Twenty years after Reena Virk's murder, memorial honours teen's life

SAANICH, B.C. - About 200 people gathered today outside a historic schoolhouse along the Gorge Waterway, just steps away from the beach where Victoria teenager Reena Virk was murdered 20 years ago.

Virk was 14 when she was swarmed by a group of teenagers and later drowned by two people who followed her after she limped away from a beating.

Education Minister Rob Fleming paid tribute to the Virk family, who turned their grief into a public campaign against bullying.

Warren Glowatski and Kelly Ellard were convicted of second-degree murder in separate trials.

Glowatski was 16 at the time of Virk's death and has been released on parole, while Ellard, who was 15, remains in prison.

Virk's death made international headlines for its chilling account of teenage bullying, but it also spearheaded anti-bullying campaigns.

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  Manjit Virk is emotional as people speak at a memorial marking 20 years since the swarming and bullying death of 14-year-old Reena Virk.at the Craigflower Schoolhouse in Victoria, B.C., on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Chad Hipolito)

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  Kosapsom Park near where a memorial marking 20 years since the swarming and bullying death of 14-year-old Reena Virk.at the Craigflower Schoolhouse in Victoria, B.C., on Tuesday, November 14, 2017. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Chad Hipolito)