Warren Glowatski

Warren Paul Glowatski (born April 26, 1981 in Medicine Hat, Alberta) is a Canadian man convicted in the high-profile murder case of Reena Virk. The crime was committed in Glowatski's youth.

Glowatski's parents were never married, but initially stayed together in order to raise him. His mother, however, was an alcoholic which caused Glowatski's father to leave her in 1996. When they were together Glowatski and his parents moved around frequently; he lived in Estevan and Regina, Saskatchewan, and Castlegar, British Columbia.

In 1996, with his father only, Glowatski 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 fifteen Glowatski was dating a schoolmate, Syreeta Hartley, but in the summer of 1997, Glowatski's father married a woman he met in Las Vegas, Nevada. She had a home in southern California and Glowatski's father was planning to move to California. He invited Glowatski to move with him, but Glowatski didn't want to leave his girlfriend behind, so he remained in Saanich, living alone in the trailer. His father would send him cheques several times a month to live on. Syreeta Hartley'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 called The Gorge. Suddenly a group of seven girls start punching and kicking on a girl, whom Glowatski did not know.

For unknown reasons, Glowatski approached the fight and twice kicked the victim in the head. A friend of Glowatski'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, Glowatski 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.

The following is what the court records show, but is disputed by witnesses who were there that night.

According to Glowatski, Ellard smashed Virk's face into a tree knocking her out. With Glowatski's help Ellard dragged Virk into the water, as they were both 5"2 and 110 pounds, but Virk awoke and started struggling with Ellard. Ellard proceeded to break Virk's arms and held her head beneath the water drowning her until she stopped fighting. Glowatski and Ellard left the crime scene without speaking a word.

Note: the autopsy of Reen Virk showed no signs of broken arms. It did indicate that her body showed signs of severe trauma similar to being hit by a car, which indicates severe blunt force trauma consistent with being beaten up. As well, the autopsy report shows water in lungs which indicates that Virk was barely alive before she drowned.

Conclusion

Glowatski and the seven girls were arrested one week after the beating and murder. Six of the girls were either convicted of or plead guilty to assault causing bodily harm. The sentences for these six girls ranged from a 60 day conditional sentence to one year in jail depending on their involvement.

In June 1999, Glowatski was convicted of second-degree murder and given a life sentence, however because Glowatski was 16 at the time of the murder, he is eligible for parole after serving seven years of his life sentence. In November 2004, he was denied his first chance at day parole [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/19/glowatski-parole041119.html] .

The Virks did not contest the parole, because Glowatski has expressed remorse and responsibility for his part of the murder. In July 2006, Glowatski was granted unescorted temporary absences from jail. By December 2006, Glowatski will be eligible to apply for day parole again [http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/07/19/1692693-cp.html] .

Additionally, since incarceration Glowatski has discovered that he is Metis. This played a large role in parole hearings as he asked the parole board to incorporate his elders into the process and various healing circles and other forms of restorative justice were used bringing Glowatski and Virk's parents together. In receiving day parole he proceeded to hug every member of the parole board and those present, including the Virks. [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060719/virk_killer_060719?s_name=&no_ads=]

Notes

*Glowatski was into gangster rap and affiliated himself with a gang calling itself the Crips. Its relationship, if any, to the Los Angeles Crips remains unknown. Glowatski 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 says that his gang affiliation and love for violent music most likely fueled his partnership with Kelly Ellard.

*Syreeta Hartley, Glowatski's girlfriend, was not underneath the bridge that night because she felt sick before the other youths went under the bridge, and left before the first fight took place. Glowatski offered to take her home, but she declined. She regrets not telling him yes.

*In 2000 for Kelly Ellard's first trial Glowatski 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. Glowatski received an extra five years for the charge. He later testified in her second and third trials. [http://inhome.rediff.com/us/2000/mar/31us1.htm]

*Glowatski now visits schools and helps youth understand the importance of community and the support of ones family.

References

*Godfrey, Rebecca "Under the Bridge" Publisher Simon & Schuster 2005, September 20. ISBN 0-7432-1091-3

* Re: injuries and dispute of Ellard breaking both Virk's arms - [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2004/06/30/virk040630.html]

* A Socialist spin on the Reena Virk case, which posits that it was a racist hate crime which the justice system went to great lengths to suppress while the prosecution used questionable racism against witnesses including at least two people of color - [http://www.gurlzb4gangz.org/thereenavirktragedy.htm]

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/virk/ The murder of Reena Virk: A timeline]