena entered Colquitt's middle school, she was

4:34

already five foot eight inches tall and 180 pounds. And

4:39

anybody who has been a 12 or 13 year

4:41

old girl knows that that appearance is not really

4:43

in line with other girls her age and was

4:45

certainly not in line with the 90s feminine beauty

4:47

standards that you would see in

4:49

Maxim or MTV or much music and all

4:52

of that. In

4:56

May 1994, the family moved to a new

4:58

split level house in Saanich, a

5:00

massive municipality that's part of the

5:02

capital regional district and surrounds the

5:05

city of Victoria. Graham

5:07

Duffy says that Saanich has well over

5:09

100,000 residents and includes 17 different neighborhoods.

5:14

Like Saanich kind of proper goes up

5:16

the Saanich Peninsula and it's a

5:18

lot of farming properties and rural

5:20

stretches. But then when you get

5:23

closer to Victoria and sort of to the west

5:25

of the Pat Bay Highway, you

5:27

have this kind of centralized area of

5:29

Saanich and that is like a

5:32

suburban utopia. There's you know, especially

5:35

back in the 90s, there's like

5:37

malls and fast food joints and

5:39

like densely packed little neighborhoods. Reena's

5:43

parents hoped moving to Saanich would be a

5:45

fresh start for their daughter. But

5:47

at her new school, she was once again

5:49

excluded and bullied. Then

5:52

in the summer before high school, Reena began

5:54

hanging out with some older teenagers she met

5:56

at a local park. And

5:58

that's when Reena began. The change her

6:01

luck she was wearing and of

6:03

Urban Sportswear sneakers, platform shoes darker,

6:05

Make up an unconventional nail polish

6:07

colors like blue. She. Smoked

6:10

pot and cigarettes and started listening to hip

6:12

hop and rap and even claimed that she

6:14

had joined the gangs that is called The

6:16

Crips which was something the other kids. In

6:18

her age group had been claiming. As well. And

6:20

it seemed like the California gang. Culture.

6:22

Was the very hip and cool thing at

6:25

the time. When ring as

6:27

parents discovered that her new friends smoked and

6:29

sometimes stayed out all night, they tried to

6:31

put a stop to it. Green.

6:33

Of her parents came from a traditional. Background

6:35

and adding to that They were also

6:37

Jehovah's Witnesses and they did their best

6:40

to instill traditional and religious ideals in

6:42

their kids. These beliefs, however, we're

6:44

obviously at odds with the other

6:46

nineties kids, many of rain as

6:48

pure as were from relaxed, nontraditional.

6:50

White families. Rena unhappy

6:52

with her parents strict rules, decided to

6:54

push back in a way that would

6:57

cause a major rest in the Virk

6:59

family. Rena.

7:03

Complain to were new friends about

7:05

her overbearing parents. And at some

7:07

point someone in. The group suggested a way

7:10

out. They advised her to

7:12

tell authorities that her parents were abusing

7:14

her. then she would get some to

7:16

a foster. Home or a group home. So

7:19

that's what she did. Rena parents

7:21

insisted the allegations. Were false, but

7:23

a social worker decided it was best for

7:26

the thirteen year old to stay with her

7:28

maternal grandparents who lived two and a half

7:30

kilometers away from the verse Hamli home. The

7:34

situation. Thought extremely messy over the

7:36

next several months while at our

7:38

grandparents, Rena accused her father of

7:41

sexual abuse. That led

7:43

police to arrest Manji, but charges

7:45

against them were eventually dropped when

7:47

Rena recanted the allegations. The

7:50

turmoil continued. as rena bounced around

7:52

from place to place for she moved

7:54

from her grandparents to a foster home

7:56

and then for short periods she moved

7:58

back home with her parents Then,

8:01

in November 1997, Reena said

8:03

she wanted to go back to foster care. And

8:05

while a social worker tried to sort

8:08

out the situation, Reena went to an

8:10

emergency youth shelter. That's

8:12

where the 14-year-old met up with two

8:14

teen girls with troubled backgrounds and a

8:16

history of violence. It was

8:18

a meeting that would have deadly consequences. At

8:27

first, Reena adored Nicole Cook and Missy

8:29

Plake. In her eyes, they were everything

8:31

she wanted to be. Cool

8:33

and tough, living by their own rules and

8:36

afraid of nothing. Reena

8:38

desperately wanted to be friends with them. And

8:40

even though she did everything she could to

8:42

get to know them, they kept her at

8:44

arm's length. After

8:46

a few days at the shelter, Reena returned home. And

8:49

on Friday, November 14th, she planned to spend

8:52

a quiet evening on her own. Then,

8:55

the phone rang. It was Nicole and Missy

8:57

from the shelter. And they wanted Reena

8:59

to hang out with them. Caitlin

9:02

says Reena knew these girls weren't her

9:04

biggest fans, so she was a bit

9:06

suspicious about why they were inviting her

9:08

out. Nicole and

9:10

Missy ended up convincing Reena that she wasn't in any

9:13

danger and they just really wanted to be friends with

9:15

her. They said, come party with us, it'll be fun.

9:18

And so Reena, who was

9:20

so desperate to be liked

9:22

and accepted by her peers,

9:25

changed her plans for that night and she

9:27

packed her backpack and made her way to

9:29

that field at Shoreline School hopeful that this

9:31

might be the beginning of a different social

9:34

life for her. Reena

9:36

met the girls in front of a nearby

9:38

Walmart and then took a bus to Shoreline

9:40

High School in View Royal, a suburb of

9:42

Greater Victoria. The town

9:44

is situated close to the Gorge Waterway,

9:46

a six-kilometer tidal river which in

9:48

the first half of the 20th

9:50

century was a dumping ground for

9:52

industrial and residential waste, making it

9:54

unsafe for swimming until a clean-up

9:56

began in the 90s. You

10:00

know was a teenager. View Royal was

10:02

home to approximately eight thousand people. Mostly.

10:05

Working class families. For

10:07

some residents of Victoria, parts of You

10:10

Royal were considered to be the wrong

10:12

side of the tracks. On

10:14

most Friday and Saturday nights, teams would

10:16

gather in the feel that Shoreline High

10:18

School, the hangouts. The. Night that

10:20

Rena. Went there wasn't a call and Missy

10:23

about fifty or sixty other teens showed

10:25

up to party at Shoreline. They. Drank

10:27

vodka and smoked weed under a

10:29

full moon shining so bright that

10:31

is illuminated the seals. The

10:34

sky got even brighter at precisely

10:36

nine twelve pm. When stunning

10:39

red and yellow light. Trails blazed

10:41

over Victoria like silent

10:43

fireworks. The glowing

10:45

trails which lasted for about thirty seconds,

10:47

came from a piece of a Russian

10:49

rocket as it fell back to earth.

10:52

The debris burned up as it hits

10:55

the earth's atmosphere and could be seen

10:57

from Seattle to Victoria and Vancouver. The.

11:00

Fiery display frightened many people.

11:02

Who called Nine One One and local

11:04

police stations. Some. Of the

11:06

teams gathered on the field, that shoreline school

11:08

screamed when they saw the burst of lights

11:11

in the sky. They wondered if

11:13

it was a meteor shower or maybe a

11:15

satellite. Shortly after

11:17

the light show, a teenage boy in the

11:19

crowd threw a rock at a school window.

11:22

Which. Prompted a. Janitor who was inside

11:24

to call the police. When.

11:27

A cop car showed up. the kids

11:29

scattered setting in different directions. While

11:32

that was happening, the coal and Missy. The

11:34

to shelter girls who had invited Rena

11:36

to the thirty put their real plan

11:38

in motion. Say.

11:41

along with some other teenage girls. Chased

11:43

Rena to at nearby road and

11:46

surrounded her. Reno. Ran to

11:48

a phone booth and called home. Her

11:50

little brother answered. She said to him

11:52

I'm coming home. Can you tell Mom I'll

11:54

be home soon. on the

11:56

other end the young boy could tell his sister

11:58

was crying and scared He encouraged her as

12:00

best he could and urged her to come

12:03

home. Rina hung up

12:05

but was afraid to leave the safety of the

12:07

phone booth. She was surrounded by the group

12:09

of teens who beckoned her to come out.

12:12

They said they didn't want to fight. They wanted to

12:14

party with her. Eventually,

12:16

she stepped out of the phone booth and said,

12:18

I want to catch the bus. I have

12:20

to go home. The teens

12:22

wouldn't move. One of them took her bus pass

12:24

and ripped it up. Nicole

12:26

and Missy moved to either side of

12:29

Rina, linking arms with her. Then,

12:31

together, they walked toward a nearby

12:33

bridge. The

12:38

Craigflower Bridge crosses the Gorge Waterway,

12:40

connecting View Royal and Saanich. On

12:43

one side, a wooden staircase with a

12:45

rusty railing descends from street level to

12:48

an area under the bridge that resembles

12:50

a dark cave. After

12:52

being told to leave the shoreline field, 14 girls,

12:55

including Rina, along with two boys

12:57

gathered under the bridge. They

13:00

stood around on muddy, uneven ground that

13:02

sloped down to the water's edge. Then,

13:05

suddenly, Nicole screamed at Rina.

13:08

She asked, why are you trying to ruin my

13:11

life? Nicole was

13:13

very upset at Rina. This

13:15

is because Rina stole Nicole's phone

13:17

book and had called

13:19

numbers in that phone book belonging to,

13:22

you know, Nicole was very popular. So,

13:24

Nicole knew everybody at shoreline. And so, everybody's

13:27

numbers were in that phone book, and she

13:29

called these numbers, and she spread

13:31

the rumor that Nicole has AIDS. Nicole

13:34

isn't as pretty as she used to be. Nicole

13:37

looks like shit. All these things. Rina

13:40

insisted she wasn't to blame, but

13:43

Nicole didn't care. She lunged forward

13:45

and pushed a burning cigarette into

13:47

Rina's forehead. That's

13:49

when chaos erupted. Several other

13:51

girls swarmed Rina, wildly punching and

13:54

kicking, even though most of them didn't even

13:56

know her. Some others scrambled up

13:58

the hill, frightened by what they saw. We're seeing.

14:01

That. They did nothing. To stop it. There.

14:03

Were upwards of what twenty

14:05

kids present there? That nice who

14:07

witnessed what happened and not a

14:10

single person. Called for help.

14:12

Nobody. Said no be called police

14:14

ambulance their parents. Nobody said anything. As.

14:17

Rina lay on the ground. A boy by the

14:19

name of warm Glow Watts geek kicked her in

14:21

the head until his friend grabbed him and told

14:24

them to chill out. With

14:26

her hands over her face, Rina

14:28

pleaded, stop, Please stop. But. The

14:30

beating continued. Until. One of the

14:32

teams involved in the attack said it was enough.

14:35

She raised her voice and said the next person

14:37

to touch her gets a shot from me. Everybody

14:41

scattered and after taking a little bit

14:43

of time to recover. Rina. Climb

14:45

the wouldn't stairs to street level. She

14:47

staggered a little as she attempted to

14:49

walk across the bridge toward her home.

14:52

For most of the teams it was the

14:54

last they would ever see every never. Meant

15:04

to eat and seaman work Called the. Police. When Rina

15:06

didn't make it home that Friday nights in

15:08

the morning with still no sign of are

15:10

they called again. For the

15:13

police said because of. Her troubles history.

15:15

They wouldn't start searching until Monday.

15:18

Unbeknownst to the police and ring

15:21

as parents, the teenage rumor mill

15:23

was already working overtime. By

15:25

Monday, every one at Shoreline High School

15:28

was talking about what happened that weekend.

15:30

Under the Bridge. Detailed

15:32

whispers of the beating past from student

15:34

to student in the hallways and in

15:36

the smoke. Pets. No

15:38

one told the teacher, a parent, or

15:40

any other adults about what they heard.

15:43

The. Attack was kept secret among the

15:45

students at Shoreline. Most

15:48

of the kids didn't know the

15:50

full story. they had no idea

15:52

what happens arena after the assault

15:54

under the bridge. After that Rina

15:56

was left autographs and her eyes

15:58

were small and shot eyes. The

16:00

was bleeding from the nose and mouth

16:02

and she had a cigarette been on

16:04

his forehead. Her belongings has been taken

16:07

from her. they stole her backpack, they

16:09

broke her bottle of Polo Sports and

16:11

some sort of left there and see

16:14

and running. Got up slowly. Quite

16:16

disoriented I probably my guess

16:18

is composed and so. When.

16:21

You're in that fight or flight mode and she

16:23

wasn't a fighter. that's the thing. So when your

16:26

next flight mode you want, get somewhere safe. So

16:28

and so she made her way up the stairs

16:30

because there are stairs along the side of of

16:32

the bridge where the kids would go down and

16:35

then she started making her way across to the

16:37

north side of the bridge. As.

16:39

Arena stumbled across the bridge to

16:41

have her attackers decided to follow

16:43

her. One of them

16:45

was fifteen year old Kelly. Alert who is

16:48

best friends with Nicole Cooke one of the

16:50

girls Rena mad at the shelter. The

16:53

other was sixteen. Year old warned the Watts

16:55

keep The boy who had kicked around the hat.

16:58

They caught up. To Rena on the other

17:00

side of the bridge and after

17:02

a brief conversation, continued the vicious

17:04

assault on Rena. They

17:07

kicked and punched. The fourteen year old until

17:09

she was unconscious Stand each one grabbed

17:11

one of rain as legs and dragged

17:13

her lifeless body and placed her face

17:15

down into the gorge. Kelly

17:18

Ehlers who was all of five foot four

17:20

and one hundred and fifteen pounds then held

17:22

readers had under the salty water. Until.

17:24

Life drain from her body and she

17:26

stopped moving. The. Pair

17:29

than had a cigarette and promised one another

17:31

not to talk. About the incident with any

17:33

one. But. Neither one of them

17:35

was very good at keeping a promise. So.

17:38

He was and witness at a bus stop

17:40

soaking wet from the waist down and she

17:42

told the witness at the bus stops a

17:44

girl died tonight. And. Are

17:46

closing would later dry. But.

17:49

Forensics would show that the result

17:51

watermarks all over her clothing. So.

17:54

And there's only one place guess salt water

17:56

on your clothing and praetorian That's literally the

17:58

Courts. And Joseph. The.

18:00

next day warm. Glow Blocky confess to his

18:03

girlfriend Will. Kelly Allard told her best

18:05

friend a full what happens. In.

18:07

Turn the Cool told her roommate at the youth

18:09

group home where she was now living. The

18:12

room mate a fifteen year old girl. Was

18:14

the one who finally went to police telling

18:16

them about. The beating and the murder. Surprisingly.

18:19

Though police didn't initially believe her, even

18:21

after they learned. That reno was in

18:23

fact missing. Several more

18:25

days past while police looked into what the

18:27

team had told them. Then on

18:30

Friday November, twenty first, exactly one

18:32

week after the attack. Police.

18:34

Announced the arrest of eight teenagers

18:36

between the ages of fourteen and

18:38

sixteen. Six girls were charged

18:40

with aggravated assault while a sixteen year

18:42

old boy and fifteen year old girl

18:45

were charged with second degree murder. We

18:47

believe that there were other kids in that

18:49

area to popular hangouts. As far as how

18:51

many kids have firsthand knowledge of what actually

18:54

took place, we're still dealing with those eight

18:56

for now. However, again, there could be more.

18:59

We have not ruled out the possibility that some

19:01

of those charged with aggravated assault. City runs up

19:03

the second degree murder. What about the second degree

19:05

murder church or is certainly a possibility. We have

19:07

not ruled it out. the.even could be raised again.

19:10

it's can be based on the many many people

19:12

that we still have left the interview. Because.

19:16

Of their ages, the identities of all

19:18

the teams arrested were initially protected by

19:20

the young offenders out. However, the names

19:22

of Kelly Alert and Warned Blocky the

19:24

to accused of killing Green Us were

19:27

eventually released because they were tried as

19:29

adults. And a cool cook and.

19:31

Missy plate have identified themselves in the

19:33

media, which is why we're using their

19:35

names in this episode. While.

19:38

The teens were questioned of the

19:40

Senate Police station. Officers and firefighters

19:42

search the shoreline and the gorge

19:44

waterway looking for clues but nothing

19:47

was found. the next

19:49

day senate's police officers boarded a

19:51

red canadian coast guard helicopter to

19:54

begin an aerial search of the

19:56

waterway within twenty minutes they spotted

19:58

something loading and the reads, hidden

20:00

by the tall brown stalks, was the

20:02

body of a teenage girl, her long

20:05

black hair floating out toward the shore.

20:08

It was Rina Verk. That's

20:40

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awards. Only at Sleep Number stores

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or sleepnumber.com. When

21:23

news of the shocking crime broke, the

21:26

general public was stunned. It

21:28

seemed unfathomable that a 14-year-old girl could

21:31

have been killed by a group of

21:33

her peers. And many wanted to figure out why. This

21:36

case is still very much the talk

21:38

of the city, from the radio talk shows to people on the

21:41

street. I think it's a societal

21:43

problem. I think it stands far beyond the spools.

21:45

I think it starts with how we look at violence

21:47

and how we look at the people on the street.

21:49

I think it's a societal problem. How

21:52

We look at violence in society and how we

21:54

treat it and how we react to it and

21:56

respond to it. We've lost the ability to. The

22:00

Neutrino young people. We have

22:02

major problems as. Problem

22:08

or the whole don't use it on on. Experts

22:13

were quick to point out the violence

22:15

among female teenagers have been on the

22:17

rise since the mid eighties Net become

22:19

a noticeable problem in the early nineties.

22:22

Civil. Arts A University of Victoria professor

22:24

who wrote a book called Sex Power

22:26

and the Violence School Girl. Warned

22:29

that schools and parents needed to deal with

22:31

the. Issue head on to prevent things

22:33

from getting worse. Or said

22:35

violence among teen girls had always been

22:37

there. But. It was more prevalent in

22:39

the nineties. Because of the emphasis

22:41

on girls becoming sex objects early

22:44

in life, Other

22:46

experts blamed violent movies, tv,

22:48

and video games suggesting that

22:50

nineties you both girls and

22:52

boys were desensitized to the

22:54

violence and they had overcome

22:56

their inhibition against killing. Canadian

23:00

crime statistics seem. To show evidence

23:02

that there was a problem. Between.

23:04

Ninety Nine, It's you And Ninety. Ninety. Six Overall,

23:06

youth crime in the country was down

23:09

thanks to a drop in property crimes

23:11

committed by use, but violent crimes among

23:13

twelve to eighteen year olds had actually

23:15

risen by three and a half percent.

23:18

With the highest number of violent

23:21

crimes taking place in British Columbia

23:23

which saw a spike of nearly

23:25

forty percent. Ram

23:27

Duffy grew up in Victoria and he says

23:30

he wasn't shocked when you heard about Reno's

23:32

murder. I knew the.place

23:34

was had attended tags

23:36

like with regards to

23:39

com. The use violence

23:41

was going on in Victoria and I

23:43

didn't feel safe walking around downtown Detroit.

23:45

know people my sure this and laugh

23:47

like because his horse drawn carriages and

23:49

power pots and stuff but it is

23:51

written there was. kids got stopped

23:53

like it was like and curb something i'd never

23:56

heard of it before but it was like a

23:58

thing that people dead and for you really had

24:00

your head on a swivel. And, you know, there was no

24:02

Ubers or cell phones or anything like that. It was like,

24:04

you know, you took the bus or you walked, and if

24:06

you missed the bus, which was, you know, the last one

24:08

was 10, 30, 11 o'clock, then

24:10

you were walking, like, on

24:12

dark streets. The crime had made

24:14

headlines across Canada and the U.S., and

24:17

even as far away as France, Norway, and

24:20

Sweden. And everybody wanted to

24:22

know why. What could drive young people

24:24

to commit such a horrible crime against

24:26

another teen? When

24:29

the 18s charged in connection with

24:31

the beating and murder appeared in court

24:33

on the morning of Monday, November

24:35

24th, a horde of reporters and

24:37

cameramen gathered outside the courthouse for

24:40

updates. But police and

24:42

the Crown Attorney were tight-lipped, releasing

24:44

very few details. They would only

24:46

say that Rina's official cause of death was

24:48

drowning. The lack

24:50

of specifics left a void which would

24:53

be filled by rumors and incorrect information.

24:56

In particular, there was talk that the

24:58

murder was gang-related. Kids

25:00

said that some of the accused were members

25:03

of the notorious LA-based gangs, the Bloods

25:05

and the Crips. But police

25:07

said they were actually gang wannabes,

25:09

and insisted true gangs were not

25:12

a problem in Victoria schools. Graham

25:15

Duffy says local teens may not

25:17

have been affiliated with LA gangs,

25:20

but lots of predominantly white, affluent

25:22

kids who were influenced by 90s rap

25:24

culture tried to emulate thug

25:26

life. And that's when we started to

25:28

see groups of kids

25:31

crewing up, sort of thing. And

25:34

there weren't gang members in the sense that

25:36

they were moving large quantities of drugs or

25:38

engaging in turf wars for survival. They were

25:40

gang members in the sense that they were

25:42

selling dime bags, they were picking

25:44

fights with other groups, and they took on

25:46

sort of the affect of the criminal lifestyle.

25:49

And they took on names like

25:51

the E-town Boys and Esquimalt, they

25:53

were also Crips. There

25:57

was one called Natives with Attitude that came

25:59

out of Esquimalt. and it was First Nations boys.

26:02

There was the Metro crew, there was Turbo crew, there

26:04

were the Jacks, and then there was a group out

26:06

of Blanchard courts as well. While

26:08

talk about gangs dominated the news, there

26:11

was also an outpouring of remembrance

26:13

and support for Reena and her

26:15

family. Next to a playground for

26:17

children and the path that people

26:19

stroll for reflection by the waterway in which Reena

26:21

lost her life, 300 gathered

26:23

in threatening rain to express shock,

26:25

horror, and the commitment that this

26:27

would be the last. As

26:30

we say goodbye to Reena, the door closes but

26:32

a new window opens, a

26:34

window of hope and compassion is

26:37

when we're not together as communities, not

26:39

working for a better place, a sad thing happens. We

26:42

are asking you, everyone,

26:45

to commit to non-violence, to

26:48

tolerate, respect, value, and

26:50

appreciate each other. The

26:53

extensive media coverage about the case

26:55

often portrayed Reena Verk as a troubled

26:57

misfit who fell in with the wrong crowd,

27:00

but her family said she was so much

27:02

more than that and they wanted people

27:04

to remember her as a smart kid

27:06

who won prizes in math. She loved

27:09

to draw and worked on the school

27:11

yearbook. She dreamed of becoming a writer,

27:14

but most of all she just wanted friends.

27:17

Graham says for him one of the saddest

27:19

parts about what happened is that

27:21

Reena didn't get to see how many people

27:23

actually cared about her. The

27:55

first of many trials in this case began in

27:57

February 1998. than

28:00

three months after Rena's murder. Sixteen

28:03

girls involved in the initial attack

28:05

were charged with aggravated assault. But

28:08

before the trial started, their charges were

28:10

lowered to the lesser offense of assault

28:12

causing bodily harm. Then

28:15

in a surprise move, three of the accused

28:17

pleaded guilty on the first day of the

28:19

trial. Rena Burt's grandfather

28:21

says he's come to court for

28:23

his granddaughter. He's pleased three young

28:26

women entered guilty pleas today. If

28:31

that's what they were talking for, then

28:34

I'm going to eat

28:37

the weight of the hand-lick. Missy

28:40

Plike and Nicole Cook, the two teens who

28:42

lured Rena to the shoreline field with the

28:45

intent of beating her up, were among the

28:47

three who pleaded guilty. Court

28:49

heard they not only accused Rena of

28:51

taking Nicole's phone book and spreading rumors

28:54

about her, but they also believed that

28:56

Rena was trying to steal Missy's boyfriend.

28:59

It was revealed that both girls came from troubled

29:01

backgrounds and were in the care of the province

29:03

at the time of the attack. A

29:06

short trial was held for the other

29:09

three girls. They appeared in court dressed

29:11

casually and seemed bored during legal arguments,

29:13

alternately gazing around the room, chewing their

29:16

fingernails, or simply staring straight ahead. Multiple

29:19

teen witnesses were called to the stand

29:21

and testified how Rena was chased and

29:23

swarmed by the accused girls. But

29:26

the defense maintained that they didn't take part

29:28

in the attack, they only watched it. In

29:31

the end, the judge hearing the case disagreed

29:34

and found all three guilty. In

29:36

their first sign of emotion, the girls held

29:38

hands and cried as the verdict was read

29:41

out loud. Like the three that

29:43

had already pleaded guilty, they also had

29:45

troubled backgrounds. In fact, two of the

29:47

teens had lost their fathers to murder.

29:51

Rena's mom said she had empathy for

29:53

their sad backgrounds, but said it

29:55

didn't excuse what they did to Rena that night.

29:58

Even Still at the end of the- The trial suman

30:00

bird have some of the guilty girl's

30:02

parents. Telling them how sorry. She

30:05

was that they had to go through such a

30:07

horrible ordeal. The teams

30:09

known as The Shoreline Six were handed

30:11

sentences ranging. From sixty days conditional custody

30:13

to one year in jail for their

30:15

parts in the first attack on read

30:17

Up. In

30:22

April. Nineteen Ninety Nine. Nearly a year.

30:24

And a half after Rena staff

30:26

warm glow on skis. Second degree

30:28

murder trial began at Victoria Bc

30:30

Supreme Court. The seventeen year old

30:32

had bottle to have his case

30:34

heard in youth court but lost

30:36

and now was being tried as

30:38

an adult. The short slightly built

30:40

seen the look younger than his

30:42

age glanced around nervously as he

30:44

entered the courtroom in handcuffs. In

30:47

a barely. Audible Voice. He pleaded not guilty

30:49

to the murder of Rain of Earth.

30:52

Rena. Parents sat. Solemnly in court

30:55

as disturbing details were revealed throughout

30:57

the trial. Including testimony from

30:59

the pathologist who performed the

31:01

autopsy. Dr. Laura Gray told

31:03

the court the fourteen year old was

31:06

alive but likely unconscious when she ended

31:08

up in the Gorge waterway. Graham.

31:10

Duffy says that even though Rena official

31:13

cause of death was listed as drowning.

31:15

Doctor Gray said the teen suffered head

31:17

injuries that were severe enough to kill

31:19

her. The. Absolve just

31:21

described extent of her injuries

31:23

which included severe bruising of

31:26

are over her entire skull,

31:28

her forehead, ears he cheats

31:30

Her brain was swollen and

31:32

there was an imprint. Of

31:34

a running shoe. On. Her head

31:36

and britain. Now. This is consistent

31:39

with being stomped watch. The pathologist

31:41

also found severe bruising on read

31:43

his pelvis for stomachs her liver

31:45

and pancreas like nice This list.

31:47

Of. Injuries is horrific. Another

31:50

crown witness called to the stand. Was. Blocky,

31:52

his former girlfriend. She.

31:54

Had been at the Shoreline Field the

31:56

night in question, but went home early

31:58

before Reno was swarmed. The bridge because

32:00

she wasn't feeling well. Sorry

32:03

to Hartley Had previously told police

32:05

back Lebowski had confessed. To her

32:07

about what happened. But when

32:09

she got on the stand Caitlin says it was

32:11

like. Pulling teeth as the crown

32:14

struggled to get answers. Three

32:16

To was a torn you know, fourteen

32:18

year old girl who was in love.

32:20

She. Her first love was born

32:22

blocky, so she felt kind of. Loyal to

32:25

him and she was also afraid of being

32:27

labeled a rat and I think all of

32:29

that weighed heavily on her. And

32:31

when she was actually on the stand and sitting. Across from

32:34

her. Heard. You know,

32:36

first, boyfriend more and all of that prep when out. The

32:38

window and three to who was.

32:40

Forthcoming in those interview with police claim to

32:42

not remember things are to be mixing of

32:45

facts and rumor unsure of which was which.

32:48

And the clown was. Actually forced to read

32:50

her. Statements that she'd given to police back

32:52

to her and she kind of claimed like

32:54

not to remember what she had sad and

32:56

her most common answer on the sand was

32:58

i don't know. When.

33:00

Blocky took the stand. He was dressed

33:02

in a Tommy Hilfiger shirt. He was

33:04

teary eyed and trembling as he admitted

33:07

being present for the second attack on

33:09

Breanna. But the team said

33:11

he did not hit. Marina. He testified that

33:13

Kelly Allard was the one who beat

33:15

and kills her while he pleaded with

33:17

her to stop. Philosophy

33:19

told the court he left before the

33:21

attack ended and didn't know she was

33:23

dead until five days later. When

33:26

the judge delivered his verdict in June,

33:28

Nineteen Ninety Nine, Three to Hartley and several

33:30

other teen girls from Shoreline sat in

33:32

court, listening as the judge right out

33:34

his decision. The judge

33:36

said on the whole lot skis

33:38

evidence was incomplete, an improbable. He

33:41

said quote I did not believe

33:43

him. I find one Blocky guilty

33:45

of second degree murder as charged.

33:49

As. The verdict was read out. Blocky turned

33:51

his. Had to face the public for the last

33:53

time. in the park courtroom

33:55

he couldn't see that his father was sitting

33:57

in the back row by himself He

34:00

had flown in from California, where he

34:02

had moved in the months before Rina's

34:04

murder. After his dad

34:07

moved, Glowatsky was essentially homeless. His mom,

34:09

who struggled with addiction issues, was living

34:11

in another province, so the

34:13

16-year-old was forced to couch-surf. Neither

34:16

of his parents were in court when Glowatsky

34:19

was sentenced two weeks later. The

34:21

18-year-old was handed a sentence of life

34:24

in prison with no chance of parole

34:26

for seven years to be served at

34:28

an adult medium security facility. The

34:31

judge described Glowatsky as a troubled, immature

34:33

young man who had difficulty dealing with

34:35

the effects of the breakdown of his

34:37

family. Within

34:39

minutes of sentencing, Glowatsky's lawyers filed

34:42

an appeal, which was later rejected by

34:44

the court. All

34:47

that remained in the case was the prosecution

34:49

of Kelly Ellard. But no

34:51

one could have predicted the lengthy and

34:53

complicated legal battle that would take more

34:55

than a decade and test the justice

34:58

system and the fortitude of the Verk

35:00

family. That's

35:02

next time on History of the 90s, in

35:04

Part 2 of the murder of Rina Verk.

35:10

Thanks for listening to Part 1, and special

35:13

thanks to Caitlin and Graham of True North

35:15

True Crime, my partners on this episode. You

35:17

can find their podcast wherever you're listening to this

35:19

one right now. If you have

35:22

a topic you want covered by History of the 90s,

35:24

send me a message on Instagram at that

35:26

90s podcast, or you can reach

35:28

me by email. The address is

35:30

90s at curiouscast.ca. This

35:33

episode was written by me, Kathy Kansora,

35:35

along with Caitlin and Graeme Duffy. Our

35:37

producer is Dila Valesquez, and technical production

35:39

is by Rob Johnston. See

35:41

you next time for more History of the 90s. Tired

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