In 1997, a young girl named Reena Virk died after meeting her friends at a party. Her story – a harrowing tale of bullying and neglect – was first told in Rebecca Godfrey’s bestselling novel. Under the bridge. Now her story is the focus of Hulu’s latest miniseries.
The series, the first two episodes of which aired on April 17, follows the events leading up to Virk’s murder, the day of her attack and the subsequent investigation. Under the bridge focuses on Virk’s friends, particularly a character named Josephine Bell. In Godfrey’s book, Bell’s name – along with the names of many other characters – is changed to comply with a court-ordered ban. Hulu followed suit.
bell technically isn’t real, but her character is based on a real person – whose real name we’re omitting in this article. Read on to find out everything we know about Bell.
Who is Josephine Bell?
Josephine Bell was a friend of Reena Virk. In an article for ViceGodfrey described Bell as a “blonde, delicate girl” who loved gangster rap and idolized Mafia boss John Gotti. “Josephine bragged about stealing cars and dating Crips,” Godfrey wrote. “And she dreamed of one day moving to New York and joining the Mafia.”
One day, Virk stole Bell’s phone book and spread rumors about her. Bell was furious. Later, at a party, she and a group of children attacked Virk. According to Godfrey, a few days before the murder, Bell’s mother overheard a conversation in which Bell and her friend Kelly Ellard talked about digging a grave and burying a girl. Date line2009 Special “Bloodlust under the bridge”, Bell said: “There were jokes like that, but I never said I would kill anyone. Never.”
What did Josephine Bell do?
Bell reportedly burned Virk’s forehead with her cigarette, which led to a physical altercation. Six other girls joined in, including Ellard, as well as a boy named Warren Glowatski. Eventually, Bell ran away with five people, but Ellard and Glowatski stayed behind and attacked Virk again.
Accordingly Today, Police found Virk’s body more than a week later. According to Godfrey’s report, she suffered blows to the abdomen, as well as “a crush injury common to car accident victims, extensive bruising under the skin of the face, and a bruise in the shape of a sneaker print” on the back of her head. There were also eighteen pebbles in Virk’s lungs. According to CBC, a pathologist concluded that Virk drowned. However, Dr. Laurel Gray said that Virk could have died from her head injuries even if she had not drowned.
What happened to Josephine Bell?
Godfrey reports that Ellard blamed Bell for Virk’s death and that Bell said “weird, crazy things.” Bell denied Ellard’s claims and reportedly told investigators, “We’re not talking about murder.”
Ellard and Glowatski were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Bell and the five other children were sentenced to up to one year in juvenile detention for aggravated assault. Bell told NBC, “I am in no way responsible for their deaths. I was not there. I did not kill them.”
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