- In 1997, a group of teenage girls, later dubbed the "Shoreline Six," attacked 14-year-old Reena Virk.
- Nicole Cook started the assault, which ended in two others killing Virk.
Hulu's true crime thriller "Under the Bridge" focuses on a fictional version of the writer Rebecca Godfrey (Riley Keough) as she investigates the murder of Canadian teenager Reena Virk (Viritka Gupta).
In 1997, a group of teenagers, later nicknamed the "Shoreline Six" by the press, assaulted Virk in Saanich, British Columbia.
After Virk escaped, Warren Glowatski (Javon Walton) and Kelly Ellard (Izzy G) followed her and continued the assault before drowning her in the Victoria Gorge waterway. They were later tried as adults, and both received life sentences.
The Shoreline Six included Ellard, as well as Nicole Cook, Nicole Patterson, Courtney Keith, and Gail Ooms, as well as Virk's best friend, Missy Grace Pleich who were all charged with assault.
Hulu has quietly become a prolific true crime creator, and "Under the Bridge" follows similarly popular shows including "The Act," "Under the Banner of Heaven," and "Candy." It's likely a response to Netflix's huge output of buzzy dramatizations and documentaries, and it has continued to dominate with projects including "American Nightmare" and "Baby Reindeer."
Nicole Cook started the attack by putting a cigarette out on Virk's face
Several teenagers who initially attacked Virk at the riverside party were given new names for the series, including Cook — who is called Josephine Bell (Chloe Guidry) in the show.
This was the name given to Cook by Godfrey for her 2017 Vice article about the incident as a way of protecting her identity since she was a teenager when it happened.
Cook has only given one interview about Virk's murder. In 2011, she told "Dateline" that she was the ringleader of the attack, which she started by putting out her cigarette on Virk's face. Then the group of girls — Pleich, Ellard, Patterson, Keith, and Ooms, joined in to repeatedly punch and kick the teenager.
On "Dateline," Cook claimed that she took revenge on Virk after she started harassing her friends. "I left my phone book at her house, and she called a bunch of people," she recalled. "She was very insecure. I didn't really want to hang out with her anymore because it seemed like she was jealous of me."
Cook also suggested that Virk spread rumors about her, saying: "Like my eyes were contacts, or my boobs were fake. I couldn't understand why she would do that. I was so angry."
In the 2017 Vice article about the murder, Godfrey also claimed Virk told several boys that Cook had AIDs.
The Shoreline Six were charged with assault
Although Cook started the assault by burning Virk with her cigarette, she told "Dateline": "I'm not responsible for her death, in any way, shape, or form."
The Shoreline Six were each charged with assault in juvenile court, Vancouver Sun reported.
They were given sentences that varied from 60-day custodial sentences to one year in juvenile detention. However, it's not clear who was given which sentence.
Cook and Pleich were the only ones who were interviewed on "Dateline" about the incident, and the others have stayed out of the spotlight.
According to a Vancouver Island newsletter, a young woman named Gail Ooms died in 2001 due to a rare heart condition, but it isn't clear if this is the same person who was part of the Shoreline Six.