In 1997, 14-year-old Reena Virk was beaten and killed by a group of teenagers in Canada. Virk was of Indo-Canadian heritage and bullied before the assault happened, making her death that much more controversial. Nicole Cook instigated the attack. Here’s why Cook did it, and where she is today.
In 2011, Cook was one of two teenagers interviewed by Dateline who were involved in Virk’s murder, a group now known as the “Shoreline Six.” Cook told Dateline she started the fight when she put a cigarette out in Virk’s face. Cook said Virk had harassed her friends and spread rumors about her.
After the cigarette, five more girls joined the attack, but Virk escaped. Virk was tracked by another boy and girl, Warren Glowatski and Kelly Marie Ellard, who drowned Virk in the Victoria Gorge waterway.
Nicole Cook was charged with assault
Nicole Cook and the rest of the “Shoreline Six” were charged with assault and given between 60 days and a year in juvenile detention. It’s not clear how long Cook served. Glowatsky and Ellard, meanwhile, were given life sentences for Reena Virk’s murder.
Cook later spoke with MSNBC about what happened, in an interview available through the Internet Archive, and at that time she said, “I’m not responsible for [Virk’s] death in any way, shape, or form. I wasn’t there. I didn’t kill her.” In a rare update on what her life was like after Virk died, Cook said she moved to Los Angeles, adopted the name Nicole Jordan, and worked as a stripper before she returned home to Canada.
Under the Bridge on Hulu is a fictionalized account of Virk’s murder. Real names have been changed, and Cook is called Josephine Bell in the series. Actress Chloe Guidry plays Josephine Bell, the character based on Cook in the show.